(Photo via Zina Garcia/WCSN)
TEMPE – The Devils entered the final week of regular season play with their spot in the Pac-12 Conference tournament solidified in last place. No. 6 UCLA’s situation was completely different, as they sat in first place ahead of Stanford and Washington. Even though the Devils were just playing for pride, this weekend could’ve still provided momentum for them to build off of in the final Pac-12 tournament.
The Bruins (34-10, 17-4 Pac-12) instead swept the Devils (19-30, 3-21 Pac-12) on their senior weekend, as ASU finished with 30 losses in a season for the first time in 20 years. The Devils now head into the Pac-12 tournament on a four-game losing streak.
Game one was a defensive battle, as the difference came in the fourth inning when the Bruins added to their 2-0 lead on an RBI single from sophomore first baseman Megan Grant and a passed ball by senior righty Deborah Jones with the bases loaded to make it a 4-0 game.
Jones is one of the ten seniors or graduates who played their final game at Farrington this weekend. With such a big class, the impact they made was immeasurable, especially for head coach Megan Bartlett.
“We are so grateful for this class,” Bartlett said. “They could have gotten negative once the season got rough, but at no point did they do that. Their resilience is one of those things that will serve the program for years to come and certainly be a part of their legacy here.”
Graduate shortstop Alesia Denby showed fight in the fourth inning when she hit a two-run bomb for her team-leading 11th home run. Ultimately, freshman lefty Kaitlyn Terry shut the Devils down, and the Bruins took game one Friday by a score of 4-2.
Terry pitched all three games from start to finish, showing no signs of weakness in any of the games. In 21 innings, she allowed just seven runs off 13 hits and struck out 14 batters in the process.
“She’s tough as nails,” Bartlett said. “She was one of the top recruits in her class and she’ll have a really nice career at UCLA. The guts she showed on the mound this weekend was impressive. To see that kind of maturity in a freshman is very impressive.”
Game two started similarly to Friday’s game with both teams going scoreless in the first three innings. Graduate righty Marissa Schuld started the game off strong but then gave up a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo shot in the fifth. The Devils were quickly down 3-0, and UCLA wasn’t finished there. A pinch-hit three-run homer from junior Taylor Stephens put UCLA up 6-0, and Schuld’s night was finished.
Freshman righty Meika Lauppe came into the game for her first action all weekend and got the last two outs of the sixth. Denby hit her second home run of the series in the sixth inning to make it 6-1, but the Devils still had a lot of ground to make up.
“(Denby) is dangerous,” Bartlett said. “She is so consistent, competes well, takes care of business, and is so reliable at shortstop. She’s worked so hard and hasn’t been distracted since she got here, so to see her have this kind of success late is great, but I’m honestly not shocked.”
Lauppe struggled tremendously in the seventh inning. Grant’s bat stayed hot as she started the scoring in the seventh with a two-run homer. After two singles and a walk, senior shortstop Maya Brady stepped up to the plate, already with one home run earlier in the game.
She crushed an off-speed pitch that Lauppe left over the plate, and put the nail in the coffin with a grand slam over the left field wall to make the score 12-1. Senior righty Mac Osborne came into the game for Lauppe and got the final out for the Devils. ASU went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, and the Bruins clinched the final Pac-12 regular season championship with Saturday’s win.
The Devils came into Sunday’s game trying to avoid yet another weekend sweep but quickly fell behind 2-0 with two RBI doubles from UCLA in the second inning. One of those doubles was set up by Stephens as she hit a ball to graduate Kelsey Hall out in center field.
As Hall attempted to field the ball, her right knee gave out from underneath her and she crumpled to the ground. After the training staff went out to tend to Hall, they carried her off the field and straight to the locker room. Hall couldn’t put any weight on either one of her legs as she exited the game, and left Farrington Stadium with crutches and a knee brace.
“Kelsey is a rock star,” Bartlett said. “She’s a leader, has really stepped up and played amazing in center and she’s dynamic at the plate. She’s a great kid and a solid building block of the foundation and culture here. Right now, we just have to figure out how to get her healthy before next season.”
Another two runs in the fourth doubled the Bruins lead, and the Devils were slowly falling out of the game. Denby got the Devils’ first hit of the game in the fifth inning with a solo shot, her third straight game hitting a homer.
The Bruins came right back with a two-run homer of their own in the sixth, and their lead jumped back up to five runs in a 6-1 game. The Devils were far from out of it, as their offense woke up in the bottom of the sixth. Graduate utility player Audrey LeClair started off the inning by stealing third and then scoring off a throwing error by junior catcher Jayla Castro who tried to catch LeClair stealing. Sophomore right fielder Tanya Windle ignited the crowd with a two-run double to make it a 6-4 ballgame.
The Bruins came right back and scored two runs off a pair of wild pitches to extend their lead to four, and the Devils only got one baserunner in the seventh as they failed to score at all in the seventh to end the game down 8-4.
The Devils will play Oregon State in the first round of the single-elimination Pac-12 tournament, a task that will be tough for such a banged-up team.
“Single elimination softball can be crazy,” Bartlett said. “You’ve seen so much parody in the game around the country, and at this point, we’re just trying to end other people’s season. We’re going to give it our all and get back to work, and all we can ask is that the girls show up and compete.”
