(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
During the Kajikawa Classic, Arizona State softball struggled to find its rhythm at the plate, which was prevalent in their two losses. Now a week removed from the five-game tournament, the No. 21 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils have found a groove at the plate.
On Friday night, Arizona State’s bats came alive, defeating the Portland State Vikings 9-1 in five innings.
Both sides sent freshman pitchers to the circle, with ASU sending right-handed pitcher Mac Morgan and PSU dispatching right-hander Annie Lemos. Morgan breezed through the Vikings lineup, striking out two of her first four batters. The strong start gave the Sun Devils an opportunity to get on the board first.
The opportunity to get a run across the plate came early and often for Arizona State. Leading off for ASU was junior center fielder Jazmine Hill. Hill singled to left and was the first base runner of the night. Following the single, senior right fielder Yannira Acuna triple down the right-field line, driving in Hill. Just like that, the Sun Devils were the first on the board.
“The coaches mess around with me a lot saying swing at the first pitch seeing how much you can do,” Hill explained on her approach at the plate. “So that’s just my biggest thing is being aggressive and saying aggressive and attacking that first pitch”
Now with a man on third, ASU was set up to have a strong start. Lemos was having trouble locating her pitches, which eventually resulted in a wild pitch and a run by Acuna. Realizing the situation, freshman first baseman Cydney Sanders was patient in the box and forced a walk.
“Cyd took her walks when she needed to take her walks,” ASU head coach Trish Ford told reporters. “I think as a freshman she really wants to hit, but I think she’s doing a good job of seeing the pitch and sticking to her plan.”
Arizona State kept the hot start going with a two-run home run from freshman designated hitter Kristina Watson. The 4-0 lead prompted Portland State’s head coach Meadow McWhorter to end Lemos’s night before the first inning could conclude. Replacing Lemos was freshman righty Allicitie Frost, who stopped the bleeding with two strikeouts.
Even with a 4-0 lead, Morgan still had a dominant second inning. Her only base runners came from an error at shortstop and a fielder’s choice. But even with that adversity, the freshman got out of the inning without any scraps.
Still trailing 4-0, Frost and the Vikings looked to get the Sun Devils out of their groove and keep the game within reach. Unfortunately, for Portland State, Arizona State had other plans. A single from Acuna drove in senior third baseman Bella Loomis and Hill. Acuna would eventually find her way home after Watson hit into a fielder’s choice. In just two innings, ASU had built a 7-0 lead.
Morgan continued her strong performance up until the fourth inning when she let up her first hit. After that, the freshman let up a walk and hit a batter. Ford was forced to send in sophomore right-handed pitcher Alison Royalty in relief, inheriting a no-out, bases-loaded situation.
“Mac threw really well, to be honest with you. I thought she was commanding the zone. I thought she did a great job,” Ford explained on Morgan’s performance. “We just brought [Royalty] in because we wanted to see the split between the two of them because they’re kind of polar opposites.”
Junior shortstop Olivia Dean would score off a wild pitch from Royalty. But even with the hiccup, Royalty managed to strike out two and force a groundout to get out of the jam.
The fourth inning was the first and only inning Arizona State came up and went down. Senior second baseman Jazmyn Rollin singled to center but would be caught stealing. Following the out, Frost struck out senior Mailey McLemore and sophomore left fielder Emily Cazares popped out to the second base.
The fifth inning rolled around, which meant if ASU could score two more runs, the game would end due to an eight-run rule. PSU hoped to score some more runs, but a 1-2-3 fifth inning yielded the opposite result.
Coming into bat for sophomore shortstop Savannah Price was sophomore pitcher Marissa Schuld. The right-handed pitcher doubled down the left-field line, which would put the winning run at the plate. Following the next at-bat, Hill sent a two-run shot over the left-field fence, which gave the Sun Devils their fifth win of the season.
Even with the solid offensive performance, Ford mentioned how she was unhappy with how the defense played, especially in the infield.
“We need to tidy up the defense. Got to zip that up a little bit. I think everybody in the infield had had one today,” Ford said to reporters. “It’s all about your feet. I feel like moving our feet, getting our feet set to throw, it’s the little things. It’s never the big things that will cost you games.”
Arizona State will continue to host the Littlewood Classic through the weekend, playing a doubleheader on Saturday. A 4:30 p.m. game against the Illinois State Redbirds will get the evening started and it will conclude with a rematch against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7 p.m.
“Illinois State is a scrappy team. They’re going to be tough,” Ford described to reporters. “And then obviously, we have Minnesota again. And so, they’re going to come out with a different approach and look. It’s going to be a fun day tomorrow.”
