Box scores
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State softball improved to 7-2 on the year by notching two wins Friday on the opening day of the Littlewood Classic. The Sun Devils blanked Central Michigan 7-0 in the early game, then got a game-winning three-run homer from Elizabeth Caporuscio to beat Iowa 5-2 in the late game.
Mary Littlewood, whom the tournament is coined after, threw out the first pitch of ASU's opener in front of a crowd of 914 fans at Farrington Stadium.
Hillary Bach was stellar in the circle against CMU, going the distance with nine strikeouts to drop the Chippewas to 0-2 on the year. Late-game heroics from Elizabeth Caporuscio helped the Sun Devils go 2-0 on the day, as the freshman belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to help ASU pull out the 5-2 win. Caporuscio finished the game 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
Game 1: ASU 7, Central Michigan 0
The Sun Devils got on the board first in the opener when Katelyn Boyd scored on an Amber Freeman hit to left in the opening frame, putting ASU on top 1-0.
In the third, ASU stretched its lead to 3-0 on a two-run homer by Boyd. Bailey Wigness scored on the homer after reaching on a single through the left side in the prior at-bat.
Caporuscio then hit her third home run of the year on a drive to right-center in the fifth, plating pinch runner Talor Haro, who was on base via a Freeman walk. The Chippewas brought in Kristen Kuhlman to replace Chelsea Sundberg and record the final two outs, but the Devils finished the inning with a 5-0 lead.
Two unearned runs in the top of the sixth -- scored by Boyd and Christina Zambrana -- brought the score to 7-0. Bach improved her season mark to 4-0, fanning nine in her fourth shutout of the year. Sundberg took the loss for Central Michigan, falling to 0-1.
Caporuscio finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Wigness went 2 for 2 with a run scored.
Game 2: ASU 5, Iowa 2
In ASU's slowest start of the season, both teams remained scoreless heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Iowa got a double down the right-field line by Katie Keim that plated two and gave the Hawkeyes a 2-0 edge.
An ASU rally in the bottom of the seventh saw Zambrana lead off with a single up the middle. Nikole Afusia then walked before Wigness reaching on a fielder's choice. Zambrana scored on an ensuing error to cut the deficit to one run.
Annie Lockwood then tied it with a single down the right-field line that brought in pinch runner Kayla Ketchum for another unearned run. Caporuscio finished off the comeback in style, sending everyone home with a three-run homer that drove in Lockwood and Wigness.
Dallas Escobedo got the win, finishing with 10 strikeouts, while Iowa's Kayla Massey fell to 1-2 with the loss, striking out three and issuing seven walks in 6 1/3 innings worked.
