(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 22 Arizona State softball opened its 2020 season Friday evening, facing off in a doubleheader against Portland State and Kansas at the annual Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.
The high-powered ASU offense was firing on all cylinders as the team scored 10 and eight in its first and second game, respectively.
Portland State
The Devils trounced the Vikings 10-0 in their opening game that was cut short due to a mercy rule.
After a quick three up, three down on defense, the high-octane Sun Devil offense stepped up to the plate and scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning. The offensive run was highlighted by freshman outfielder Jazmine Hill, who hit a dinger over the left field fence in her first collegiate at bat.
The Devils scored four runs in the next three innings to take the 10-0 lead over Portland State as the game entered the fifth.
The Vikings were in serious danger of being mercy ruled if they could not find an answer to senior pitcher Cielo Meza, who had relinquished zero hits to that point.
Meza did give up a hit in the fifth, but the team did not allow a run, which lead to a mercy rule victory before the Sun Devils could take back over on offense.
After Meza’s near perfect game, her teammates had plenty to say about her performance. “She was just making that ball dance,” senior catcher Maddi Hackbarth said. “Her spin and just staying true to her routine and her timing really worked.”
Kansas
As the temperatures cooled, so did the Sun Devil offense as the team struggled in the early goings of the second game. Jayhawk pitcher Tatum Goff started strong and gave ASU fits early on.
The Kansas outfielders were having an offensive field day in the first four innings as a Brittany Jackson three-run homer coupled with a Sam Dellinger solo shot dug a four-run hole for the Sun Devils.
However, momentum began to shift as ASU brought life into its offense with a Yannira Acuña home run, mixed with a Bella Loomis RBI.
This offense along with junior lefty Madison Preston replacing senior righty Samantha Mejia in the circle, sparked the newfound Arizona State momentum.
That spark erupted into flames when the Sun Devils went on another six-run tear in the bottom of the sixth. Kindra Hackbarth and Bella Loomis banged back-to-back RBIs to blow the Kansas lead away and tie the game at four.
With a runner on base, ASU’s home run maestro, Maddi Hackbarth, stepped up to the plate. Facing a full count, Hackbarth took the payoff pitch, an outside fastball, deep to right field. With her first home run of the season, Hackbarth and the Sun Devils took their first lead of the contest.
For Hackbarth, who’s on a mission to own the school’s single-season home run record, this first one was a defining moment in her journey. “For me, getting that home run out of the way relieves some pressure off myself,” Hackbarth said after the game. “You all know what I’m going for this year, I just have to stay true to what I’m doing and have faith that all my hard work’s going to pay off.”
Shortstop Alynah Torres put the game away for good with another two-run blast. As a true freshman, Torres is stepping into the massive shoes left by the departure of two-year starter Jade Gortarez, but has already made her impact felt. She made several sharp defensive plays as well as that final homer for ASU.
A late Kansas score could not stop the Sun Devils from achieving a defining 8-5 comeback victory. “That’s Arizona State softball, we’re dynamic in the box, head coach Trisha Ford said after the win. “We’re a team that no matter what the score is, no matter what the inning is, we always have a shot.”
Next up
The Sun Devils will have another double-header featuring Western Michigan and No. 14 Northwestern on Saturday before playing Seattle on Sunday. ASU wraps up its weekend facing No. 12 Tennessee on Monday.
For ASU, having a defining victory early will be instrumental in defeating other high-caliber opponents. “I think we had a lot of situations throughout today that you would normally get in later on [in the season] games,” Hackbarth said. “I think that today we showed our fight and that we’re not going to give up.”
