ASU completes improbable comeback in walk-off win

(Photo: Sydney Dull/WCSN)

TEMPE – With the sun out on Sunday afternoon, Arizona State’s offense was melting away from its eight-run performance just the night before. But with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh in a tie game, junior infielder Katie Chester was in the same scenario every kid dreamed of growing up playing ball in their backyard. 

 

With ASU’s (4-1) matchup against Memphis (2-3) being the final game of the Kajikawa Classic, it had lived up to its name with a Sunday to remember. With an 0-1 count, Chester pounced on the second pitch of the at-bat and hit a walk-off single, throwing her hands in the air with excitement after completing a three-run comeback for the Sun Devils in their 4-3 win.

 

Memphis junior right-handed pitcher Taniyah Brown was dominant in the circle with offspeed that had ASU off-balance all game. The Sun Devils were making contact but barrels were hard to find, two infield singles accounted for the only two hits it had through six innings. 

 

ASU created traffic on the bases in the third inning and had runners on second and third with less than two outs, but that only resulted in one run.

 

Brown was very cautious about who she pitched to aggressively and when. The cleanup hitter for ASU, Katie Chester, got a steady diet of changeups throughout the contest with anything else being off the plate. 

 

“Their pitcher did a really nice job,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. 

 

On the other end, junior right-hander Meika Lauppe was in full control in the circle early on, but Memphis was battling at the plate. The fourth inning began to reveal command issues for the ASU pitcher, as a wild pitch advanced the runner to third for the Tigers. Lauppe worked out of multiple jams but seemed to be out of rhythm. 

 

Leadoff singles followed by sacrifice bunts advanced runners multiple times into scoring position, and in the fifth inning that bit the Devils hard. Redshirt sophomore Ariel Davis brought out the rye, bread, and mustard, and hit an absolute moonshot after an eight pitch at bat giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead. 

 

Everyone in Alberta B. Farrington stadium was silent, except for the Memphis dugout after the ball that reached the roof across the walkway, propelled instantaneous momentum for the visitors. 

 

ASU seemed to be in a state of shock as it was already relying on the pitching to deliver, with a stagnant offense. The Sun Devils were down to their final six outs and as the shade rolled in, things were looking gloomy. 

 

In the sixth inning Aissa Silva took over in the circle and made quick work of Memphis with two strikeouts and a groundout, which carried over into the seventh. 

 

To this point, Taniyah Brown had thrown six innings of one run ball and showed no signs of stopping. Bartlett came out of the dugout and had decided enough was enough, pinch hitting junior infielder Nehada Lewis for freshman catcher Avery Motroni. A pitch later, and the first hit of the day to the outfield for ASU was off the wall for a long single. 

 

“It felt good to do something good for my team, and for this program as well,” Motroni said. 

 

In succession, an error at third by junior infielder Aubrey WIlliams revived the Sun Devils in the dugout, and that shift in energy was all they needed. Brown surrendered a walk to load the bases, forcing a pitching change. Freshman pitcher Avery Stutts came in, and followed with two more walks, trying the game. 

 

Fans were on their feet as Chester stepped to the plate, and she delivered in the clutchest at bat of the year for the Sun Devils, in walk off fashion. 

 

“Thats a big time win at this point in the year,” Bartlett said, “Any win is a good win.” 

 

ASU rounded out the tournament, going 4-1, and will look ahead to their next matchup in the Littlewood Invitational, against Portland State. 

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