(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 23 Arizona State softball put on an exhibition of pitching and defense in a pair of low scoring wins in Friday’s doubleheader in Tempe, beating Illinois State and No. 10 Kentucky 3-0 and 3-2, respectively. With the victories, ASU moves to 6-2 on the young season.
The theme of the night was established early in the first game, as the Sun Devils rode a dominant start from Cielo Meza and a flawless relief appearance from Madison Preston to the shutout victory. Meza bounced back from a tough outing against Tennessee on Monday, going 5 ⅓ and striking out a jaw dropping 11 Redbirds. Preston was summoned with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth, and promptly induced a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
On the offensive side, the ASU bats were quiet for most of the game besides the squad’s tablesetters. In the home half of the first frame, Kindra Hackbarth continued her stellar start to 2020 with a leadoff single. She would steal second base, and eventually score from second on a sac fly from Maddi Hackbarth.
In the bottom of the third inning, K. Hackbarth provided another spark with an opposite field double. Not to be outdone, junior Bella Loomis followed by launching her first home run of the year. The two-run blast put the Devils up 3-0 and proved to be the nail in the coffin for an overmatched Illinois State offense.
“It felt really good to watch that ball go,” Loomis said of her home run. “I felt like I was back in my groove. I’m just taking it one at-bat at a time right now, but that one felt good for sure.”
Preston breezed through the top of the seventh, retiring the side in order and sealing the shutout.
Any fans looking to satisfy a craving for runs during the night cap were left dissapointed, as the same ASU pitching duo reversed roles in another dominant effort to subdue the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats. This time it was Preston getting the start, and the Alabama transfer showed her familiarity with the SEC foe by logging four scoreless innings and fanning five.
“I just went out there telling myself to throw strikes,” Preston said. “I trust my stuff and do whatever is needed of me and it worked out well tonight.”
Meza, the game one starter, took the ball in relief to start the fifth inning. The hard-throwing right hander surrendered the only two runs the Sun Devils allowed on the evening in the fifth and sixth innings. A two out pinch hit solo home run by Kentucky’s Grace Baalman highlighted the Wildcats’ scoring. A perfect seventh inning from Meza finished the night, and secured the two game sweep.
Head coach Trisha Ford discussed her pitchers’ performance, and how far the team has come in that department since last season.
“I thought they fought like heck out there, both of them competed and we made some nice defensive plays behind them,” Ford said. “Knock on wood, the pitching has been great so far. We honestly didn’t win a tight game last year, and for Cielo to get those outs right there when we needed them was huge.”
ASU will be back in action tomorrow, first against Detroit Mercy, and then again against Kentucky for the second time in as many days.
“We need to show up for both games tomorrow, Ford explained. “Kentucky is tough, they’re scrappy and they stay in every game. The more of these type of games we get, the better off we’ll be.”
