(Photo: Elaine Wilson/WCSN)
No. 20 Arizona State looked to bounce back from the loss last night against No. 12 Washington and ended up dropping their second straight.
It did not take long for the Washington offense to pick up where it left off. In the top of the first inning, senior first baseman Kimberlee Souza sent a two-run home run over the right field fence.
The runs kept pouring in for the Huskies in the second inning.
It started with a solo home run from freshman catcher Morganne Flores, and continued when the second run of the inning came home to score on a delayed double steal when the runner was called safe at second base.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Breanna Macha was pulled after giving up a double to the next batter, which brought around Washington’s fifth run.
“I think she just deviated from the plan,” co-interim head coach Letty Olivarez said. “I think with the hitters that happened to beat her we said one thing and she went with another thing.”
The Sun Devils struggled to figure out junior left-handed pitcher Casey Stangel. Through the first three innings, ASU could only manage two hits.
Sophomore right fielder Nichole Chilson got ASU on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with a dead center home run.
“I was seeing the ball really well myself,” Chilson said. “But for others maybe we weren’t seeing the ball as well tonight as we usually do.”
The Sun Devils threatened to score in the fifth, but could not bring the runners around, as freshman third baseman Taylor Becerra grounded out and Chilson flied out.
Kessler had not allowed a run since coming in for relief until the top of the seventh when sophomore right fielder Krystal Aubert took her deep to center field, extending the Huskies lead to 6-1.
ASU could not muster up any sort of a rally in the seventh and dropped the second game of this series 6-1.
“I think we need to swing at good pitches,” co-interim head coach Robert Wagner said. “Offensively we need to have a sense of urgency.”
The final game of the series will be played at 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. Weather forecasts show a high chance of rain in the afternoon.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Jacob Franklin via Twitter @JFrankSports or via email at jacobfranklin093@gmail.com.
