ASU Softball: Sun Devils rout Utah in game one, 12-0

It only took five innings for the No. 9 Sun Devils (36-9, 10-6) to down the Utah Utes (20-23, 2-14) by a score of 12-0 in Salt Lake City Friday evening.

Twelve is the most runs the Devils scored against any Pac-12 opponents. Their previous high was 10 against the Oregon State Beavers at the beginning of April. But this outing shows rejuvenation of the high-scoring offense that was seen at the beginning of this season.

The primary culprits were the standout freshmen in first baseman Danielle Gibson and designated player DeNae Chatman. Both drove in three runs a piece and went 2-for-3 with a double in their efforts.

Sophomore right fielder Kindra Hackbarth led the Devils at the top of the order. She also went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs — all on this bases-loaded triple.

The final key contributor was junior center fielder Morgan Howe who went 3-for-4 from the cleanup spot with two RBIs and two runs scored. She scored the first run on a Chatman single in the first inning.

The other half of the lopsided score would be because of sophomore Giselle ‘G’ Juarez in the circle. She tossed another quick gem to nab her 20th victory on the season.

She completed the game only allowing three hits and four total runners to reach base, striking out eight Utes in 61 pitches.

Juarez was also able to nab a team milestone. In the fourth inning, she struck out her sixth batter faced. This put her at a season total of 238 and 10th overall on the list for the ASU single-season strikeout record. She is now at 240.

She is now six behind Melannie Kyler in 9th who set her record in 1978 with 246 strikeouts in a season.

The Devils look to continue their dominance in Salt Lake City tomorrow for game two. First pitch is at 1 p.m.