(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)
While the Sun Devil bats were off to a slow start in the first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s series finale was a little different, as No. 12 Arizona State completed the sweep against the California Golden Bears Sunday afternoon in yet another 8-0 run-rule victory. It is the 17th run-rule victory this season and seventh in conference play.
The Sun Devil offense prevailed once again at Farrington Stadium, building off its 11-run fourth inning on Saturday. Senior outfielder Yanni Acuña and freshman first baseman Cydney Sanders got ASU on the board first with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the first inning, forcing Cal to remove freshman starting pitcher Annabel Teperson after giving up three hits and two earned runs to just six batters faced.
Junior shortstop Alynah Torres followed it up with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second, also scoring freshman catcher Jessica Puk. As a team, they have now hit 84 home runs through 42 games, the most in the Pac-12 Conference and fourth-best in the nation. From there, small ball paved the way for ASU, before Sanders called ballgame with two outs in the bottom of the fifth with a hard 2-RBI single to second base.
Bears’ sophomore second baseman D’Asha Saiki made a diving stop but not in time before Sanders reached first, allowing graduate third baseman Bella Loomis and the speedy sophomore pinch runner Emily Cazares to score.
It was the second consecutive game-winning hit of the weekend for Sanders, who extended her hit streak to eight games and finished the weekend 4-for-8 with two home runs and five RBIs, bringing her totals to 17 and 53, respectively.
“She continues to be put in those ‘pressure situations’ and she is not very emotional,” Ford said. “She’s a very professional hitter and excels in those situations.”
Defensively, junior right-hander Lindsay Lopez dominated in the circle throwing only 66 pitches, immediately retiring the first two batters of the inning in three of her five innings of work.
“I’m proud of myself,” Lopez said. “On Friday, I wasn’t where I wanted to be, so being able to show up today means a lot to me.”
“Lindsay did a tremendous job [today],” Ford said. “She threw OK on Friday, but she didn’t throw her best and I thought today she did a much better job, so I knew she had more left in the tank.”
Although Lopez gave up eight hits, she was strongly supported, including two straight run-saving tags at the plate from Puk in the top of the fourth to keep the Golden Bears off the board.
“Jess is a trooper,” senior left fielder Makenna Harper said. “She is the epitome of a teammate. She is the greatest behind the plate and she catches every single day.”
“It feels like I can go out there and if I make a mistake, they still have my back,” Lopez said of her teammates.
As a whole, Cal’s pitching staff struggled with command of the zone, walking eight and forcing a 3-2 count nine times in Sunday’s contest while only giving up seven hits.
Sunday’s win marks the fifth Pac-12 series sweep for the Sun Devils this season, adding to the list of then-ranked Oregon State, Arizona, and Oregon, as well as Utah. With No. 4 UCLA’s 8-0 run-rule loss to the Utes this afternoon, ASU now has sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, as the Bruins come to town for a three-game series next weekend. A sweep would clinch a Pac-12 title for the Devils.
Arizona State now sports a 35-7 record, 16-2 in Pac-12, with six games left to play before the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils will close out the regular season in Seattle against the No. 9 Huskies May 12-14.
“There’s going to be a lot of talk this week about UCLA, but really, it’s not about UCLA. It’s about us,” Ford said. “Our circle is going to get super tight this week and we’re going to worry about the things that we really can do at a high rate.”
