(Photo: Liesl Babicka/WCSN)
Magic was in the air Saturday night as the No. 8-seeded Arizona State softball team defeated No. 9-seeded South Carolina 5-2 to advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
In a span of two innings the Sun Devils mustered five hits to test Gamecock pitcher Cayla Drotar. Jade Gortarez began the offensive run for ASU in the second inning with a single to third base.
Starting catcher Rylee Maston stepped into the batter’s box behind Gortarez with a .000% batting average on the season. That all changed when she made contact with Drotar’s pitch that went speeding down the left field line for a double.
Maston’s first career hit advance Gortarez to third. Skylar McCarty followed up with a single to right field allowing Gortarez to hit home for a 1-0 lead over the Gamecocks.
“I was so proud of her and I am sure her parents will never forget this day,” said head coach Trisha Ford. “For me I was just so proud, happy and excited for Rylee because you could just see it, she was oozing with energy, that was a big time hit against a very good team.”
Even though ASU was on top, Drotar limited the offensive opportunities for the Sun Devils to give her team a chance to tie the game.
Jana Johns gave the Gamecocks hope when she hit an infield single but was able to advance all the way to third when Maston over threw the ball to Danielle Gibson that ended up in the corner of right field.
Designated player Alyssa Kumiyama hit a single down the middle of the field and Johns came home to tie the game 1-1.
The ASU players didn’t care that Kumiyama’s hit tied the game, instead they came back the consecutive inning to do major damage.
“I think coming back into the dugout getting ready to hit we knew South Carolina was going to scrap until the very end,” said senior second baseman Marisa Stankiewicz. “We knew we had to out fight them we wanted it more we really, really wanted it and that showed in the big inning.”
McCarty lead off with a single to the Gamecock short stop. Kindra Hackbarth matched McCarty’s hit with another single, but this time straight downtown.
Taylor Becerra followed up with a perfectly placed bunt to end up on first and move her teammates another base. Then Morgan Howe hit the third single of the inning, but this time driving home a runner to take a 2-1 lead.
Farrington Stadium exploded in the fifth inning as DeNae Chatman broke through for the Sun Devils with a zero out double to left field to clear the bases. Her double extended the lead to 5-1.
“For DeNae she’s not somebody who thrives in a very stressful situation, so we let her be loose we tell her to get a good pitch and we let her do her thing,” said Ford.
The Gamecocks fought on, scoring their final run of the 2018 season when Tiara Duffy hit a double down the left field line to bring in her teammate bringing the game to its final score of 5-2.
Starting pitcher Breanna Macha finished her career at Farrington by pitching a pop fly that landed in Howe’s glove in centerfield. The crowd erupted in cheers and the tears began to flow on the field for both teams.
“I think having to clear your mind in those situations when the crowd’s going crazy I took a step back and looked up there and went ‘this is the last time I’m going to playing on this field’ that just resets everything,” said Macha.
The Sun Devils head back to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2013 where they fell to Texas and Michigan. This year the WCWS will feature four Pac-12 teams: No. 1-seed Oregon, No. 3-seed UCLA, No. 5-seed Washington and ASU.
“It’s a great conference, I think that all year we have been beating each other up and battling,” said Ford. “I will tell you there’s not another conference out there that doesn’t prep you like the Pac-12. We’ve faced it all and we have confidence going in there, we’ve been there, we’ve faced three of the eight teams.”
Even though ASU advanced past the Super Regional round, they will play the Oregon Ducks, a tough team the Sun Devils have already faced this season in conference play.
The WCWS game schedule has yet to be released, but will begin on Thursday, May 31.
