TEMPE -- The No. 21 Arizona State softball team defeated Oregon State 4-3 on Sunday afternoon, scoring in the seventh to walk off with the win.
ASU won the rubber match of the series against the Beavers in front of 1,569 fans at Farrington Stadium.
Back-to-back Oregon State errors in the bottom of the seventh allowed pinch runner Breona Peralta to come home for the winning run.
Amber Freeman and Bethany Kemp continued their hot streaks at the plate, both hitting home runs. Kemp regained the team lead in homers with her solo shot in the second, but Freeman responded in the Devils' next at-bats, with a two-run shot to center field, her 14th homer of the season.
Kemp has hit a home run in each of her last five games; Freeman hit a home run in all three games of the series against the Beavers.
Dale Ryndak started the game for the Devils and picked up a no-decision. The freshman right-hander worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five. Breanna Macha picked up the 13th win of her freshman campaign, throwing 2 2/3 innings, striking out two.
Both pitchers worked in and out of trouble against the Beavers, allowing 11 hits and four total walks, yet stranding 12 runners on base. This was the first conference game all season in which the ASU pitching staff did not give up a home run.
The Sun Devils (29-16, 7-7) jumped out to a three-run lead in the third inning after Kemp and Freeman's home runs. But the Beavers (24-19, 5-13) responded with three runs over the next two frames.
In the sixth, OSU had two runners on with two outs and three-hole hitter Dani Gilmore, who was 3-for-3 at that point, at the plate. Macha fell behind 3-0 to Gilmore, before battling back and striking out the left-handed hitter looking to end the threat.
Oregon State once again staged a rally in the seventh. The Beavers loaded the bases with two outs, but Macha once again buckled down, inducing an inning-ending fly out to left.
Sierra Rodriguez led the Devils' seventh off with a bloop single into left center. Pinch hitter Allie Butterfield bunted the first pitch into the air right at pitcher Taylor Cotton, who dropped the ball; everyone was safe on the play. Chelsea Gonzales then hit an 0-2 pitch on the ground to second baseman Mikela Manewa, who threw the ball over the shortstop's head into the outfield, allowing the winning run to score.
The Sun Devils will return to action at home next weekend in a three-game Pac-12 series against Utah, starting Friday.
