TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State softball team clinched its first home series win over California since the 2002 season with an overpowering 11-0 rout in five innings on Saturday. Three home runs on the day provided eight of the Sun Devils' nine runs.
Mackenzie Popescue earned the shutout win for ASU (41-7, 12-5 Pac-12), striking out three in five innings. Nikki Owens took the loss for 10th-ranked California (35-11, 9-8 Pac-12) to fall to 2-1.
Haley Steele got things started for ASU, as the sophomore third baseman laced a three-run homer to left-center that give the Devils a 3-0 lead in the first.
ASU used two more long balls in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 8-0. Amber Freeman hit the second three-run homer of the game, her team-leading 16th of the season, and Bethany Kemp followed with a two-run shot of her own.
With the three home runs to start Saturday, all 18 runs by that point in the series had been scored via ASU's nine homers.
In the bottom of the third, it was a single through the left side by Cheyenne Coyle that plated the first set of runs for ASU on a hit other than a homer. Coyle's two-RBI shot brought in both Abby and Mary Spiel. Kemp then singled in Bailey Wigness for her third RBI of the game to make it 11-0.
Steele finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. Kemp wasn't far behind, also 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored.
The 11 runs scored were the most for the Devils since they tallied the same amount against Stanford on April 6.
ASU and Cal will conclude their series at 3 p.m. Sunday.
