(Photo: Connor Gleason)
TEMPE — After an 11-5 win over Portland State on Thursday afternoon, No. 22 Arizona State was caught in a rollercoaster five innings of play against Indiana. First-year Sun Devil and junior catcher Emily Schepp stepped into the batter’s box with an eagerness to hit after watching two of her teammates walk before her, putting the clinching runners on base.
With two outs hovering above her on the scoreboard, Schepp launched a deep ball to left field. As fans watched the ball sail over the fence, ASU’s dugout ran out onto the field to greet her back at the plate before the ball even hit the ground, putting her team in the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
The Sun Devils (6-1) kicked off the second game of the day against Indiana (5-2) and left Club Farrington with a huge win, 7-6, putting them at a perfect 2-0 record on the day.
“I’m just focused on the game right then and just trying to find a pitch over the white,” Schepp said. “Just don’t do too much in that moment, two outs, trying to find a barrel.”
After four scoreless innings of work, ASU’s offense never wavered to the challenge of the Hoosier pitchers. The Sun Devils scored their first run of the game when junior infielder Katie Chester grounded out to second, scoring junior utility player Yazzy Avila.
However, the big hit was still to come for ASU.
Senior outfielder Kaylee Pond trotted up to the plate already having one home run on the day against Portland State. Pond then blasted a three-run moonshot to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the game, already her third homer of the season.
A four-run fifth inning gave ASU all the momentum to carry the offensive explosion the rest of the game. After only scoring 20 runs in their first five games, the Sun Devils finished Thursday with 18 total crossings of the plate.
“It was just about keeping things simple, trying to stay compact, squaring balls up and not trying to be the hero,” ASU coach Megan Bartlett said. “I think the strength of this offense is that we do have a lot of depth and a lot of different weapons.”
However, it wasn’t always pretty for Bartlett’s squad against the Hoosiers. Indiana struck first in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs on a hard-hit ball hit back to the circle.
The ball deflected off of ASU senior pitcher Kenzie Brown’s glove and snuck into left-center field for an
RBI. Senior outfielder Ellie Goins was credited with the hit, marking Kenzie Brown’s first runs given up since Oklahoma two appearances ago.
Brown finished the contest with 14 strikeouts in seven innings pitched, her second time this season with a complete game. On the other hand, she gave up six earned runs, the most since last season on May 16 against San Diego State.
“You know, she knew she wasn’t having a good night,” Bartlett said. “She didn’t go sit in the dugout and pout about it or whatever.”
After the fourth inning opened the scoring for the Hoosiers, they added four more total runs. In the fifth, junior utility player Aly VanBrandt doubled to right-center field and then advanced two times on teammate walks to score.
Goins struck again for Indiana with a two-RBI home run, giving her team the lead in the top of the sixth.
“Indiana is a great team that’s going to be a postseason team that’s going to do really well in the Big 10,” Bartlett said.
The Hoosiers pitched four different arms, including bringing starter and junior pitcher Taylor Hess in and out of the contest. But the relief pitching struggled against the surging Sun Devil bats, giving up two earned runs of their own.
ASU closed out the game in nailbiter fashion, with Brown giving up a home run to senior catcher Avery Parker. However, Brown bounced back, striking out two batters in a row to seal it.
“I mean, that’s why you play softball, right?” Pond said. “You play for those high-intense moments. It’s exciting that we’re feeling that this early in the season.”
The Sun Devils move forward in the Littlewood Invitational, as they will take on Nevada on Friday night at 6:15. The Wolfpack have had a tough schedule, coming into the bout 3-2, with losses to No. 16 LSU twice.
“Just stacking wins,” Schepp said. “We’ve got to compete like that and just take tomorrow against Nevada.”
