(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
A top 25 softball matchup that started on Monday night in Tempe ended a night later, with the visiting No. 12 Tennessee Lady Vols defeating No. 23 ASU 8-5 under the lights at Farrington Stadium.
The two day finale of the Kajikawa Classic proved to be a disappointing ending to an otherwise impressive opening weekend for the Sun Devils (4-2).
Timely hitting from Tennessee, along with a too-little too-late effort from the ASU offense, proved to be the difference in a back and forth game that kept a sparse crowd engaged and vocal until the final out.
After a no hit performance Sunday, ASU head coach Trisha Ford sent Cielo Meza back to the circle to get the start against a daunting Tennessee lineup. If there was to be any sort of “no hit hangover,” the red shirt senior didn’t show it early, striking out the side in order in the first.
The Lady Vols’ bats wouldn’t stay quiet for long however, as a pair of RBI doubles in the top of the second from Ashley Morgan and Ally Shipman spotted Tennessee an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the third, the Tennessee offense reared its head again, punctuated by what appeared to be a three-run home run from Kaili Phillips. As she watched her blast sail over the left center field wall, she passed her teammate at first base, resulting in an out and only two Tennessee runs scoring on the play.
These were the last two runs scored on Monday, as the game was officially postponed after three and a half innings, following a 30 minute delay.
“As a coaching staff we used the extra day to watch some film and prepare for the rest of the game,” Ford said. “The players went to school and did their normal thing, I’m glad we got an opportunity to see some adversity with the delay early on in the season.”
For the Sun Devil offense, Tuesday’s continuation couldn’t come soon enough. After a scoreless fourth inning kicked off the resumption of the contest, ASU got on the board the hard way, manufacturing two runs in the home half of the fifth. Bella Loomis recorded an RBI while grounding into a double play, while Maddi Hackbarth followed with an RBI infield single on a ground ball down the third base line.
“As the game goes on we tend to figure things out,” Ford said of her team’s offensive adjustments. “We got used to seeing that type of velocity, and our hitters had a better plan today. We just needed that big hit with runners on base tonight. We left ten runners on base while they only left three.”
After Madison Preston logged two impressive innings in a unique relief situation, Tennessee broke through in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of two costly walks on their way to a four-run frame that gave them a comfortable 8-3 lead. A two-run shot from Amanda Ayala highlighted the onslaught.
The Sun Devils put together a late rally in the bottom of the seventh when Kiara Kennedy wore a pitch with the bases loaded and Jazmine Hill hit a sac fly to deep center, but the two late runs came up short.
The Devils will now have two days to prepare for another packed weekend as they will host the Littlewood Classic.
“We’re going to be tidying up our baserunning and defense,” Ford said when asked about what the team needs to work on in the immediate future. “Cielo (Meza) and (Madison) Preston will continue to get better, but we’ll focus on baserunning and outfield communcation as our hot ticket items.”
Friday night, ASU hosts another doubleheader with games against Illinois State at 4:30 p.m., and SEC power Kentucky at 7:00 p.m.
