(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — In recent history, when Arizona State softball has faced off against New Mexico State it’s been mostly all smiles for the Sun Devils.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Aggies the Sun Devils had taken nine of the last 10. Four of those nine wins were run-rule victories, including the two games prior to this matchup, which came after ASU’s only loss in that span.
Sunday broke that trend and snapped a four-game win streak for the Sun Devils, as Arizona State moved back into the loss column after the short-handed pitching staff struggled in its eighth game in only five days.
The offense had been strong for Arizona State (11-6) during the entirety of the Sun Devil Classic, with the team putting up 30 runs in its last 30 innings heading into Sunday, and that continued with an eight-run showing in seven innings. It was the tired pitching and defense, though, that allowed New Mexico State (9-5) to walk away with the win after 10 Aggies crossed the plate to score.
Early on in the game, it looked like it would be another win for the Sun Devils, however, momentum started shifting in the fifth inning.
Senior right-handed pitcher Deborah Jones was in her fourth inning of work and despite starting the fifth off strong, inducing a lineout, things quickly fell apart.
The nine-hole hitter, senior second baseman Jessica Carreon, bunted for a single, and senior left fielder Jayleen Burton doubled to center field. Out of nowhere, Jones had two runners in scoring position and Arizona State head coach Megan Bartlett made the decision to pull Jones for graduate righty Marissa Schuld.
Schuld, who had already played an exorbitant amount with 18.2 innings pitched since Wednesday, quickly made the decision look smart, getting senior center fielder Jillian Taylor to strike out swinging.
Needing just one more out to exit the jam, Schuld stepped back into the circle to face off against junior designated player Dezianna Patmon.
Patmon and Schuld got into a battle and Patmon kept fouling off pitch after pitch. Finally, in a 2-2 count, on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Patmon got ahold of one, smashing a three-run home run to left field to tie the game up at six runs a piece.
“You have to be great on Sunday, and I don’t care if you play eight games heading into it,” Bartlett said. “I’m like, ‘Welcome to the World Series.’ That is quite literally what happens there.”
Schuld would get out of the inning on her next batter, but the damage was done and the Aggies were back in the ballgame.
The Sun Devils managed to bounce back in the bottom half of the inning, with graduate right fielder Audrey LeClair driving in a run after Burton couldn’t make a play on LeClair’s hit to left field.
The Aggies bounced right back though, tying it at seven in the sixth after sophomore catcher Kendal Lunar launched a home run into orbit.
In the top of the seventh, some sloppy defense gave the Aggies their final lead of the game that they hung onto until victory.
Burton reached base again after senior third baseman Kayla Lissy couldn’t get a good enough throw to first on a bunt. Burton then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and after advancing to third base on a groundout, she scored when Lissy couldn’t keep a grounder hit to her in her glove. Later in the inning, Patmon scored on a wild pitch, and redshirt senior right fielder Kristen Boyd scored on an error by senior right-handed pitcher Mac Osborne.
The three runs gave the Aggies the lead and insurance they needed, as Arizona State didn’t go down quietly.
Sophomore first baseman Shannon Cunningham homered to make the game close and LeClair doubled to left field to put another Sun Devil in scoring position, but she would be the last Sun Devil to reach base, and she went down as the final out of the game at third base.
After freshman second baseman Libby Walsh flew out to shallow left field, Bartlett gave LeClair the sign to tag up and advance, but the throw beat her to the bag, and the game was over.
“Yeah, that was on me,” Bartlett said. “I know better than that. … You should never end games at third base.”
It was an avoidable end to a disappointing loss for the Sun Devils, but despite that, there were things to like about the way the team played.
The offense hit amazingly with two outs and, overall, it was a very nice showing with the bats, especially early on in the game.
“We’re picking good pitches,” Bartlett said. “We’re settling into a bit of a lineup, which is nice. But really, I think we talked early on about the program, I think finding what’s next in the identity, and they love to run. So we’ve got great hitability. … We can get on base. We can push the pace of play and force people to make mistakes and get catchers to throw the ball around.”
Sophomore outfielder Yannixa Acuña added to her weekend’s success in Sunday’s game. Acuña hit her first collegiate home run, a two-run shot that snuck over the right field wall to break the 2-2 tie in the second inning of the game.
Acuña called the moment “amazing” and said she was “a little surprised” the ball made it over the wall.
“When I was rounding first base I was still looking, and I was like ‘Ah I just missed it,’ and then it went over, and I just had the biggest shock on my face,” Acuña said.
Acuña and her teammates will have some time off before the ASU Invitational begins next weekend, and they’ll most likely have some reinforcements with sophomore right-handed pitcher Kylee Magee likely returning to the circle after dealing with an injury.
The good and the bad of the game were learning experiences for not only the players but for Bartlett and her staff as well.
“Every time you’re in that moment you figure out a way to stay a little more calm, keep your head about you. For us (coaches), same thing. It’s how you work your way up the ladder in coaching. You get in the big moment. You make a decision that works. You make a decision that doesn’t. You data collect it and keep moving.”
