Offense powers softball past Illinois State 14-3 in five

In the final game of the Littlewood Classic, the Sun Devil offense showed up big to help the Arizona State softball team to a 14-3 routing of Illinois State in five innings Sunday afternoon.

The Sun Devils are now 10-2 overall after finishing the weekend 5-0 in their second home tournament, the Littlewood Classic.

Dallas Escobedo earned her third win of the season (3-1) after 5.0 innings of work and seven strikeouts. Offensively, nine Devils recorded hits - Amber Freeman paced the team at the plate, 2-for-3 with a trio of RBI and one run scored.  

ASU recorded the first run of the game in the bottom of the second with a solo shot by Annie Lockwood over left center, her third of the year. Illinois State answered in the top of the second as Elizabeth Kay led off with a solo longball to center, tying it at 1-1. ISU took a brief 2-1 lead after Sara Bradley brought around Laura Canopy on a single.

What came next was a seven-hit, 11-run showcase in the bottom of the second by the Devils. ASU hit around in the frame, three players scoring twice and Haley Steele tallying her second home run on the year in a two-run shot to center.

Up 12-0 and heading into the bottom of the fourth, ASU added insurance to its score with a two-run double by Bethany Kemp that scored Alix Johnson and Nikole Afusia. In its final frame of the mercy rule, ISU tacked on one more run via a Lauren Kellar home run to left center.

Jordan Birch (4-2) takes the loss for ISU after seeing just 1.2 innings in the circle. Sophia Perez and Megan Warner also saw time in the circle – Warner recorded ISU’s five strikeouts on the day. 

UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils host a four-game series against Central Connecticut Feb. 24-26. Both teams will be celebrating a pink-out night during the doubleheader on Feb. 25 as part of the Strike Out Cancer dedication to helping people affected by cancer build the team support they need to manage their disease.