(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
Three games through the Mary Nutter Classic in California, the No. 17 Arizona State Sun Devils (11-2) continue to find success on the softball field with only a couple of exceptions.
ASU played a double-header Friday, topping Mississippi State before losing to No.4 Oklahoma. The Devils came back with a win on Saturday, handling LIU Brooklyn to improve to 2-1 so far on the weekend with two more games yet to come.
Game 1: Arizona State 3, Mississippi State 1
The Sun Devils began the tournament with a fairly challenging opponent in Mississippi State. Despite being unranked, the Bulldogs loss to ASU was only their second defeat of the season, and they beat a ranked opponent in Nebraska later on Friday.
The Sun Devils got a couple runs over on Mississippi State in the first inning. Freshman Danielle Gibson sent a full-count double to center field, allowing the Devils to tack on two unearned runs.
Freshman Mia Davidson got the Bulldogs on the board with a solo homer in the fourth, but Mississippi State would not find home plate again. ASU padded its lead slightly in the seventh on a double from Jade Gortarez.
Sophomore pitcher Giselle Juarez was undoubtedly the star of the game for Arizona State. The homer by Davidson was the only hit Mississippi State made in the game. Juarez also struck out 12 while walking only one, bringing her total on the season to nine walks and 47 strikeouts.
Game 2: Arizona State 2, Oklahoma 7
ASU’s second game of Thursday’s double-header did not turn out as well as the first. Up until last week, Oklahoma had consistently been No.1 in the polls before a loss to Boston University.
Things began to go awry quickly for senior Breanna Macha and the ASU defense. Junior Sydney Romero got a runner home on a groundout. Soon after, freshman Jocelyn Alo hit a two-run dinger to extend the Sooners’ lead.
The first inning was the start of a rough outing for ASU’s senior pitcher, who took her first loss of the season and gave up eight hits and seven runs in seven innings pitched.
On the other side, ASU attempted to close the gap quickly, playing opportunistically in the second inning. Ashley Moss reached home on a fielding error. Nichole Chilson followed soon after on a fielder’s choice by Taylor Becerra.
While the Sun Devils managed to get by in the second inning, they were not able to consistently get their bats working. Some of ASU’s top hitters had uncharacteristically quiet outings in Thursday’s contest. Morgan Howe, who leads ASU with a .474 average, went 0-of-3. Kindra Hackbarth, second in average on the team, went 0-of-4.
Without consistent hitting, the Devils were unable to respond when Oklahoma tacked on three runs in the top of the third inning and one more in the seventh, leading to ASU’s second loss this season.
Game 3: Arizona State 9, LIU Brooklyn 5
The Sun Devils continued the tournament on Saturday with less daunting competition in LIU Brooklyn. The Blackbirds came into Friday’s game 3-7, coming off a 10-0 loss to Kennesaw State.
Early on, it looked like another blowout against LIU Brooklyn. The Sun Devils posted a very productive second inning, scoring four runners, all off singles. ASU continued to apply pressure in the next inning, extending its lead to six. A three-run, no-out homer by Maddi Hackbarth in the fourth looked to be the final statement ASU needed to make, running away with a 9-0 lead.
However, the Blackbirds did not go quietly. A home run by Nereyda Gutierrez put LIU Brooklyn on the board, and they shut down ASU in the top of the fifth. Still in run rule territory, the Blackbirds tried to give ASU a taste of its own medicine. They scored four runs on three singles, all with two outs, to keep the game going. The Devils committed three errors in that inning to leave LIU Brooklyn with a bit of hope.
However, the Devils gathered themselves and got through the final two innings without incident, earning their second victory of the tournament. ASU now looks ahead to Liberty on Saturday and Cal State Fullerton on Sunday before returning home.
