TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State softball team extended its winning streak to 19 games Friday by beating Valparaiso 6-2 and East Carolina 9-1 on the opening day of the Diamond Devil Invitational.
With the two wins, the Sun Devils improved to 23-2 on the season.
The Sun Devils got started early, with four hits in the opening inning putting two runs on the board. That outburst was folloed by a sacrifice fly from Katelyn Boyd in the second inning that scored one to make it 3-0.
Valparaiso kept pace with ASU, though, with the help of an RBI single from Brittany Duncan in the first and a home run from Jessie Marinec in the second to make it a 3-2 game.
Neither team could add to the scoring until the fourth, when back-to-back home runs from Annie Lockwood and Elizabeth Caporuscio widened the lead to three runs at 5-2. The homers were Lockwood’s fifth and Caporuscio’s ninth of the season.
Alix Johnson sealed the deal with a double that drove in Boyd to extend the margin to 6-2.
Hillary Bach improved to 10-0 on the year with the win, and Crusaders pitcher Sam McGee took the loss to fall to 5-3.
ASU's bats stayed hot into the second game, as the Devils batted around in both the first and second innings. ASU scored four runs on six hits in the opening frame, getting a two-run homer from Johnson (her fourth of the year), and the second frame saw another four runs come across on five singles, two of which came with the bases loaded.
East Carolina came to life in the third, with a base hit from Suzanne Riggs plating Chelsea Kaluhiokalani-Glackin, but that was all the offense the Pirates could muster.
ASU put it away in the bottom of the sixth when Boyd drove in Talor Haro to make it 9-1, ending the game via the mercy rule.
Lucy Aubrecht set a new career high with three hits while Lockwood recorded a season-high four hits in the contest. Mackenzie Popescue improved to 5-1 overall with the win.
ASU continues the Diamond Devil Invitational on Saturday, facing the Pacific Tigers at approximately 5:30 p.m. in a game that will be webcast live on FOXSportsArizona.com.
