Softball Wins Game One at Arizona State, 4-2

TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 7 UCLA softball team tallied nine hits in a 4-2 win against Arizona State at Farrington Stadium Friday night.
 
Freshman starting pitcher Kaitlyn Terry allowed just two hits and struck out six batters in a complete-game effort. Redshirt senior catcher Sharlize Palacios recorded the 200th hit of her collegiate career in the top of the first inning with a double over the third base line. Palacios' two-bagger kickstarted the Bruins' (32-10, 15-4) offense, putting two in scoring position with just one out.
 
Sun Devils (19-28, 3-19 Pac-12) starter Deborah Jones issued seven free passes – six walks and one hit-by-pitch – in her outing. After Palacios' double, Jones intentionally walked Megan Grant to load the bases and face Jordan Woolery who she hit with a pitch on a 3-0 count to plate UCLA's first run of the game. Jones limited any further damage in the inning but ran up her pitch count to 34.
 
The Bruins left a total of 11 runners on base and stranded the bases loaded in the first and third innings.
 
Terry faced two over the minimum (23 batters) and threw 85 pitches in her outing. She improved her record to 14-1 on the season. The southpaw from Glendale, Ariz. struck out the first and third batters in a scoreless first inning.
 
UCLA had its first batter reach base in each of the first four innings. Seneca Curo led off the top of the second inning with a bloop single to right field. A walk to Maya Brady put two on with one out for Jadelyn Allchin who hit a groundball to second base. Arizona State infielder Libby Walsh flipped to shortstop for the easy force out. Curo, trying to score from second base on the play, was tagged out at home plate on the throw by Alesia Denby to end the inning.
 
The Bruins answered in the bottom of the second with a double play of their own. Brady snagged a line drive and doubled off a runner at first base. Terry induced a fly out to center field on the very next pitch to get out of the inning on just four pitches.
 
Woolery singled to right field to put runners on the corners with one out, threatening again in the top of the third. The next batter, Taylor Stephens, reached on a high chopper to Arizona State's shortstop to load the bases. Ramsey Suarez was called upon to pinch hit and came through with a knock to right field to stretch the lead to 2-0. Suarez is now batting 6-for-14 with five RBI in pinch-hit situations this season. The six pinch hits lead the team.
 
Terry retired the side in the bottom half of the third on 11 pitches.
 
Brady reached on a fielding error by Libby and Allchin singled up the middle to set the table with nobody out for Palacios in the fourth inning. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week logged her second hit of the ballgame with an RBI single to right field. The Bruins loaded the bases for the third time in four innings following a walk to Stephens. UCLA scratched its final run of the game across on a wild pitch by Jones. Allchin bolted home on the play and slid head first to beat the tag.
 
Denby smoked a liner over the center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Sun Devils on the board and cut the Bruins' lead in half, 4-2.
 
Terry settled in and retired the last 11 batters she faced. She ended the game with a six-pitch seventh inning. Palacios recorded the final out of the game by sliding on her knees toward the netting to catch a pop-up along the backstop.
 
The Bruins look to clinch their 18th regular-season conference championship in program history and 13th as a member of the Pac-12 in game two tomorrow evening. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. (PT) on the Pac-12 Networks.