ASU Softball: Sun Devils host Arizona in battle for Territorial Cup

After claiming the series finale against then-No. 3 Oregon, No. 6 ASU softball hosts No. 14 Arizona for a three-game series in a Territorial Cup showdown.

It’s rivalry week for the sixth-ranked Arizona State softball team as they host the 14th-ranked Arizona Wildcats for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Arizona State is coming off their first series loss of the season dropping two of three games against the then-third-ranked Oregon Ducks.

Oregon took the first two games 5-0 and 9-1 as the Ducks capitalized off Sun Devil errors and pitching mistakes from G Juarez and Breanna Macha.

Juarez allowed five runs (two earned) in the series opening loss as the Ducks hit two home runs. Macha had a short outing throwing 4.1 innings allowing six earned runs on eight hits with Oregon smashing six home runs.

The players and coaches called Sunday’s game a “gut-check” having secured their first series loss of the season and their first multi-game losing streak.

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Arizona State went back to Juarez in the finale after a frustrating outing two days earlier and didn’t disappoint throwing a complete game shutout allowing just three hits and striking out seven batters.

Juarez picked up her 18th win of the season, 17th complete game and nation-leading 10th shutout.

The Sun Devil offense finally got going on a big day at the plate from shortstop Jade Gortarez who hit her seventh home run of the season and finished a single shy of the cycle.

First baseman Danielle Gibson hit an RBI single to open the scoring and was named to the NFCA’s National Freshman of the Year Top 25 this week as she leads the team with .416 batting average, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs.

Coming into Tempe this weekend are the 14th-ranked Arizona Wildcats who just snapped a six-game losing streak Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep over New Mexico State.

The Wildcats have struggled to defeat the teams at the top of the Pac-12 standings posting an 0-9 record against Washington, Oregon and UCLA.

Arizona was swept at home last weekend against the Bruins losing 7-6, 7-3 and 10-3 as the Wildcats pitching struggled to hold down a potent UCLA offense.

In the nine games against Washington, Oregon and UCLA, Arizona has given up an average of 6.1 runs a game getting outscored by 37 runs.

Arizona pitcher Taylor McQuillin has taken over as the ace of the pitching staff posting a 19-8 record, 1.82 ERA, 20 complete games and nine shutouts.

Alyssa Denham has emerged as the Wildcats’ No. 2 pitcher starting 11 games and making 16 appearances with a 2.18 ERA.

The two hitters to watch for the Wildcats is Alyssa Palomino and Jessie Harper. Palomino has a .419 batting average with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs. Harper bats .343 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs.

The Sun Devils will look to get off to a quick start offensively. In games against top-15 opponents, ASU normally puts pressure in the early innings and try to scrap a run.

Next: ASU Softball: Sun Devils shut out #3 Oregon to avoid sweep

First pitch Friday is set for 5 p.m. PT, Saturday’s first pitch is at 2 p.m. PT and Sunday’s first pitch is at 5 p.m. PT. All three games can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona with Sunday’s game also available on Pac-12 Network.

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