On a chilly night in Tempe, Kentucky (2-0) defeated Arizona State (1-1) 5-2 on the opening night of the Kajikawa Classic thanks to several big flies and an impressive pitching performance from Chanda Bell.

Bell pitched a complete game for Kentucky, allowing one earned run and striking out 14. The sophomore took a shutout into the sixth inning before Ashley Muenz put ASU on the board with a homerun to leftfield.

“She did a good job hitting her spots, and we didn’t adjust well,” said ASU head coach Clint Myers.

Rachel Riley singled to open up the top of the second inning for Kentucky and scored a few batters later on a RBI-single by Annie Rowlands. The early run broke open the scoring and put the Wildcats up for good.

Kentucky gained a couple of insurance runs in the next inning when Brittany Cervantes crushed a home run to left. The smash was a no-doubter from the moment it left the bat, clearing the wall by at least 20 feet.

The Arizona State batters squandered several scoring chances early in the game before Muenz came through in the sixth with her homer.

In the third inning, Arizona State managed to string together two walks and a hit by Kaylyn Castillo to load the bases. However, Bell came through in the clutch for Kentucky and secured one of her 14 strikeouts to end the threat.

The Devils also put runners on first and second in both the second and fourth innings before Bell came up with timely strikeouts to end each inning.

“We’ve got to stay more relaxed and stop pressing at the plate,” Myers said. “When we’re successful, we’re staying in the zone. We’re a lot more patient.”

Kentucky added two more runs on solo shots in the fourth and sixth innings by Rowlands and Molly Johnson.

Megan Elliot picked up the loss for the Devils, surrendering four earned runs on 11 hits. She struck out four and walked none.

Unlike the late game, the Sun Devils had plenty of pop in their bats earlier in the day against Ole Miss. Arizona State clobbered the Rebels 13-0 in five innings.

Former Phoenix Horizon standout Katelyn Boyd, Paradise Valley High School grad Annie Lockwood and Castillo led the potent ASU offensive attack. Boyd drilled two home runs, while Lockwood and Castillo collected one each.

Freshman second baseman/pitcher and Chandler Basha High School graduate Sam Parlich collected the first hit of her collegiate career in the fourth inning. She also struck out one batter in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.