ASU Softball: No. 9 Sun Devils get the brooms out Sunday to sweep Cal 8-0

It was another fun day in the valley of the sun for ASU (35-7, 16-2 Pac-12) as they sweep yet another conference series against Cal (26-23-1, 6-12) by a final score of 8-0.

After an explosive Saturday at Farrington where the Sun Devils posted 13 runs in a five inning game called due to mercy, Sunday provided just as much excitement in as many innings.

Arizona State’s tear through the Pac-12 in 2022 has been everything they needed and more going into the final two series against No. 3 UCLA and No. 11 Washington. The two conference losses to Stanford seem, in retrospect, to be outlier games where ASU just couldn’t put runs on the board.

In every other conference series, ASU has averaged just under 28 runs per three game set. That’s over nine runs a game. It’s been a laser show, and it’s been consistent.

On Sunday, it was no different.

The scoring started in the bottom of the first when Yannira Acuña and Cydney Sanders went for back-to-back jacks to right field and left field, respectively. Sanders’ 17th homer of the season has her tied for third in the Pac-12 in that category. Along with that, Sanders and Acuña are both in the top three in batting average in the conference at .434 and .423.

Another laser came off the bat of Alynah Torres in the second when she blasted a 3-2 fastball out to left field for a two-run shot, extending the lead to 4-0. Those two RBI put Torres at 35 for the season, which is one more than she had all of last year.

The runs didn’t stop there. Halle Harger brought one home with a fielders choice in the third, Jazmyn Rollin walked with the bases loaded to add another in the fourth, and Cydney Sanders hit a two-RBI single in the fifth to end it.

Cal had their chances in this one, collecting eight hits on the day. But, they couldn’t cash in at any point. Thanks to some sturdy pitching from Lindsay Lopez and solid defense, Cal finished the game with seven runners left on base.

Lopez collected her ninth win on the year, tying her with Marissa Schuld for second on the staff.

With that win, it’s back-to-back mercies for ASU, and the 15th time they’ve done it in 2022.

The Sun Devils will look to assert their place in the top ten in the national rankings when they take on UCLA in Tempe in a three game set starting Friday, May 6th.