ASU Softball: Sun Devils shut out #1 Washington

ASU softball began Pac-12 play with a statement win Saturday as the Sun Devils handed No. 1 Washington their first loss of the season.

Upsets truly do happen in March, no matter what sport it is.

No. 13 Arizona State defeated the Washington Huskies, the number one team in the country, 2-0 in their first Pac-12 game of the season.

It was clear that Arizona State was not fazed by the ranking in Washington and made an impact quickly. Freshman Danielle Gibson roped a two-run double off the center field wall and broke Washington’s ace Gabbie Plain’s 28 scoreless inning streak.

Sophomore G Juarez explained that the early scoring gave her “a ton of confidence” and that the team was “fired up” after the early lead.

The Glendale native turned her confidence into results, shutting out the number one offense in the Pac-12 in seven complete innings. She also tallied 11 strikeouts, adding to her total of 122 strikeouts on the year. Juarez has now extended her own scoreless inning streak to 40.

The closest Washington ever got to scoring was in the second inning when Juarez walked two straight Huskies with one out, but quickly settled in and retired the next two. Otherwise, it was pure dominance.

Arizona State also had a superb fielding day no fielding errors including a stellar play by Kindra Hackbarth who threw out Kelly Burdick.

https://twitter.com/ASUSoftball/status/975181666162499585

Juarez’s pitching showcase had center fielder Morgan Howe joking after the game saying that she just stands in the outfield just waiting to head back to the dugout.

“Me and (Nichole) Chilson always joke around, ‘Alright G, you do what you do. We’re just gonna chill in the dugout.,’”

Head coach Trisha Ford had nothing but praise for her young ace after the game.

“G just threw lights out tonight,” Ford said. “If she’s on, we can beat anybody.”

Howe could barely contain her excitement after the game, jumping around while talking to the press.

Howe may have had a ton of butterflies before the game, but was proud apart of such a great moment.

“You wake up early. You work so hard,” Howe said. “You go to school. This is what you do it for.”

Howe also talked about how playing in these type of games in the Pac-12 is one of the main reasons she chose to transfer to ASU.

“You have intense games no matter where you are, but playing in these games was definitely a big reason I wanted to transfer,” Howe said.

Ford is “happy for her girls,” but wants her team to know UW will come back with more of vengeance on Sunday.

“We still got 2 more games. Tomorrow is a new game,” Ford said. “Love it tonight, but tomorrow be ready to go.”

Next: ASU Basketball: Sun Devils defeat Nebraska in first round

Arizona State will be continuing their season against Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT. The game will air on the Pac-12 network.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.