ASU struggles to defeat OSU in first Pac-12 matchup at home

(Photo via Sam Polgreen/WCSN)

TEMPE – A gloomy day at Farrington Stadium resulted in some tough softball for the Sun Devils. On a rainy afternoon, ASU had its first home Pac-12 conference match-up of the season against Oregon State, and the game did not go as planned.

Last year, the Devils (16-10, 1-3 Pac-12) lost the series against the Beavers (13-14, 2-2 Pac-12), but the Devils’ losses were by small margins. However, Friday night, the team took a page out of last year’s book and repeated history with their 5-3 loss in game one.

After a somewhat stagnant game with the score tied, it all came down to the seventh inning. The Devils completed two outs and only had one runner on base, so all seemed well for ASU. However, junior utility and catcher Lici Campbell planned to cause chaos when she stepped up to the plate. She hit a massive homer to bring the Beavers up by two runs over the Devils in the most crucial inning of the game.

The same situation happened in the sixth inning. The Devils scored two runs in their previous batting rotation to take the lead. Just when it seemed the Beavers could not bounce back, they answered with a home run by junior outfielder Eliana Gottlieb to bring in two runs and tie the game at the top of the sixth.

Overall, the Devils played a physically intense game against the Beavers. In the fourth inning, sophomore outfielder Yannixa Acuña was getting a lot of action in left field. After a hit, she went to make a play but stumbled and fell on the ground. The sophomore was carried off the field into the dugout and was replaced by freshman outfielder Jada Lewis. Acuña’s teammates, particularly graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall, felt her abrupt exit from the game.

“It just broke my heart because I’ve dealt with that scare before,” Hall said. “I’m praying that it isn’t the scare that it could have potentially been, but obviously that is a big momentum changer. Yaya has been one of the biggest factors on our team, but at the end of the day, what we talked about is that we need to play for her.”

In another instance, senior infielder Kayla Lissy got hit in the hand after a sharp line drive was fired right at her. The senior had to take a moment to reset herself and throw the ball around before gameplay to ensure she could stay in the game.

Although the Devils struggled, there were some positives to take away from their performance.

Senior right-handed pitcher Deborah Jones started in the circle again Friday night. She pitched for five innings before being relieved by graduate righty Marissa Schuld. Despite not finishing the whole game, Jones had a great night. She had four strikeouts, with almost one strikeout per inning pitched.

Another positive is that the Devils did manage to get on the scoreboard first. Lissy started the momentum for the Devils when she singled to right field, and sophomore outfielder Tanya Windle continued her outstanding offense when she drove the ball deep into left field to send Lissy home to earn the game’s first run.

The Devils gradually built momentum, especially in the fifth inning when senior catcher Sara Kinch hit one to right field to get a single. Then, graduate utility Audrey LeClair nailed the ball to left-center field for a double to put herself and Kinch into scoring position. With Hall up to bat next, something was bound to happen, and she delivered when she drove one to far right field for a two-run RBI.

Hall’s hit brought the score to 3-1. However, the Devils’ offense could have been better, as they struggled to hit for three innings after their initial run in the first inning. The team unintentionally limited themselves to mainly single-base hits and never quite got their offensive momentum to where it should have been.

“We’re definitely a momentum team, and the question is, ‘How can we continue to build our momentum continuously throughout games?'” Hall said. “When you let teams hang around, whether they should or shouldn’t, they’re gonna take opportunities. So I think looking at ourselves and holding ourselves to the standard of all seven (innings) again, it’s a control thing.”

Adding to the lack of offensive momentum, the Devils found themselves in precarious situations when they tried to steal bases. LeClair and Acuña were caught leaving first base early when they attempted to steal second, resulting in unnecessary outs for the Sun Devils.

Looking back, a lot went right for the Devils, but a lot also went wrong. Heading into the next two games against the Beavers, assistant coach Jimmy Kolaitis believes the team has to make some significant adjustments to be successful.

“We came out quick, and then we kind of slowed down,” Kolaitis said. “We’ve got to have better at-bats. As the game goes on, we’ve got to adjust a little bit better, so we’ll review the film, and we’ll get ready for the next two games.”