Escobedo stellar in Sun Devils’ win

(Photo:Sun Devil Athletics)

In a packed Farrington Stadium, the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils came away with a 6-0 win over the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on Saturday night.

ASU came out looking sluggish to start the game, and solid pitching from Southern Miss junior pitcher Shelbee Rodgers kept the game scoreless in the first two innings.

“I thought we were a little flat tonight,to tell you the truth, in a lot of places,” ASU head coach Craig Nicholson said. “I felt like we weren’t sharp early in the game.”

“We kept saying how everybody just felt a little weird today,” junior catcher Amber Freeman said. “Even myself, the first inning I kept dropping balls. I usually don’t drop so just kind of just a weird start but I think we got it together in the fifth and sixth inning.

Senior Sun Devil pitcher Dallas Escobedo found herself in a jam in the top of the second inning with runners on second and third base and no outs, but the right-handed power pitcher struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning. She would do the same thing in the exact same situation in the ensuing inning.

Escobedo finished her night with 16 strikeouts, tying her career-high. She allowed just six hits and two walks.

“We’re fortunate we have Dallas on the mound and that she can go get herself out of those jams,” Nicholson said.

“Going out there, just wasn’t really feeling it until about the fourth or fifth,” Escobedo said. “I finally felt like my speed was back up and kind of just being able to still spot.”

The Sun Devils would score in the bottom of the third after senior shortstop Cheyenne Coyle’s single brought home sophomore outfielder Jennifer Soria.

Coyle led ASU, going 3-for-3 from the plate, posting three RBI and one walk.

Rodgers, after allowing just one run in the first four innings, issued three straight walks in the bottom of the fifth. ASU junior third baseman Haley Steele knocked in two runs to stretch ASU’s lead to three runs.

Rodgers finished her night allowing nine hits, five runs and four strikeouts.

The Sun Devils donned pink uniforms for their Strike Out Breast Cancer game to raise awareness for breast cancer as well as raise money for cancer research. At the conclusion of the game, the Sun Devils raffled off their jerseys and the money from the ticket sales went toward cancer research.

ASU will look to complete the sweep over the Golden Eagles Sunday at 12 p.m. before getting back into Pac-12 play next weekend.

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com

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