Softball Drops 6-0 Decision to No. 7 Arizona State

(boxscore)

05/20/06 - Long Island University fell to No. 7 Arizona State, 6-0, in game two of the NCAA Softball Regional in Hempstead, N.Y. on Saturday morning. The Blackbirds will face Penn State, who lost to Hofstra earlier this morning in extra innings, at approximately 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.

LIU had base hits in each of the first three innings but was unable to take advantage. Sophomore Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, Va.), senior Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, Calif.) and sophomore Celina Castillo (Redwood City, Calif.) each had singles but Arizona State starter Desiree Serrano was able to get out of the frame each time. Serrano finished her complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts and allowed only those three singles in the contest.

The Sun Devils opened the scoring in the second frame. A check-swing infield single by sophomore Mindy Cowles put a runner on first with two outs. Bianca Cruz followed with a double over the head of left fielder Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) that plated Cowles and gave ASU the early advantage.

In the third, an LIU miscue allowed Arizona State to score its second run. An error on Castillo and a single by Jackie Vasquez put runners on first and second with one out. After a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners, a double steal plated freshman Jessica Mapes and put the Sun Devils ahead, 2-0.

A two-run home run by Cowles, her 16th of the season, started a four-run fourth inning that pushed ASU’s advantage to 6-0. Mapes and freshman All-American candidate Kaitlin Cochran each had RBI singles in the inning. Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year Jenny Giles (Melbourne, Fla.) allowed five earned runs on eight hits while striking out five as she fell to 22-16 on the season.