(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)
TUCSON – The Devils entered Sunday with the possibility of a double-digit losing streak looming over their heads after losing the first two games of the Territorial Cup against No. 19 Arizona. The first two games of the series couldn’t have been any more different from each other, with Friday ending in a walk-off win and Saturday a run-rule, both in favor of Arizona.
The Devils continued their search for offense in the last game of the series. Sunday was Arizona’s senior day, and ASU looked to play spoiler and escape Tucson with a win to put an end to the Devils’ nine-game losing streak.
ASU found its offense in the final game, but Arizona kept up to par with its performance from Saturday. The Devils (18-25, 2-16 Pac-12 Conference) led by two going into the bottom of the seventh and lost 9-8 on a walk-off hit for the second time in three games. The Wildcats (31-13-1, 12-9 Pac-12) already secured the final Territorial Cup in Pac-12 history on Saturday but deepened the cut with a complete sweep of the Devils.
The Devils took an early lead in the first inning, but Arizona quickly scored two runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead. The third inning looked promising after a single and an error put two baserunners on and brought up graduate shortstop Alesia Denby.
The Wildcat faithful fell silent as Denby crushed a line drive into left field that had enough air to find the bleachers, and the Devils felt the momentum shift to their side, going up 4-2.
The Wildcats quickly took the momentum back in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run shot of their own. Sophomore designated player Olivia DiNardo added to Arizona’s lead in the fourth inning with a solo shot, and the Devils needed someone to step up if they wanted to have any shot of winning the game.
In the sixth inning, graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall was intentionally walked to load the bases. That brought up senior catcher Sara Kinch, and it looked like it could be ASU’s last opportunity to put up a fight in this game. In dramatic fashion with a full count and two outs, Kinch flipped the game upside down with a grand slam to give the Devils an 8-6 lead heading into the final two innings.
The bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh came and went and the Wildcats were down to their last three outs still down two runs. An RBI single from freshman center fielder Regan Shocky brought the Wildcats to within one, and then with runners on the corners, senior first baseman Carlie Scupin hit a ball into the gap between center and left field.
It was a close play at the plate, but Shockey slid across home a split second before Kinch could put the tag on, and the Wildcats’ senior night ended in a picture-perfect way. The Devils dropped yet another winnable game in the last inning and now head back to Tempe for the final two weeks of the regular season.
ASU sits in last place in the Pac-12 standings, three games behind California. ASU will have a chance to even the score with the Golden Bears in its series against them this week at Farrington. If the Devils want any chance at preventing a second consecutive last-place finish in the conference, they’re still in control of their own destiny to do so.
