(Photo via Sam Polgreen/WCSN)
TEMPE — The Sun Devils headed into Friday’s doubleheader and the second day of the Sun Devil Classic looking to bounce back after a loss to Texas State 12-2 Thursday evening. In their first game, they faced Seton Hall, who had just four games under its belt and only one win. Their second was a more difficult matchup with Ohio State, which had lost just one game entering Friday.
Seton Hall’s pitcher senior Sydney Babik kept the Devils quiet in the first four innings, but a three-run spurt in the bottom of the fifth was too much for the Pirates (1-5) to overcome. ASU rode the arms of its pitching duo of senior right-handers Mac Osborne and Deborah Jones to victory in a 4-2 win.
The second game, however, was a different story in the circle. Graduate righty Marissa Schuld started in the circle for the Devils but gave up four runs in the first two innings. When all seemed lost down 6-0 in the fifth inning, ASU (9-5) came roaring back against the Buckeyes (6-3) and won in 10 innings, 12-10. This was the first time since the 2022 Super Regionals against Northwestern that ASU had played that many innings in a game.
“The defense did a really great job tonight,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “The pitching staff is mainly veterans, so I know what I’ll get out of them night to night, but the defense has a lot of ability. We just have to find a way to take care of the routine balls and keep it together.”
Osborne started in the circle for the Sun Devils against Seton Hall in her eighth appearance and sixth start of the season. In the first three innings, she held the Pirates to two hits, but the Devils themselves struggled early, not getting a hit until the fourth inning.
Seton Hall opened up the scoring on an RBI single from sophomore infielder Caroline Hobbes in the fourth inning. The Devils had a chance in the bottom half of the inning to tie up the game, but stranded sophomore outfielder Yannixa Acuña on second to keep the game at 1-0.
The Sun Devils’ bats came alive in the fifth inning with an RBI double by freshman outfielder Jada Lewis. Lewis was then brought in for the second run of the inning by Acuña on an RBI double of her own. The Sun Devils weren’t finished yet, as an RBI triple by graduate shortstop Alesia Denby made it a 3-1 game.
A walk and single in the sixth inning by Seton Hall meant that Osborne’s evening was over, finishing with six strikeouts in five innings. Jones came in for Osborne for her fourth appearance this season, third in relief.
Jones started the inning strong with back-to-back strikeouts, but the Pirates managed to get a run with an RBI single by sophomore Erin Howard to end the inning down just one run.
A triple by senior infielder Kayla Lissy and an infield hit by freshman catcher Samantha Swan added an insurance run to make the game 4-2. Jones made sure the score stayed that way, earning the save in the ASU victory.
“We batted through both games, obviously very different games,” Bartlett said. “(The players) are really committed to the process and the program and work so hard to make Sun Devil nation proud. They took last night’s loss pretty hard. To have that kind of fight and response today made me so proud.”
Schuld got the call to start in the circle in the second game against Ohio State in her sixth appearance and third start. The Buckeyes came out swinging and led 2-0 after the first inning thanks to a two-run home run from freshman Jasmyn Burns, her fourth of the year.
Schuld gave up two more runs in the second but came back strong in the third with two strikeouts and a popup for a 1-2-3 third inning. On the other hand, struggles at the plate continued for the Devils, as they headed into the fourth inning with a goose egg on the scoreboard still hanging over their heads.
The next two innings were more of the same, with the Sun Devils mustering up just two hits through five innings. A pair of solo home runs in the fourth and fifth made it a 6-0 Ohio State lead, planting them firmly in the driver’s seat. The fifth-inning solo shot was Schuld’s last pitch of the night, with Osborne making her second appearance of the night coming in relief.
“(Osborne and Jones) are veterans,” Bartlett said. “That’s just how they threw today. They didn’t try to huff it past people. The moment didn’t get too big. They spotted up and got some good results.”
Then, chaos ensued. It started with a three-run pinch-hit home run from Swan to cut the Buckeyes lead in half. Then, Acuña singled and later scored off a wild pitch to end the fifth inning down only 6-4.
“I feel really supported on this team,” Swan said. “Every girl on the team is always there for me and has my back. I was looking for anything to help the team and it just turned out to be a home run this time.”
In the seventh inning, the score was 6-5 after an RBI sac fly from graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall. The Sun Devils were down to their last strike with Lissy at the plate. She hit a clutch RBI single to send the game into extra innings.
Both teams then scored in the eighth. Ohio State then tacked on another thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI single from Burns. With that, the Buckeyes carried a 9-7 lead going into the bottom half of the ninth inning.
Once again, Hall came in clutch with an RBI single to tie the game and force another inning of play. Farrington Stadium buzzed with energy, with ASU star junior running back Cam Skattebo and other ASU football players leading chants all night.
“Having the football team out here hyping us up was awesome and that’s what we do for them,” sophomore outfielder Tanya Windle said. “Sun Devil Athletics is like a family. The chemistry that all the sports have is great, and that’s what drives us to do better in all of our games.”
After two straight strikeouts, Ohio State prevailed once again with an RBI single by senior outfielder Taylor Heckman. The Sun Devils needed someone to step up and put the game to rest. Freshman infielder Libby Walsh walked up to the plate like a seasoned veteran and tied the game with an RBI single, which brought up catcher Sara Kinch.
On a 1-0 count with just one out in the inning, Kinch’s eyes lit up as she saw the perfect pitch, and crushed it. The ball sailed over the left field wall, the Devils rushed the field, and the crowd roared.
“Everyone on the team is so supportive, and we get so hype for each other no matter what,” Kinch said. “It is the best feeling, getting to run into home plate and have everyone huddled around you.”
With the pair of wins, Bartlett’s team has a rejuvenated energy heading into tomorrow’s doubleheader against Utah Valley and Idaho State.
“We’ll of course have to corral the excitement and emotion in the morning, but tomorrow is just about taking care of business,” Bartlett said. “You have to get the emotions back to zero and methodically go back to our approach.”
