(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)
Arizona State Softball came into Sunday looking to stop its six-game losing skid and gain some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
However, No. 2 UCLA (43-4, 18-3) had other plans, outclassing the Sun Devils (21-20, 5-13) on both sides of the ball to complete the sweep in Los Angeles.
ASU recorded just three hits on the day, while the Bruins totaled 10 en route to their 4-1 victory. Redshirt senior right-hander Megan Faraimo threw a complete game, constantly keeping the Sun Devils guessing with an array of pitches. She ended with 12 strikeouts, the second most she has thrown in Pac-12 Conference play this season. On the other side, the Sun Devils’ pitching staff faced many more jams than Faraimo and couldn’t escape them.
Freshman right-hander Kylee Magee started for ASU and was immediately faced with one of those jams. She gave up a four-pitch walk and a single to lead off the inning. However, a subsequent double-play and strikeout ended the inning.
Magee found herself in a similar situation in the second inning after giving up a walk and a single in back-to-back at-bats. This time, UCLA took advantage as redshirt junior outfielder Janelle Meoño drove in the first run with a single into left field.
The Sun Devils kept UCLA from scoring again until the fourth inning, but it was ASU’s own mistakes that allowed UCLA to grow its lead. A throwing error from ASU at third base allowed the Bruins to bring in their second run of the day and advance another runner to third. The very next play, the Bruins’ third run was driven in by an ensuing single. The Bruins then tallied on another run in the sixth thanks to a pair of singles and productive base running from Meoño.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, ASU struggled to generate any pressure on offense, a trend that has plagued the team since the start of conference play. ASU had just one hit until the fifth inning and struggled to get anything past Faraimo, who threw a strike in over 60% of her 131 pitches.
The Sun Devils’ top hitters couldn’t get much going in this game or for the whole series. In the series, ASU hitters that bat above .300 combined to hit 6-29 (.207). This includes graduate outfielder Yannira Acuña, who went hitless in a series for the first time this season.
However, senior infielder Jordyn VanHook did kickstart the offense in the seventh, launching a leadoff home run into left field. This marked VanHook’s second home run of the series and 18th of the season, which gives her the second most in the nation. The Sun Devils put runners on first and second after that and threatened to make a comeback effort but were once again stifled by Faraimo.
The Sun Devils have now lost their last three Pac-12 series and have lost five out of six in total. The Sun Devils have gone from the upper echelon of the Pac-12 to being in danger of falling below .500 on the season. They have two more series left in the season and are going to have to make them count to have a chance at extending their season beyond the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
