ASU Softball: No. 24 Sun Devils down No. 23 Beavers 5-3 to open Pac-12 play

(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)

In front of a sold-out crowd at Farrington Stadium, the No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils downed No. 23 Oregon State 5-3 Friday night.

“[Having a big crowd] was amazing, anytime we can have a good crowd, it helps us so much with our energy,” junior infielder Alynah Torres said. “We’re at home so we love the support and love our fans.”

The damage was done in the first inning. Freshman right-handed pitcher Mac Morgan worked a one-two-three top of the frame, and the Sun Devils went to work immediately in the bottom half.

Torres singled to begin the inning, then after a pair of outs were recorded, junior outfielder Jazmine Hill walked and sophomore outfielder Emily Cazares reached on an error, setting up senior infielder Jazmyn Rollin with the bases loaded.

She sent a 1-0 pitch over the right-center field wall and sent the 1,643 fans in attendance to their feet as ASU began Pac-12 play in grand style to give them a quick 4-0 lead.

ASU Head Coach Trisha Ford was confident her team would take advantage of the opportunity.

“I think we’ve been in some good games throughout the non-conference schedule and as we went into conference play, I thought we did a really good job making strides and I felt good today,” Ford said. “We had a different focus, there was excitement, and tomorrow we’re going to come out and keep putting pressure on them.”

Not knowing they’d have another chance to score as they did in the first inning, Rollin knew she had to make something happen.

“I think taking every opportunity you can possibly get is crucial,” Rollin said. “When someone makes a mistake out there, you have to take advantage or else you lose, so we had to capitalize on those mistakes and we did a great job of jumping on them today.”

Coming out swinging is something that the team feels like is crucial to keep up their level of play.

“I think it’s important to come punching to get the momentum on our side,” Torres said. “Pac-12 will be a dogfight, so I thought it was good to set the tone.”

The bats were silenced shortly after for the rest of the contest. Oregon State scored a run in the top of the third thanks to an RBI single from freshman outfielder Eliana Gottlieb, which cut the ASU lead to 4-1.

In the bottom half, ASU quickly responded without the benefit of a hit, which is pretty impressive. OSU sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Tarni Stepto came into the game allowing just six walks in 56.2 innings pitched. She walked four batters in the inning, including senior catcher Jessica Puk which brought in freshman infielder Cydney Sanders to get ASU the run back at 5-1.

“With Stepto, we were just trying to get a good pitch and when she gave us one, be ready for it,” Torres said. “We didn’t want to do too much, we wanted to stick to our plan and stay in our zone.”

After Stepto struggled through three innings, OSU brought in freshman right-handed pitcher Sarah Haendiges to slow the Sun Devil bats down. She did just that. She threw three innings, walked three batters but did not allow a hit and struck out four.

“I think her changeup was a factor, there was a velocity difference between her and Stepto and she came in with two pitches,” Rollin said. “Knowing she had that tool in her pocket, it plays in your mind when you’re at the dish.”

Torres thought the Sun Devils may have coasted at the end of the game and wants to improve on keeping their foot on the gas pedal.

“We have to do a better job of keeping going and staying in our approach the entire game,” Torres said.

Trailing by four runs in the fifth, OSU wasn’t able to get much going. They did get a solo home run from Gottlieb to cut it to 5-2, and another big fly from sophomore utility Charity Sevaaetasi in the sixth to cut it to a two-run game. However, the Beavers would not get the tying run to the plate.

Morgan threw the complete game five-hitter allowing three runs, striking out three and not walking a batter.

“She did a great job out there,” Ford said. “She’s a competitor and she’s gonna get better and better as she gets more opportunities.”