ASU Softball: Kleist leads No. 3 Ducks to victory in series opener over No. 7 Sun Devils

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

No.7 Arizona State softball fell to the No. 3 Oregon Ducks, 5-0, Friday night at a windy Farrington Stadium.

The Sun Devils (33-6) lost their sixth game of the season to the hands of the Ducks (33-6), who rode a six-game winning streak into the series opener after sweeping Portland State and No. 9 Arizona.

In the circle, sophomore G Juarez and junior Megan Kleist squared off in a pitcher’s duel. Entering the contest, the two aces maintained earned run averages under one and established dominance against the Pac-12 conference.

The whirling wind played a big factor throughout the entire ball game. Juarez retired the Ducks in the top of the first inning all on adventurous fly outs to the Sun Devil fielders.

The Sun Devils threatened in their first at-bats in what was a wild bottom of the first. With one out and sophomore Jade Gortarez on first, junior Morgan Howe reached on the shortstop DJ Sanders’ choice to feed the ball to second, however second baseman Lauren Lindvall bobbled the ball on the transfer. Despite the error, the umpire ruled Gortarez out at second and head coach Trisha Ford was not happy about the call.

“I thought she was safe,” Ford said. “It’s tough when that call gets made 90 feet away. It was the first inning and we had so much time left to make some things happen. We had our opportunities.”

The Sun Devils managed to get runners on the corners in the inning, however Kleist was able to work out of the jam by striking out senior Marisa Stankiewicz.

The Sun Devil defense was sturdy early on behind Juarez despite the strong wind. With the ball tailing away, Gortarez snagged a line drive off the bat of Lauren Burke to end the second frame.

In the top of the third, Kindra Hackbarth robbed Lindvall of a lead-off, extra-base hit as she made a diving catch on a flare down the right field line. After a couple of Ducks reached on walks, the quick reflexes of freshman Bella Loomis and Gortarez on the right side of the infield helped ASU escape the trouble.

As the game lingered on scoreless, the wind intensified and the fielders had a tough time tracking down fly balls. Sand and debris flew across the field all night; however, the weather was not the overarching reason for ASU’s defeat.

“At the end of the day, the wind is not an excuse just because [the Ducks] are playing in it as well,” Gortarez said. “The wind got the best of us on one pop up, but other than that, it was not a big deal.”

The Ducks broke up the tie game in the top of the fifth. Following a lead-off double, Sanders raced home on a Sun Devil throwing error to give Oregon a 1-0 advantage. The next Duck hitter Shannon Rhodes ripped a single over the head of left fielder Skylar McCarty, extending Oregon’s lead to 2-0.

A scary sight formed in the top of the sixth inning as Stankiewicz and K. Hackbarth collided trying to catch a dangerous pop out to shallow right. Hackbarth was slow to get up as she held her right side in discomfort. Nevertheless, she stayed in the game.

“[Hackbarth] is going to be a little sore,” Ford said after the game. “She’s a tough kid.”

On the very next pitch from Juarez, freshman Mary Iakopo wasted no time and crushed a two-run bomb to deep center for her fifth homerun of the season. The Sun Devil fans in the stands watched in astonishment as Oregon doubled its lead, 4-0.

On the offensive side of things, Kleist was untouchable. The Sun Devils only mustered three hits off her, two of which came off the bat of freshman Danielle Gibson. Kleist retired the last 18 Sun Devil hitters. Kleist collected her 12th complete game victory, struck out ten while not allowing a walk.

For Juarez, it was not her sharpest outing. The lefty surrendered two earned runs on six hits and five walks.

Senior Jenna Lilley added a solo shot to right field in the top of seventh to put a cap on the scoreboard as Oregon took game one by a final score of 5-0.

It was just the second time this year that the Sun Devils offense had been shut out. The other moment occurred against No. 1 Washington in a 7-0 loss back on March 18.

The Sun Devils and Ducks clash again on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT, and wrap up the series on Sunday at 12 p.m. MT.

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