(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
No. 13 Arizona State stormed past New Mexico for a second time, giving ASU its fourth win of the weekend.
The run-rule victory was not the prettiest of games but there were many positive takeaways for the Sun Devils. The most apparent was the stellar performance by sophomore shortstop Alynah Torres.
Torres launched two home runs against the Lobos before flashing the leather by rolling a beautiful double play to end the top of the 6th. Torres’ first home run was a laser of a line-drive that left Farrington Stadium in the blink of an eye, putting the Sun Devils ahead 3-0 in the first inning. Torres was back for more in the 5th inning as she led off with a fly ball that sailed into the palm trees, sparking a three-run rally.
“I’m feeling good, you know, hitting two home runs in a game will always make you feel good, but we still have Utah tomorrow,” Torres said.
Freshman pitcher Allyson Royalty started the game for the Sun Devils and got off to a hot start after striking out 2 batters in the first. The Lobos caught on to Royalty in the 2nd after senior shortstop Cameryn O’Grady smashed a three-run home run to knot the score at 3-3.
Head coach Trisha Ford had seen enough and elected to pull Royalty from the game and went to sophomore pitcher Lindsay Lopez. The sophomore was fantastic in her third appearance in three straight days. She surrendered no runs, two hits, and struck out four in her 4.1 innings pitched.
“Lindsay will be the first to tell you that her and I had a hard conversation in the fall and she’s really responded. I think she’s gotten herself in really good shape. She’s strong, I mean that kid is stronger than an ox,” Ford said. “She’s built to be able to throw a lot of innings.”
Junior infielder Brittany Holland broke the tie in the 4th inning with a RBI single, giving the Sun Devils a 4-3 lead. Arizona State never looked back as they capitalized off of multiple New Mexico errors, giving them a comfortable four run lead.
The game was officially out of reach for the Lobos in the 6th inning after senior first baseman Denae Chatman destroyed a solo home run activating the mercy rule and giving the Sun Devils a 11-3 victory. Farrington stadium erupted with energy at the sound of what was, a no-doubter.
As exciting as the game was for Arizona State, there was a dark cloud hanging over the game. During the 2nd inning, junior outfielder Yanni Acuña was chasing a fly ball when she viscously collided with the left field wall in foul territory. EMTs were called to the scene and Acuña exited the contest after suffering an injury in the collision, before being transferred to a nearby hospital.
“She’s doing well, she was watching our game in the hospital and so they’re going through some more testing and everything is looking good so far,” Ford said.
Arizona State will look to keep things rolling as they square off against Pac-12 rival Utah Monday afternoon. Looking ahead to the match, “Utah knows us, we know Utah, you know, we’re going to play six times this year,” Ford said.
The Sun Devils will have just over 24 hours to rest and prepare for the Utes, making rest and recovery vital to their success.
“That’s the biggest thing is we make sure they get some food in them tonight and tomorrow they’re rested up and ready to go,” Ford said.
