(Photo via Zina Garcia/WCSN)
TEMPE – The Devils came into Saturday’s game looking to bounce back after Friday night ended in a 9-3 blowout loss. However, they found themselves in an unusual situation as nature highlighted the night in Farrington Stadium.
The Devils (18-20, 2-12 Pac-12 Conference) were down early 3-0 in the top of the first inning against Utah (24-17, 6-11 Pac-12), but had to postpone play for almost two hours before they could finish the inning. Bees started to gather on the netting behind home plate and swarmed on it. The players and umpires noticed this, and both teams stepped into their dugouts as the umpires decided what to do about the situation.
“(The delay) certainly calmed everyone down,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “(Graduate righty Marissa Schuld) started the game and (Utah) mixed in hard contact, and the game sped up on her. So that delay gave her and the position players a moment to breathe.”
After about 20 minutes of discussion, play was postponed until an exterminator could show up and get rid of the bees. Play was postponed around 6 p.m., and the exterminator didn’t show up until almost an hour later. The clump of bees on the net was originally taken care of, but some stragglers started to form several smaller ones.
The exterminator was called upon once again and finally was able to drive the bees out of Farrington Stadium, as play finally resumed at about 8 p.m. once the players fully warmed up. The Devils were able to get out of the inning without giving up another run and looked to use the delay as fuel to start a run.
In that two-hour delay period, the team was able to calm themselves down after a long first inning that still wasn’t finished, and found their composure to continue the game and bounce back well. Bartlett praised the team for their mental games that complemented their play.
“We pay a mental performance coach a lot of money to work with the girls on that,” Bartlett said. “Being mature and self-aware is where it starts. Do you have positive self-talk? Is your breathing under control, and what energy level do you excel at? Those are some of the questions they ask themselves.”
The Utes used the delay to their advantage more than the Devils, getting out to a 10-0 lead after the top of the fifth and putting pressure on ASU to keep the game from ending in five innings. The Devils answered and Farrington Stadium was buzzing, as ASU scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth.
ASU wasn’t done scoring with three runs in the sixth and looked to complete the comeback in the seventh. They made it close, loading the bases with two outs, but Utah came through and escaped the night with a 10-9 win.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Bartlett said. “The kids fight and battle, and we’re two good offensive ball clubs, and any time you get in a hit-fest sometimes you come out on top and sometimes you don’t. The girls fought and at this point, that’s really all you can ask of them, but we certainly have to put all three pieces of the game together.”
The delay was unlike anything Farrington Stadium had seen before and allowed the Devils to steal the Utes’ momentum in the later stages of the game. Without it, there’s a good chance the Devils have their rough start before the delay and continue along that path throughout the game.
The Devils are now in position to be swept for the second straight series, a feat that hasn’t happened all year. They’ve also now lost a season-high five games in a row, something the team looked to avoid in their brief return trip home.
“You’ve got to keep fighting,” Bartlett said. “You show up sometimes and do all the right things and life kicks you in the teeth. That’s life. … These are skills that I think will serve them from here on out in life. There’s no backing down, you have to find a way to put all three aspects of the game together. They’re gonna fight and battle every game.”
