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PALO ALTO, Calif. -- All nine Sun Devil starters logged at least one hit and the No. 24/23 Arizona State University softball team logged its second-straight run-rule victory in a 16-6 effort in six innings over Stanford on Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif.
Sashel Palacios went 4-for-4 with an RBI - improving her series numbers to 7-for-7 with four RBI and two walks -- to lead the Sun Devil effort and five Sun Devils logged multiple hits in the game.
The ASU offense overcame a slow start, going scoreless in the first three innings before piling on 16 runs total in the fourth, fifth and sixth. The Devils finished with 17 hits in the contest, walking five times.
Haley Steele added three more RBI in the game and now has eight in the series and 63 on the season, a total good for sixth in ASU single-season lore.
Freshman Dale Ryndak earned the complete game victory for the Sun Devils (32-18, 10-9 Pac-12), improving to 14-8 on the season. Ryndak overcame two rocky innings, spreading six hits and six runs over six innings but closed strong and held the Cardinal scoreless in the final two innings after allowing them a 6-5 lead in the fourth.
With last night's 20-run effort, the 36 runs scored in the two games of the series are the most in consecutive Pac-12 conference games for the Sun Devils in program history.
Stanford (16-34, 1-19 Pac-12) would get on the scoreboard first, picking up two runs in the bottom of the third on a Kayla Bonstrom double to the gap in left for their first runs and first lead of the series.
It took a while for the Devils to find their groove -- and it took a couple of blemishes by the Stanford defense to make it happen -- but ASU was finally able to get the offense going in the top of the fourth after stranding six runners through the first three innings.
Bethany Kemp and Sashel Palacios opened the inning with back-to-back singles and Jennifer Soria loaded the bases with a one-out walk to bring up the top of the lineup.
Sierra Rodriguez picked up an RBI the hard way, wearing one on the elbow to bring across Kemp and get ASU on the board.
That looked like it would be the extent of the offense in the inning as Elizabeth Caporuscio grounded into what looked like it would be a routine double play at second, but Erin Ashby's errant throw to first allowed Palacios and Soria to score on the play and gave ASU its first lead of the game at 3-2.
An error by shortstop Kaitlin Schaberg put Chelsea Gonzales on base with two outs and that allowed Amber Freeman to knock an RBI single to right center to score Caporuscio and make it a 4-2 game. Haley Steele followed that with a single up the middle to plate Gonzales and give ASU a 5-2 lead.
Stanford would answer in the bottom half of the inning as Jessica Plaza led off with a solo shot to left off Ryndak to bring the Cardinal back within 5-3.
Arden Petit would reach on an infield error and come home a couple batters later on a Bessie Noll two-out single to left to bring Stanford back within a run and Kylie Sorenson would square the game at 5-5 with an RBI single on the next at-bat.
The Cardinal would retake the lead right away as Bonstrom knocked her third RBI of the game to put Stanford back up, 6-5.
The Devils answered the rally with a seven-run rally of their own in the top of the fifth, five of which came with two outs as ASU took advantage of a couple more Cardinal errors.
ASU loaded the bases with one out, retaking a 7-6 lead on a two-RBI Caporuscio double and another would come home on a infield error to make it an 8-6 game.
