Sun Devils Slide Past Huskers
With the victory, the third-seeded Sun Devils (39-25) move into the winners' bracket final to face suprising No. 6 seed Florida Atlantic at 11 a.m. Saturday (May 22). No. 2 seed Nebraska (32-20) will try to battle its way through the losers' bracket, beginning with a 1:30 p.m. game Saturday against fifth-seeded Notre Dame.
In the top of the seventh, Jamie Hlebechuk singled to centerfield with out out, and following a strikeout, Missy Hixon singled to leftfield to move Hlebechuk into scoring position at second base. Gall then blooped a 2-2 pitch into rightfield to score Hlebechuk with the game-winning run.
Defense and superior pitching were key factors on both sides of the meeting. Arizona State's Kirsten Voak gave a stellar performance, allowing one hit -- a second-inning single to Jenifer Williams -- and recording nine strikeouts while facing just 22 batters, one over the minimum. She retired the final 16 batters to record her fourth shutout of the season. Voak's counterpart, Jenny Voss, turned in a good game as well, striking out seven while giving up seven hits and the lone run of the game.
Arizona State had scoring chances earlier in the game but Voss and the Nebraska defense suppressed Sun Devil scoring opportunities in the third and fifth innings. In the third inning, Jen Langenhuizen drew a two-out walk and advanced to third on a single before Voss struck out Chris Gill to end the inning. In the fifth, Voss got Langenhuizen to pop out to shortstop with a runner on third base for the final out of the inning.
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