(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 16 Arizona State (12-4) continued onto day three of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a doubleheader against No. 7 Florida and Notre Dame.
Florida
Madison Preston earned the start for the first game of the day. The first inning ended without a score as Florida and Arizona State left two and one runners on base, respectively.
The second and third innings were pitching and defense clinics for both teams. Only one hit was recorded in both innings combined.
Shortstop Alynah Torres came up big in the fourth saving the Devils from going down early on defense. As for the bottom of the fourth, Maddi Hackbarth was inches away from giving the game its first homer, but Florida center fielder Jade Caraway caught the ball just before it went over the fence. No score for either team after four.
Florida started to make some gains against Preston as they stopped biting on her low pitches and took walks to load the bases. The first run of the game came via a hit-by-pitch as Preston hit Baylee Goddard, allowing Hannah Adams to touch home plate. An out stopped the bleeding at one run.
The Sun Devils finally caught a break in the fifth inning. With Olivia Miller on second and Kindra Hackbarth on first, Bella Loomis hit a single to center field. Caraway slipped while fielding the ball, giving Miller just enough time to hit home plate and tie up the game.
Finally, the levee broke at the top of the sixth as the Devils gave up six consecutive hits. Despite two outs, UF’s Jordan Matthews was the first to score from an Adams RBI, followed quickly by a Jaimie Hoover run. An RBI from Kendyl Lindaman shortly after put the Gators up 4-1.
In the final inning of the game, the Sun Devils had a chance to come back with Bella Loomis on base and ASU’s home run leader Alynah Torres at the plate. Torres would not be able to deliver as a pop-fly out ended the Devils’ eight game win streak with a 4-1 loss to Florida.
Notre Dame
In the second game of the evening, Notre Dame quickly went to work with RBIs by Leea Hanks and Miranda Johnson in the top of the first. Three batters for the Sun Devils were retired right away and the Fighting Irish kept their early lead after one inning.
Cielo Meza struggled early and was benched in favor of righty Samantha Mejia during the second inning. Meza left the game with three runs and three hits allowed while on the mound.
The Sun Devils could not get anything going offensively while Notre Dame had their way with Arizona State in the first three innings.
Six runs were scored in the fourth, three by each team. The Irish scored from a Brooke Marquez RBI followed by an Abby Sweet RBI double three at-bats later. While the game was looking out of reach, ASU’s Maddi Hackbarth answered the call to keep the Sun Devils in the game with a two-run homer to center field. Alli Tatnall recorded a run later in the inning to bring the deficit back to three.
Neither team scored in the fifth as Mejia retired the first three batters of the inning. On offense, the Sun Devils could not capitalize with Kindra Hackbarth on third and Yannira Acuña on second, stranding them both.
Once again, the sixth inning went scoreless as the infielders made every play for the Sun Devils. For the Irish, Alexis Holloway made quick work of the Sun Devils’ offense with two strikeouts in the sixth.
The Devils had one final chance to win the game in the seventh. An error on the Abby Sweet RBI gave Emma Clark the time to get the score and put the game away.
Facing a four-run deficit, Makenna Harper stepped up to the plate. A base hit by Harper followed by outs from Kindra Hackbarth and Jazmine Hill put a runner on first with two outs as Maddi Hackbarth stepped up to the plate. Hackbarth hit a line drive but third baseman Joley Mitchell made the play to end the game.
