(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)
TEMPE — Just 24 hours removed from one-run thrillers on Friday night, keeping fans on the edge of their seats, No. 21 Arizona State found itself back at Farrington Stadium for another two games, although this time, the limelight shifted from clutch hitting to clutch pitching.
Battling the flu Friday night, the Sun Devils seemed visibly more alive on Saturday, predominantly with the pitching staff, who gave up 19 runs on Friday, yet only allowed one to cross home plate on Saturday. While the 19 total runs generated by the offense were a necessity on Friday, the 17 runs the Sun Devils were able to register on Saturday were more of a luxury.
After splitting the two games on Friday, ASU (13-2) came out with vengeance, first defeating Michigan (11-3) by a run rule in five innings, 8-0, before making quick work of New Mexico State in a 9-1 victory that also took just a handful of innings, at Farrington Stadium on Saturday night. With the Farrington crowd loud from the opening pitch, the Sun Devils would rewrite the wrongdoings of Friday’s loss against the Wolverines on Saturday afternoon.
“We are all just trying to get better every single day,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “The girls played really clean and I was proud of them.”
Although looking healthier across the diamond, the Sun Devils, along with Bartlett, still took their safety precautions with so many still battling illness. With the limited number of pitchers from Bartlett to choose from each game, maintaining a healthy staff is of the utmost importance.
“If you did not notice, we have about 20 bottles of hand sanitizer,” Bartlett said. “At one point, I am hand sanitizing people as they are coming off the field … Trying to keep them well hydrated and give them as much rest as we can give them, modalities, push fluids.”
Senior pitcher Kenzie Brown wanted to get her revenge against a Michigan lineup that gave her fits on Friday, where she allowed four runs or more for only the second time all season.
She succeeded in a way she’s known for: Limiting hits and striking out batters.
Brown knew the task ahead, having familiarity with the Wolverine hitters the night prior to help her muster up a masterclass two-hit, complete-game shutout against a team averaging 7.75 runs per game. After recording just four strikeouts through three innings on Friday afternoon, Brown punched out nine Wolverine batters on Saturday afternoon through six innings, including striking out former Xavier Prep High School standout, sophomore utility player Lauren Putz, who is tied for second in the nation with nine home runs.
“She is a feisty one,” Bartlett said. “She operates with a lot of confidence. She can beat anybody in the country and she knows it … She does not really obsess over it in that way because she knows if she does what she is supposed to do and can keep her mechanics under control and stay in rhythm, she can beat anybody.”
Senior pitcher Aissa Silva bounced back from her shaky outing in relief against Michigan, where she allowed the tying and eventual winning run to come across and score, by pitching a complete game where she allowed just one run against New Mexico State.
Silva’s pitches seemed to have more life to them, evidenced by the increase in strikeout production Saturday night. Entering the latter game, she recorded 12 strikeouts through 19.1 innings, averaging .628 strikeouts per inning. Against the Aggies, Silva punched out nine batters in just five innings of work, escaping a bases-loaded one-out jam in the top half of the first inning in the process.
“Aissa came out and pitched a gem,” Bartlett said. “She also had the flu bug, so she felt better today, and her command was much better tonight. That is certainly what we expect out of our veterans and are just proud of them, because pitching takes so much out of you mentally and physically … They continue to be tough and grind for their team.”
For ASU’s hitting, it was anything but a dry spell for the second night in a row. ASU splashed hit after hit, en route to 16 hits, seven walks and four total home runs across the two games.
In game one against Michigan, one-third of ASU’s nine hits were home runs.
The Sun Devil offense got key contributions all across the lineup, but the two biggest contributions were senior outfielders Kaylee Pond and Tanya Windle.
In the bottom of the first inning in game one, Pond launched a two-out, three-run home run to right-center field to quickly put ASU up 3-0.
Pond started game two as she did game one. With ASU leading New Mexico State 5-0, Pond smoked a ball to left center field, scoring two runs and hustling her way to third, sliding headfirst to secure ASU’s first triple of the season.
The California transfer has provided Bartlett and the Sun Devils with top-end hitting and another veteran leader in the locker room in what will be her only season donning the maroon and gold. After Bartlett lost graduate Kelsey Hall, a power hitter in the heart of ASU’s lineup last year, Pond arrived at the perfect time in relief.
“Veteran presence and high exit velocity,” Bartlett said. “(Pond is) tremendous on defense. KP was an early portal sign for us and we were so excited to get her, and she continues to remind us every day she rolls out here in a jersey why we were so excited and still are.”
Windle provided constant fits for opposing pitchers on Saturday, collecting four hits on five at-bats, drawing one walk and driving in a run against Michigan.
Regarded as one of the captains of the Sun Devils, Windle’s clutch hitting and overall veteran experience and leadership in the locker room, and especially at the plate, have been showcased thus far.
“Tanya has the best heart,” Bartlett said. “She is the best teammate. As a human, I cannot say enough about her. As a hitter, she is on fire right now … We have worked really hard with Tanya to just be process oriented … It’s just your job to get on base and feed really good information and see a lot of pitches and she has embraced that role really well and the results are showing themselves.”
ASU will look to continue its three-game win streak and continue to recover from the flu when they face New Mexico State again Sunday, Feb. 22, with first pitch scheduled for 11:45 a.m. at Farrington Stadium
“This is an incredibly motivated group,” Bartlett said. “They love to win. So they can roll out there. They are going to do it and fight for their team.”
