(Photo via Nicole Mullen/WCSN)
The weather is heating up in Tempe, and so is the pressure on Arizona State Softball. The Sun Devils came into Sunday’s game on a three-game losing streak and on the verge of being swept by No. 17 Oregon. Since the start of conference play, the Sun Devils have struggled to gain and maintain offensive momentum. That issue and the Sun Devils’ overall deficiencies were evident Sunday.
ASU never found the spark it needed on offense and was shut out by the Ducks 4-0. Both the Sun Devils (21-16, 5-10) and Oregon (28-11, 8-7) had opportunities to apply pressure and score, but the Ducks were the ones with the consistency to capitalize off those opportunities. The difference in efficiency between the two teams is best illustrated by how each performed with runners in scoring positions.
The Ducks totaled 12 hits and scored each of its runs in a different inning. They hit 3-for-11 with runners on second or third base and also benefitted from a solo home run from junior infielder Alyssa Daniell in the seventh. In contrast, the Sun Devils went 0-for-7 with runners on second or third and couldn’t produce a single run.
ASU’s best opportunity came in the sixth when senior first baseman Jordyn VanHook hit a leadoff double in her first at-bat of the day (she did not start Sunday due to rest). However, the momentum was quickly squandered thanks to a subsequent groundout, strikeout and flyout, a sequence that sums up ASU’s season in terms of hitting with runners on base. Head coach Megan Bartlett touched on how Oregon was able to limit the Sun Devils.
“(Oregon’s pitchers) all throw beautiful rise balls,” Bartlett said. “They continue to go to it over and over, and we couldn’t make good on it. The hitting’s contagious. … It’s going to take one big moment and one big hit and the energy is going to come up. This is just one of those lulls of the season you have to keep fighting through.”
The efficiency gap wasn’t evident just on offense but in the circle as well. For Oregon, sophomore right-hander Stevie Hansen pitched five innings and utilized her aforementioned rise ball to keep ASU at bay. She, along with senior right-hander Morgan Scott, combined to give up four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.
ASU saw three pitchers take the mound Sunday: junior right-hander Mac Osborne, sophomore right-hander Kenzie Brown and senior right-hander Marissa Schuld. They combined to give up 10 hits, four walks and four earned runs while throwing four strikeouts. They also threw four wild pitches, which helped Oregon advance runners who scored in the third and fifth innings. While ASU’s pitchers may be inexperienced, Bartlett believes they are talented and thinks that these types of experiences will help them down the line.
“The reality of this pitching staff is that they’re a little young … so the way I look at it is, our pitching is great,” Bartlett said. “They keep us in ball games all of the time, so it’s just money in the bank. The more experience they get, the more settled in they get, the more experience I think they will have down the road in the postseason and next year. So we just have to keep throwing them back out there and get through the growing pains.”
Sitting at 5-10 in Pac-12 Conference play, the Sun Devils have just three more Pac-12 series remaining, two of which are against teams in the top half of the standings. Bartlett thinks that now is as good a time as any to make a push to play in the postseason, but the offense will need to find its rhythm and consistency if the Sun Devils want to have a chance.
“It’s time to get hot with the bats,” Bartlett said. “That’s it. It’s time to complete, fight and dig in. Really, we’re at a point in the season where, whatever that it factor is at this point, they have to find it. I don’t care how ugly it is, they have to connect with the ball. That will be the focus.”
