(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Barring an unlikely postseason meeting, ASU and Utah softball have seen the last of each other in 2021. Nobody is more excited about this than the Utes, who went 1-4 in the five matchups, being outscored 33-14 in the process. This past weekend in Salt Lake City, the Sun Devils took two out of three, earning the conference series victory and moving to 21-9 on the season.
In Thursday’s game one, sophomore Lindsay Lopez dazzled in the circle, allowing one run and just five hits in a six inning complete game. As they’ve done to Utah countless times in recent memory, the Sun Devil offense paraded around the bases. Senior Maddi Hackbarth victimized the Utes with another home run, while senior Kindra Hackbarth logged a double and a triple, and junior Halle Harger added an RBI double of her own. ASU came out with a convincing 9-1 run rule victory.
Friday’s game was a close one, with Utah finally wrestling victory away from its bully. In a 6-4 win, the Utes jumped on freshman Allison Royalty. Alyssa Barerra and Halle Morris combined to drive in five of the six runs, and Morris earned the victory in relief. Kindra Hackbarth led the way offensively for ASU, tallying three hits in a losing effort.
In the Saturday series finale, Goliath regained control. Lopez again dominated on the mound, throwing six scoreless innings before surrendering the Ute’s only run. Maddi Hackbarth went deep again, while Kindra hackbarth and sophomore Makenna Harper each added RBI’s in the Sun Devil’s 3-1 victory.
ASU returns home to the friendly confines of Farrington stadium this week. They’ll host GCU in a midweek tilt on Tuesday before welcoming Stanford for a weekend Pac-12 series beginning Friday night.
