Arizona State dominates against Utah, scoring 14 runs on the afternoon

Arizona State Freshman Makenna Harper rounding the bases against Utah

No. 16 Arizona State (24-8, 4-1 Pac-12) continued its dominant conference play Saturday, defeating the Utah Utes (13-16, 2-3 Pac-12) 14-4, in a game that required just five innings. The Sun Devils are off to a strong start in conference play, taking a series against Oregon State a week ago and dominating against Utah once again on Saturday.

The Sun Devils are currently leading the nation in runs scored with 8.5 runs per game. They scored nine runs in the first two innings Saturday afternoon as senior Kindra Hackbarth led things off with a homerun on the first pitch of the second inning. Hackbarth leads the team with a .427 batting average on the season.

“We had the momentum on our side and just kept with us,” Hackbarth said. “We kept it simply yesterday and today. It is supposed to be simple.”

Head coach Trish Ford said she believes her team still has work to do, and that this Sun Devil squad has barely scratched the surface of its potential. Offensively, Ford said she believes her team’s confidence has allowed them to be so successful at bat.

“I just think they came out today on a mission,” Ford said. “I thought they did a great job, offensively just letting them do what they’re doing.”

Arizona State scored three more runs in the third to take an 11-0 lead, as seniors Morgan Howe and Skylar McCarty each had three RBIs on the afternoon.

Down 14-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Utah scored four runs on consecutive at-bats, but with the bases loaded, the Sun Devils closed down the series win.

Explosive offense combined with strong consistent pitching has been a recurring theme for the Sun Devils throughout the season. Freshman pitcher Abby Andersen dominated again Saturday, pitching through three innings and picking up her ninth win on the season.

Arizona State looks to carry the offensive momentum into Sunday as they go for a sweep of the Utes before heading on the road to play rival Arizona next week. First pitch at Farrington Stadium Sunday is set for 12 p.m.