(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 21 Arizona State Softball (1-1) began its season hosting the annual Kajikawa Classic at Farrington Stadium Thursday night.
Game 1 – Arizona State 8 Cal Baptist 0
In the tournament opener, things started well in the circle thanks to senior pitcher Marissa Schuld who made her first appearance as a Sun Devil after sitting out last season due to being an in-conference transfer from Arizona. She recorded a pair of punchouts en route to a routine top of the first.
ASU came out swinging in the bottom half. Freshman infielder Cydney Sanders worked a bases loaded walk that brought home the season’s first run. A pair of singles later and a sacrifice fly and all of a sudden the Sun Devils led 5-0 in the blink of an eye.
In the second inning, in her first career start, Sanders hit her first career home run that cleared the right field wall, a three-run shot that gave ASU a commanding 8-0 lead.
“That moment was amazing,” Sanders said. “I really love being here, this is my environment, I love competition and today I competed.”
From then, the Sun Devils were on cruise control at Farrington. Schuld threw three more innings allowing just one hit and hard-throwing freshman pitcher Mac Morgan came in closed things out for the five-inning mercy rule victory.
Game 2 – Oklahoma State 5 Arizona State 2
A game that had a lot of excitement coming in saw No. 5 Oklahoma State silence the ASU bats, defeating the Sun Devils 5-2 in the nightcap of the doubleheader.
“We knew they were going to be a tough opponent but that’s what this year is about,” ASU Head Coach Trisha Ford said postgame.”We have a really tough schedule and we’re getting some early experience for our new kids.”
ASU gave sophomore pitcher Allison Royalty the start and she dutifully set down the side in order. She allowed a pair of walks in the second but got out of trouble holding the game scoreless.
The third inning is where she ran into trouble. Senior outfielder Chelsea Alexander got things started with a beautifully placed bunt single to lead things off. Then, a perfectly executed hit and run by senior infielder Kiley Naomi sent a ball into the left-centerfield gap that moved Alexander up to third and had the Cowgirls in business.
OSU kept up the small ball effort as senior outfielder Cheyenne Factor bunted home Alexander – the bunt was again placed in the right spot to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead. Naomi moved up to third following an error by Royalty.
Precision seemed to be the name of the game for Oklahoma State on Thursday night.
With runners threatening, senior outfielder Haley Busby came up to the plate. She lifted a long fly-ball which barely snuck inside the left-field foul pole and over the 202 foot sign for a three-run blast that opened up a 4-0 Cowgirl lead.
Following another single by junior catcher Julia Cottrill, Royalty’s night was done after going two plus innings allowing five hits, four earned runs, two walks and struck out three. She gave way to junior pitcher Lindsey Lopez who retired the side in order.
The Sun Devil bats were silenced for five innings by redshirt junior Kelly Maxwell. She stifled ASU hitting with a nice mix of pitches that kept them off balance all night. She allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out seven over five innings of work.
“I think she’s a great pitcher, she hit her spots well with moving the ball in and out,” junior outfielder Jazmine Hill said. “We just have to adjust and stick to a plan and find our pitch.”
When OSU went to the bullpen up 5-0, things got hairy. Senior infielder Bella Loomis worked a walk to start things off in the bottom of the sixth, followed by back-to-back singles by Hill and junior infielder Alynah Torres. The latter of the two scored Loomis and moved Hill up to third, notching the first run for ASU to make the score 5-1.
A near rally killer ensued, as sophomore infielder Savanah Price got caught just a little too far off second base and was picked off thanks to a strong throw by Cottrill.
Sanders finished her at-bat by knocking home Hill with an RBI single as the Sun Devils crept closer, the score 5-2. Senior outfielder Yanni Acuña then walked, bringing the tying run to the plate for the first time in the game. Senior pitcher Miranda Ellish battled long and hard with both senior left fielder Makenna Harper and senior second baseman Jazmyn Rollin, but retired both of them on strikes to end the frame.
“I like our fight, we’ve always had fight here,” Ford said. “It’s something that we do and this weekend is going to be tough for us, so we will have our hands full.”
ASU will continue play tomorrow, hosting Missouri State on Friday night at Farrington Stadium.
