ASU Softball: Juarez throws complete game, offense records 11 hits in Game 1 win

ASU softball defeated South Carolina in Game 1 of the Tempe Super Regional behind a G Juarez complete game and two RBIs from Morgan Howe and Jade Gortarez.

In front of a sold out crowd at Farrington Stadium, G Juarez threw another pitching gem as the Sun Devils took Game 1 of the Tempe Super Regional 5-2 versus South Carolina.

Juarez was dialed in once again in just her fourth career NCAA Tournament start as for the second time in this tournament, Juarez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

The no-no was broken up on a leadoff single from Gamecocks catcher Alyssa VanDerveer. On the very next pitch, Kennedy Clark hit a two-run homer to spoil the shutout.

Juarez finished the night throwing a complete game allowing two earned runs on two hits to go with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Despite the two-run homer, Arizona State’s offense backed up Juarez jumping on South Carolina starter Dixie Raley.

Center fielder Morgan Howe opened the scoring with an RBI double to the left-center field gap in the first inning scoring third baseman Taylor Becerra all the way from first.

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In the third inning, shortstop Jade Gortarez dealt the big blow to Raley smashing a two-run home run to straightaway center to give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead.

With South Carolina not recording a hit to the seventh, the deficit proved to be too much for the Gamecocks, who had just one baserunner reach second base Friday night.

Juarez talks about the comfort she gets when receiving early run support.

“For me, it gives me a lot of comfort and breathing room,” Juarez said. “It allows me to just throw my game and focus on me knowing that they are going to back me up with their offensive support.”

Raley’s night ended after just 2 1/3 innings allowing three earned runs on six hits.

Coming on in relief was Kelsey Oh, who pitched well for South Carolina throwing 3 2/3 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits to go with five strikeouts.

ASU scored both runs off Oh in the fourth inning on a bunt single from left fielder Skylar McCarty that beat the played-in infield.

Howe’s second RBI hit, a single, gave the Sun Devils a 5-0 lead finishing the night 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

“Obviously a great team win tonight. I thought we came out with a lot of focus right away. We had some great plate discipline. We got on the board early,” head coach Trisha Ford said. “I thought G [Juarez] threw a heck of a game. We just played our game and that’s the biggest thing. When we play our game, good things happen.”

The 5-2 victory puts Arizona State just one win away from their first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2013. Howe isn’t worried about that being on their mind in Saturday’s Game 2.

“For us, it’s just not feeding into the hype. Yeah, one win away but still one whole win away,” Howe said. “You still got to take it pitch-by-pitch, out-by-out, inning-by-inning. So just really keeping it focused in that sort of frame and not getting ahead of ourself and stuff like that.”

Next: ASU Softball: Sun Devils host Gamecocks in Super Regionals

Game 2 between South Carolina and Arizona State will likely feature a pitching matchup of Cayla Drotar versus Breanna Macha. First pitch is at 6 p.m. PT and it can be seen on ESPN2.

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