TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 7 Arizona State Sun Devils took down the No. 3 Oregon Ducks, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium.
"I thought we made a decision today to play our game," head coach Trisha Ford said of the game-three win. "We know as a team what we are capable of doing, I thought the first two nights we didn't execute our game. I am just so proud of them of coming out today and showing a lot of fight. That is a potent offense and a great pitching staff and I was happy how we were able to come out and stay in our bubble and do the things we needed to do to win this game."
SUN DEVILS WIN! @ggotgame45 shuts out #3 Oregon and @jade_g_15 goes 3-3 on the day! pic.twitter.com/yJV51Afp7D
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 15, 2018
The Sun Devils (34-7, 8-4) were paced offensively all day long by sophomore shortstop Jade Gortarez, who was a single shy of hitting for the cycle. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore lefty Giselle "G" Juarez continued her dominance with an absolute gem — a three-hit, complete-game shutout. She also struck out seven Ducks and walked just one batter. Juarez is now 18-2 on the season.
Gortarez got the Sun Devils going in the bottom of the first inning with a double to right-centerfield and was eventually driven in by first baseman Danielle Gibson. Gortarez was back at it again the bottom of the third, blasting a solo home run to straight-away centerfield.
She then tripled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning to wrap up her monstrous day at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs.
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Centerfielder Morgan Howe knocked an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth frame to drive in Gortarez. Howe finished the day 1-for-3 at the plate with one RBI.
The Sun Devils' other run came by way of a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth frame. Senior pinch hitter Kwyn Cooper took the pitch for the team, and freshman pinch runner Ashley Moss scored the run.
Sunday's win marks the first time Arizona State has taken down the Ducks since 2014. The Devils also put an end to Oregon's eight-game winning streak with their huge victory Sunday.
Up next, ASU will stay home to host No. 9 Arizona, April 20-22. All three games of the Arizona series will be aired by the Pac-12 Network.
