(Photo: Connor Gleason/WCSN)
No. 23 Arizona State headed into its Friday doubleheader with an offense that had caught fire as of late, scoring eight or more runs in eight of its last nine games. After trailing 5-0 against Eastern Illinois heading into the bottom of the third in their first game of the day, though, the Sun Devils looked to be struggling to piece together any offense.
While ASU was able to put a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the third, a 5-2 deficit still glared at it on the scoreboard. Once redshirt senior Brooklyn Ulrich ripped a single into right field in the fifth inning to score redshirt senior outfielder Kaylee Pond, the floodgates opened for the remainder of the day.
A five-run fifth inning was all the Sun Devils (16-3) needed to get their gears running, as a 9-5 win over Eastern Illinois (5-13) paved the way for their offense to continue humming into the second game of their doubleheader, making quick work of UNLV (7-10) in a 9-2 win.
“I thought today was pretty successful,” junior outfielder Ashley Mejia said. “The bats finding ways, and if one person didn’t get it done, another did.”
In game one against Eastern Illinois, senior Lexie Griffin smashed a two-run homer for the Panthers. Sophomore Abbi Gatton drew a bases-loaded walk, extending the team’s lead, and would finish the day with three hits.
In a big third inning, junior infielder Alisha Frederick delivered a single, giving the team a 5-0 edge early.
The fifth inning is where the Sun Devils stole back their money with a six-run display of fundamental softball. After getting runners on, senior outfielder Tanya Windle drove in two runners with an RBI single, before Mejia also played the small game, knocking in two runs of her own.
After the Sun Devils fell behind early, junior righty Meika Lauppe gave them five innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts, lowering her season earned run average to 3.39.
“Meika’s worked really hard,” junior catcher Samantha Swan said. “She looks great, couldn’t be prouder.”
Freshman righty Mary Peyton Hodge struggled in the circle, allowing four runs in two innings after giving up just one run in three and a third innings Thursday night. While she only surrendered one free pass, it was a big contributor to Eastern Illinois’ early statement.
Swan continued her early-season campaign with three hits, fueling the offensive rallies in a 9-5 win.
Swan carried that into the second matchup against UNLV, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a double, proving to be an anchor for the Sun Devils’ batting order. Unlike in game one, where ASU struck late, in game two, they struck early with four runs in the first inning.
Sophomore Tiare Ho-Ching and Pond each watched a ball sail over the fences at Farrington Stadium, as their pair of two-run homers sparked an early 4-0 lead. The Sun Devils never looked back, as they tallied five extra-base hits on the evening.
Ulrich was seeing the ball well, as she also doubled to center field, allowing Swan to score in the bottom of the fourth. Windle grounded into a fielder’s choice, tallying an RBI. Even though it wasn’t flashy, getting the run in was a main theme of the day for ASU.
The Sun Devils delivered with their timely hitting, with a .429 average with runners in scoring position. With runners on third and less than two out they were nearly flawless, going 4-for-5 at the dish.
“We’ve been swinging the bat pretty well,” Swan said. “It’s exciting to see.”
ASU delivered when it mattered, while UNLV stranded runners all game. The Lady Rebels left 15 runners on and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. On top of this, they also went 0-for-5 with the bases loaded as senior pitcher Aissa Silva, Hodge, and Lauppe allowed just one earned run and two total runs in their seven innings of combined pitching.
While ASU mashed the ball often, its batters were also a magnet for the ball. After Windle was hit by a pitch in the first, that made for 13 hit by pitches on the year, ranking fourth in the Big 12.
“I’m really glad we have all this EvoShield,” Mejia said.
After another nine-run performance, the Sun Devil offense combined for 18 runs on the day, adding to its already impressive resume. They’ll have another doubleheader on Saturday, as they face Wisconsin and Cal Baptist.
“It was fun,” Swan said. “Pitchers threw well, hitters threw well, and you win ballgames that way.”
