(Photo via Ethan Kaplan/WCSN)
TEMPE — Arizona State softball started its six-game stretch in the Sun Devil Classic off on the wrong foot Thursday night. The Sun Devils’ first matchup brought them the Texas State Bobcats, a recent at-large bid in the NCAA tournament and an opponent the Sun Devils have faced as recently as 2022.
Senior right-handed pitcher Mac Osborne started in the circle for ASU in search of redemption following a rocky outing versus UTEP on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Osborne, the initial results were nearly identical, as the Texas State bats pulled through early with a pair of singles in the top of the first inning.
With runners at second and third along with needing just one more out to keep the Bobcats scoreless, a Texas State batter cracked a ground ball that senior third baseman Kayla Lissy gloved with ease. However, her quick throw over to first sailed over the head of sophomore first baseman Shannon Cunningham and allowed the Bobcats to take an early 2-0 lead. To add insult to injury, the next batter slipped a ground ball past freshman second baseman Libby Walsh to tack on another run.
After rebounding with a scoreless top of the second, Osborne surrendered four more hits and two runs in the third inning. She was lifted for senior right-handed pitcher Deborah Jones, who performed relatively well in relief, recording five strikeouts and not allowing Texas State to score again until the sixth inning.
The top of the seventh inning saw freshman right-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe replace Jones after putting two runners on base with no outs. The freshman saw initial success in forcing a fielder’s choice and an RBI sacrifice fly. That was until Walsh committed Arizona State’s second error by misplacing a ground ball to allow another Texas State runner to score. From there, four straight hits, several line drives just missing the infielders’ gloves and another throwing error put the score at 12-1.
ASU couldn’t match the Bobcats’ offensive onslaught thanks to Texas State senior right-handed pitcher Jessica Mullins striking out eight batters and remaining in the circle for all but one out.
The Sun Devils eventually got a runner across the plate when freshman catcher Samantha Swan pinch-hit for Walsh and crushed her first-career home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning.
Arizona State’s bench helped get the team on the board again in the seventh when sophomore infielder Ayden Allen entered as the pinch-hitter for graduate shortstop Alesia Denby with a runner on first. Her ground ball to third base resulted in a throwing error by the Bobcats that brought the Sun Devils’ second run of the game home and allowed Allen to advance to third.
Graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall also shined bright with a three-hit performance that put her hit total for the season at 16 and gave her some separation as the team’s leader in that category.
ASU has five remaining matchups in the Sun Devil Classic and will look to bounce back on Friday in a doubleheader against Seton Hall and Ohio State.
