(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
No. 24 Arizona State softball picked up the series win over No. 23 Oregon State in dominant fashion Saturday night at Farrington Stadium. The Sun Devils beat the Beavers 9-1 in six innings of play, extending their winning streak to 10 games and improving their record to 21-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
In the press conference after the game, when asked about the 10-game win streak, head coach Trisha Ford brushed it aside, saying, “We’re not paying attention to it. We’re just trying to put good ball games together. So we’ve gotten some very solid pitching I feel like in these last 10 games, and we’ve had some clutch hitting.”
Home runs were the story of the game and accounted for eight out of nine runs scored. The dominance and inner competition up and down the lineup have made head coach Ford’s job picking her lineup card not as easy as some may think.
“That’s what’s making us better. Obviously, (senior outfielder Makenna Harper) started the year, and (sophomore left fielder Emily Cazares) has kinda moved her way into that, Harp’s still getting some opportunities,” Ford said. “The thing is, they’re all in a good place, and they’re competing. We have the same thing at second base, we have some DP roles, and everybody is going to get their change and their opportunity, it’s whether or not you take advantage of it. It just makes us better.”
While the bats are hot for the Sun Devils, so is the pitching staff. Senior right-hander Marissa Schuld pitched a complete game while only allowing two hits and striking out six batters. The dominance tonight was credited to Friday’s pitching performance from freshman righthander Mac Morgan.
“We didn’t use (Morgan’s) change-up hardly at all, and that was on purpose, and so we knew that if we could get through [Friday’s game] with minimized use of her change-up, we knew that would really set up Marissa and Lindsay for today,” Ford stated. “Obviously (Schuld) was able to throw the full game, but for me, I thought the way that (Morgan) pitched and was able to execute and make it through seven innings, it really helped Marissa today.”
Arizona State came out swinging in the bottom of the first inning, tallying four runs just like they did Friday night. Junior center fielder Jazmine Hill got the fans in Tempe on their feet early as she doubled to third, allowing senior right fielder Yannira Acuña to score. It didn’t take long to achieve three more runs as right after Cazares hit a home run to right field, scoring freshmen first baseman Cydney Sanders who had reached on a walk and Hill.
The Beavers closed the gap to within three in the top half of the second inning after a solo shot from freshmen first baseman Lici Campbell, but that was the closest Oregon State could cut into the lead.
“I just never really get too high or too low, and I’m pretty leave-headed. I gave up that home run early and just let it go, get it the next pitch.” Schuld said after the game.
The Sun Devils loaded the bases in the third but to no avail.
Runs came again in the bottom of the fourth when graduate student third baseman Bella Loomis reached on a walk after replacing sophomore third baseman Savannah Price. Her time on the base paths wouldn’t be long as junior shortstop Alynah Torres hit a two-run home run to center field, driving her in, but the home run train did not stop there. Acuña singled and was driven in by Sanders when she sent the ball deep over the right-field wall.
Walking it off in the bottom of the sixth inning with her signature bat flip was junior designated hitter Jazmyn Rollin. After striking out three times before hitting the home run, Ford could have easily pulled Rollin for a hotter bat, but she didn’t. Instead, she had a conversation with Rollin and sent her out.
“She had you know, some struggles early on in the game, but she kept her mind right, and she told me she was seeing the ball well. (I told her) I have faith in you,” Ford said. “I was like, hey, I believe, I think you’re in a good spot, and sure enough, there she was, that’s what JR does.”
The Sun Devils will look for their first Pac-12 sweep Sunday, March 19, against Oregon State at 1 P.M. MST from Club Farrington.
