(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)
Saturday, No. 17 Arizona State 11, No. 22 Arizona 0
TUCSON – No. 17 Arizona State continued their winning ways run-ruling No. 22 Arizona 11-0 in Tucson Saturday night.
It was the first time ASU has run-ruled a Pac-12 opponent on the road since April 1, 2021, when they defeated Utah 9-1 in six innings in Salt Lake City.
“Obviously the bats came up big today and I was most proud of was in those first two innings where we were hitting the ball hard and getting good swings but not getting anything to show for it,” ASU head coach Trisha Ford said postgame. “We kept pushing and our team did a tremendous job doing so.”
The Sun Devils led 4-0 going into the top of the fifth inning. After two quick outs, the bats woke up. Senior outfielder Makenna Harper and pinch-hitter, sophomore outfielder Emily Cazares singled, setting up senior catcher Jessica Puk. She drilled a three-run home run over the left-centerfield wall pushing the ASU lead to 7-0. It was Puk’s second big fly of the season.
However, ASU wasn’t done. Senior infielder Bella Loomis doubled, and then junior infielder Alynah Torres hit a two-run home run to push the lead to 9-0.
But even that wasn’t enough, although things did get hairy. Senior outfielder Yanni Acuña was hit by a pitch the very next at-bat, the fourth Sun Devil that was hit by a pitch in the game. Acuña and Arizona freshman pitcher Madi Elish were both given warnings following the incident.
Freshman infielder Cydney Sanders then did what every Sun Devil and every Sun Devil fan wanted to see. In the very next at-bat, she hit a two-run home run, the third homer of the inning that extended ASU’s lead to 11-0.
“I just wanted that inning to keep going,” Ford said. “I think we’re putting good swings on the ball and the hitters are in a good place and we have a great balance of our emotions and our approach at the plate.”
At the beginning of the game, it started slow. ASU did get baserunners on. In the first and second innings, they got the first two batters on base. In the first inning, the rally was thwarted when Sanders grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and junior outfielder Jasmine Hill grounded out.
In the second, Harper and senior outfielder Jazmyn Rollin reached to start the frame and both got into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by senior infielder Hallie Harger. Puk then grounded into a fielder’s choice when Rollin was thrown out at the plate and then Loomis struck out looking to end the threat.
They finally did crack through in the third, also with two outs. Sanders singled and Hill was hit by a pitch. Rollin homered over the left-centerfield wall, a three-run shot, that finally got the Sun Devils on the board at 3-0.
Through it all, junior pitcher Lindsay Lopez was superb for ASU. She tossed five dominant innings allowing just two hits, no runs, no walks and struck out three batters. She faced 17 batters, just two over the minimum and threw 57 pitches.
“I thought she did a tremendous job today and thought this was one of her best outings this year,” Ford said. “She’s been working hard and staying true to her process and it shows.”
The win gave ASU their 13th in a row and fifth in a row to begin conference play while the loss for Arizona was their fifth in a row, all to start conference play. This is the first time that Arizona has started 0-5 in Pac-12 play in the history of their program.
“We just keep going and I think tomorrow is a big game because they’re gonna come out and fight,” Ford said. “As long as we continue to do what we’ve been doing, we’ll be just fine.”
Sunday, No. 17 Arizona State 8, No. 22 Arizona 0
Perfect.
That’s how you’d describe No. 17 Arizona State’s weekend in Tucson. Not only did they sweep No. 22 Arizona, senior pitcher Marissa Schuld threw a perfect game in the five-inning, 8-0 victory Sunday afternoon.
“This was a special day for her and she’s been dominant all year,” Ford said. “For her to come out today, keep her emotions in check and pound the zone, it was good stuff.”
Schuld retired all 15 batters she faced with two strikeouts on 58 pitches. She led counts the entire way with the exception of three batters. Doing it against her former team, Arizona, meant a lot to Schuld.
“This felt really good,” Schuld said. “There’s emotions for me and I wanted to show them the player I could be but I just stuck to my plan taking it pitch-by-pitch.
“This wouldn’t have been achievable without my team,” Schuld continued. “They have my back and I’m gonna have theirs at the end of the day.”
Ford was thrilled to see Schuld have a day like she had Sunday afternoon.
“I thought she pitched her guts out today and I’m so happy for her, she threw a gem today,” Ford said. “They [the team] wanted this for her and I think there was an extra chip on everybody’s shoulder.”
ASU kept their hot bats rolling off Arizona starter Hanah Bowen. Three straight hits by junior infielder Alynah Torres, senior outfielder Yanni Acuña and freshman infielder Cydney Sanders in the first seven pitches of the game gave the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead in the blink of an eye.
Senior infielder Jazmyn Rollin brought home a second run on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 ASU after one.
After ASU stranded the bases loaded in the second inning, the Sun Devils doubled their lead in the third. Rollin hit her second home run of the series, a moonshot that went 30 feet over the batter’s eye at Hillenbrand Stadium, and her 10th homer of the season. Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Emily Cazares left the yard for the sixth time this season which made the score 4-0 ASU.
“I think when you’re geared up right and you understand your sequencing and you hunt pitches that align well with your swing path, we’re strong and that’s what’s gonna happen,” Ford said.
In the fourth, it was more of the same. Acuña and Sanders went back-to-back, both homering on 1-0 counts which instantly made the score 6-0 Sun Devils. Sanders’ shot was the fourth home run hit on the day for ASU and the eighth home run hit by the maroon and gold in the series.
In the fifth inning, with ASU needing two runs to have a chance to end the game early, a pair of singles with one out set things up for Torres. She doubled home a run to make it 7-0. On the next pitch, Acuña grounded out to sophomore second baseman Allie Skaggs, scoring sophomore infielder Savannah Price to make it 8-0 which gave ASU a chance to close things out.
“We came and did some damage and that’s what we do,” Ford said. “We get good pitches and hit them hard.”
Schuld’s perfect game was the first since Dale Ryndak did it on Opening Day of 2017, blanking UTEP 8-0.
“I wanted to focus on one pitch only and not get too far ahead of myself and I thought I did a good job of that today,” Schuld said.
Schuld spent the entire 2021 season watching from the bench while restructuring her motion as a pitcher. Ford explained how Schuld was able to put on a performance like this against her former team.
“I think it shows you what kind of a competitor she is,” Ford said “She’s somebody that continues to work on her craft and she’s put the work in.”
ASU has a weekend off before heading to Eugene to take on Oregon April 8-10.
“That’s gonna be a tough series,” Ford said. “But I think we’re starting to find our rhythm and we’re not skipping a beat. The game is enjoyable and we have a lot of pep in our step and we’re in a good spot.”
