(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
Arizona State softball continues onward after two prosperous games Saturday against Coastal Carolina and New Mexico State. The No. 16 Sun Devils ended the first game in six innings after Danielle Gibson hit a double to bring two runners home to finish with an 8-0 win.
ASU had a short turn around before taking on the New Mexico State Aggies that night. This game was the second game of the day for both teams.
Even though it was a slow start offensively for the pair, ASU was able to pull away after Marisa Stankiewicz hit a solo home run over centerfield. The Sun Devils won 3-0.
ASU vs. Coastal Carolina (6 innings):
The Chanticleers and Sun Devils started off the game with a quick first inning, each pitcher retiring the order.
In the second inning, CCU pitcher Ashley Guillette loaded the bases with Sun Devils. Guillette needed one more out to end the inning, but instead, she walked Taylor Becerra to bring in the first run for ASU.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kindra Hackbarth came up with the bases loaded. She nailed a double to centerfield, sending two more runners home to make the game 3-0.
Coastal Carolina took out Guillette to replace her with Friday night starter Kaitlin Beasley-Polko in the bottom of the fifth. With two runners on base for the Sun Devils, Nichole Chilson came up to bat.
Chilson bombed Beasley-Polko’s pitch right over her head and over the centerfielder’s head for a three-run home run to give the Sun Devils a 6-0 lead.
“I think we work a lot on getting strikes and I feel really confident in the box right now,” said Chilson. “I went in early today and watched film with Coach Richardson and I was just a little bit under the ball, so it felt good to finally hit one over the fence instead of missing it by a little bit.”
Giselle Juarez’s no-hit bid was broken in the top of the sixth inning after Kailey Mellen hit a double into right field, but the Chanticleers were unable to get any more hits off of Juarez.
The bases were loaded once again for the Devils, and Gibson hit a double to bring in the final two runners to close out the game in an 8-0 win over Coastal Carolina.
Even with the offense rallying for eight runs, Juarez was the Sun Devil player of the game, earning herself a one-hit shutout and a career-high of 13 strikeouts.
“It’s just kind of taking it pitch by pitch and less worrying about them (the batter) and more worrying about me and my zone because that’s been my biggest focus is throwing for my zone as opposed to an umpire or the hitters,” said Juarez.
If her success continues, she could dominate the Pac-12 with conference play around the corner.
ASU vs. New Mexico State:
The start between the Sun Devils and Aggies did not look much different than the first game of the day for ASU. Other than a quick double from Kelsey Horton to lead off the game, batters were retired left and right.
ASU and NMSU were scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning, and before then, it looked as if the game was going to enter extra innings to decide a winner.
The Sun Devils’ patience to get the right pitch from Aggies pitcher Samaria Diaz was clear. Each at bat, they continued to gain more and more information from Diaz, waiting for the right time to strike.
Stankiewicz struck first leading off in the bottom of the sixth. Different team, different pitcher, but when Stankiewicz made contact with the ball, it flew over the fence in centerfield and looked almost identical to Chilson’s in the game before.
Her homerun gave the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead.
“Previous to that (homerun), I didn’t really have a good at bat, and I was just looking for something that I could drive and start something for the team,” said Stankiewicz.
However, Jade Gortarez wanted some glory as well.
Two batters later, Gortarez came up to plate to smash a two-run homerun into the scoreboard to punch a 3-0 lead over the Aggies.
“I was just hoping to square up a ball all day, it was reflecting over the entire day over the last two games progressing through my at-bats,” said Gortarez.
Sun Devil pitcher, Dale Ryndak, threw three strikeouts before being relieved by fellow senior Breanna Macha prior to the start of the sixth inning. Macha also threw three strikeouts in her two-innings pitched.
Two of the three strikeouts from Macha came in the last inning to finish off the game.
“I thought New Mexico State’s Samaria threw really well and kept us off balance,” said head coach Trisha Ford. “It was just a different tone in the dugout, it was more business-like, it was more informational, it was still staying loose but making sure we are taking care of business.”
The Sun Devils advance to 16-2 on the year. Their next game is on Tuesday, March 6, at Farrington Stadium against South Dakota. They then play Georgetown on Wednesday, March 7 and a three-game series against Minnesota starting Friday, March 9.
