TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State softball finished off an unbeaten weekend at the Diamond Devil Invitational on Sunday with a 12-3 mercy-rule win over UC Davis and a 6-0 shutout of New Mexico State. The Sun Devils went 4-0 overall at the event to improve to 25-1.
ASU outscored its weekend opponents 36-5 and pitched a pair of shutouts as well.
Mackenzie Popescue improved to 11-0 in the early game, moving just two wins shy of her career high of 13 set in 2011. In the second game, Dallas Escobedo dominated in the circle to earn the 74th win of her career, just two wins shy of fifth place on the school's all-time list.
Offensively, Sam Parlich had two home runs in the win over UC Davis -- the 22nd and 23rd of her career, moving her into 12th in ASU history -- while Alix Johnson hit her sixth home run of the year and Amber Freeman hit her eighth as ASU pulled away for a five-inning mercy victory. It was the fourth time in Parlich's career with multiple homers in a single game.
Cheyenne Coyle and Bethany Kemp homered in the late game, with Coyle's long ball her team-leading 10th of the year and Kemp's her third. Coyle needs just two more homers to move into the top 20 in ASU's single-season record book.
It was the final home tournament of the year for the Devils, who will play their first road game of the season next week at Cal State Fullerton.
