(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
Arizona State softball (9-4, 0-0 Pac-12) headed to Austin for the University of Texas Tournament. Weather canceled and postponed some games, resulting in the Sun Devils only playing three games. In those games, ASU head coach Trisha Ford and her squad went 2-1, picking up a Top-25 win over Texas.
The story of the errors in the infield continued. Heading into the weekend, the Sun Devils had 13 errors on the season, eight of them coming from the infield. But the central cause of concern was the five errors that stemmed from the left side of the infield. Manning shortstop was junior Alynah Torres, and at third was senior Bella Loomis.
Torres committed the only error on the left side of the infield, which will be a welcomed change for the Sun Devils. Even with the one error, Ford still experimented with her lineup. In the weekend finale, freshman infielder Cydney Sanders was moved from first base to third. Previously, Ford has mentioned how she is experimenting with different lineups, but this is the first time Sanders has seen action in the hot corner.
While the left side of the infield worked through its early-season slump, the pitching staff continued its dominant outings.
Arizona State was forced to endure cold, windy effects on Friday’s match against the No. 22 Texas Longhorns (7-7, 0-0 Big-12) game. Even with the poor playing conditions, Ford sent freshman right-hander Mac Morgan to the circle for the start. Morgan faced 21 batters in the game, but only allowed four hits with three strikeouts. The freshman was breezing through the Longhorns’ lineup and nearly pitched a complete game. Instead, Ford opted to go a different direction for the final frame, replacing Morgan with junior southpaw Lindsey Lopez. Lopez faced five batters, striking out one. The lefty managed to get through the seventh with no runners crossing the plate, yielding her first save of the season. Despite just notching one hit on the day, Arizona State managed to edge two runs across, taking advantage of a sacrifice fly in the first, as well as some heads-up baserunning in the sixth. ASU won 2-0.
Senior right-handed pitcher Marissa Schuld started Sunday’s game but quickly found herself in a jam. In the second inning, the Texas State Bobcats (6-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) managed to load the bases with two outs. Schuld was able to work through the situation, retiring the side on a strikeout. Schuld would go four and a third before being pulled. Junior southpaw Lindsey Lopez entered the game down two runs and stalled Texas State’s bats. Relieving Lopez was freshman righty Mac Morgan, who pitched the final frame. Morgan struck out two of three batters to finish the game.
Even with 2-0 loss, the rotation combined for nine strikeouts and six hits. The dominance continued in the second half of the double header when Arizona State took on the UTSA Roadrunners (3-9, 0-0 USA). Sophomore Allison Royalty manned the rubber for the Sun Devils and had a strong outing. The righty went four innings and struck out seven batters. Royalty allowed three runs, forcing Ford to replace her with Morgan. The freshman’s services were only needed for one inning. In that single frame, Morgan picked up one strikeout and allowed two hits. Ford replaced her and sent Schuld to finish the afternoon. Schuld allowed four hits and a run but pitched a two-inning save to clinch a 2-1 record in the tournament with the 7-4 victory.
Before heading back to Tempe, ASU will keep its bags packed and head to Fullerton, California to partake in the Judi Garman Classic. The Sun Devils will play five games, with their first being against the Kansas Jayhawks (7-5, 0-0 Big-12). First pitch is at 10:30 a.m. MST.
