No. 17 Arizona softball blows out No. 22 ASU, 9-0, to open Pac-12 play

The Arizona softball team won by another blowout margin Friday night in Tempe, this time 9-0 over rival ASU in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.

How the No. 17 Wildcats did it: not by the long ball this time. Rather, they manufactured one run after another, capitalized on four errors by the No. 22 Sun Devils, and had a gem of an outing in the circle yet again from Devyn Netz, who lowered her season ERA to 1.67 with the win.

Netz threw a four-hit shutout, striking out six and walking just one to improve her record to 8-5.

At the plate, the Wildcats (16-6) whittled their way to one run after another against ASU (15-4), scoring once in each of the game’s first five innings. After a scoreless sixth, the Wildcats put four more up in the top of the seventh to cap the scoring.

While Blaise Biringer, Allie Skaggs and Izzy Pacho each had two hits, only two of Arizona’s 10 hits were of the extra-base variety. That included a double by Skaggs to lead off the fifth (she’d later score) and a double by Paige Dimler to kick off that robust top of the seventh. Dimler led the way with two RBis, while Biringer, Skaggs, Pacho and Dakota Kennedy had one each for the Wildcats.

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ASU’s Mackenna Harper was 2 for 3, accounting for half of the Sun Devils’ offensive production. Mac Osborne took the loss for ASU, allowing four hits and four runs (although just one earned) while walking two and striking out five in 3 ⅔ innings. Kenzie Brown allowed two earned in 2⅓ innings of relief, while Deborah Jones gave up three runs (two earned) in one inning.

The Wildcats and Sun Devils square off two more times this weekend. They play Saturday at 5 p.m. — a game televised on Pac-12 Arizona — and Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunday’s finale will be televised nationally on Pac-12 Network.