Sun Devils close out Littlewood Classic with another split

TEMPE — Memphis junior infielder E’mya Munford was put into one of the hardest situations in softball in the top of the fifth inning against ASU. Munford pinch-hit for freshman shortstop Aubrey Williams with two outs in the inning, down by eight runs, with the score sitting at 13-5, meaning that if Munford recorded an out, the game would be over.

The collegiate softball run-ahead rule states that if a team is up by eight runs after the fifth inning, the game is over. Luckily for Munford, she was hitting with runners at first and second. If she could drive even one of them in, the game would continue.

In a 2-2 count, one strike away from the game ending, Munford got a pitch she liked and lined it into left field. All of a sudden, it looked like the game would in fact continue.

Memphis freshman catcher Francesca Lumpp rounded third, and it seemed like nothing could stop her from scoring, Arizona State graduate left fielder Audrey LeClair, however, had other plans.

LeClair fielded Munford’s hit cleanly and came up firing, throwing a strike to freshman catcher Samantha Swan, who applied the tag to Lumpp, giving Arizona State a win in exhilarating fashion as cheers rained down at Farrington Stadium.

A defensive play won the game for the Sun Devils, but it was a true offensive showcase that put Arizona State in that position in the first place.

The Sun Devils exploded for 10 runs in the first inning as they batted around and ran Memphis starter, sophomore right-hander Rylee Dugar, out of the game after recording only one out.

That out came against the first batter she faced, sophomore right fielder Tanya Windle. Windle flew out to center field, and from then on, the Sun Devils’ offense pressed down hard on the gas peddle. Graduate shortstop Alesia Denby got the party started with her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot.

From there, a passed ball scored graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall, who got on base after hitting a double. A bloop single from Swan a little later in the inning scored a run, and she herself scored on a double steal. Two more were brought in when freshman second baseman Libby Walsh singled sharply up the middle.

When freshman left fielder Jada Lewis got a hit in the very next at-bat, Memphis went to its bullpen and brought in freshman righty Abigail Morgan.

Morgan was able to calm things down and get the Tigers out of the first inning, but not before three more runs came across the plate – only two were credited to her – and the Tigers found themselves in a seven-run hole with the score 10-3. The game never felt like it could’ve been close after that.

“We came out aggressive,” ASU assistant coach Jimmy Kolaitis said. “We did some good things. We really saw the strike zone and didn’t chase out of the strike zone. … When you score 10 in the first inning, it kind of relaxes you a little bit.”

The Sun Devils didn’t need to do much from then on. They and the Tigers each added a few runs from the second to the fourth inning. The scoring ended when sophomore outfielder Yannixa Acuña singled into right field, bringing home Swan, who gave the team the eight-run lead that it needed to end the game and give freshman right-hander Meika Lauppe a win in her first collegiate start.

Lauppe’s day started off a little rocky. She walked the first batter of the afternoon, freshman left fielder Arianna Cox-Cole, before allowing an RBI double to senior center fielder Madison Berner. She also walked junior third baseman McKaylee Polk two batters later. Berner and Polk both came around to score, but that would be the last time the Tigers could get a sustained rally against the freshman.

Lauppe’s final line in her first collegiate start was 5.0 innings pitched, four earned runs, three strikeouts, two walks, and although she gave up 10 hits, her defense limited the damage.

Despite the feel-good win in the Sun Devils’ first game of the day, their later game against Cal State Fullerton didn’t go their way. Not being able to string together wins seems to be an early theme for the 2024 Arizona State softball team.

The team found itself on the opposite side of its game-one ending. ASU didn’t lose by eight, but senior pinch hitter Mackenzie Macfarlane was sent to hit with the game on the line, and despite getting good metal on the ball, lined out to shortstop.

The Sun Devils had a chance to win the game at the top of the very same inning, looking to close out the game 3-2.

Arizona State senior right-hander Marissa Schuld entered the game with two outs in the top of the sixth and went back out in the seventh looking to finish the job. The inning started off on the wrong foot when senior catcher Jessi Alcala singled into center field. Schuld struck out the next batter but walked the one after.

That gave senior first baseman Peyton Toto the chance to be the hero.

Toto smacked a hit into the right-center field gap, and when she slid into third base for a triple, the Sun Devils’ 3-2 lead had turned into a 4-3 deficit.

A difference between the two teams tonight was that Fullerton was able to fight back into the game, while Arizona State became stagnant when left-handed junior Staci Chambers entered the circle in the third. The Titans’ lefty only allowed one hit and one walk in her 3.2 innings of work.

Chambers got the win, as she was the pitcher when her team took the lead, but she also closed out the game in the seventh inning.

The first batter she faced in the inning was senior third baseman Kayla Lissy. Lissy, like most of her fellow Sun Devils, wasn’t able to do much against the southpaw, grounding out to first base and recording a quick out in the last inning of the game.

“She had good command,” Lissy said. “Her ball was, honestly, coming in quicker than what we [had] seen on the outside, but I mean, a pitcher who has good command is gonna be decent. … We should’ve hit better than what we did. She’s not overpowering. We should’ve put the ball in play a lot more.”

This was a stark change from the previous Arizona State game and even a change from the earlier innings of the game when ASU was either leading or tied with the Titans.

The Sun Devil coaching staff knows that it needs to preach consistency, but it also knows that the team needs to take better advantage of opportunities that come its way.

“We’ve had a couple ballgames, from the Northwestern game, to this game, to the Boise State game, we had opportunities to knock in runs, runners at second and third, less than two outs, were just not getting the big hit,” Kolaitis said. “I think if we can create some momentum earlier in the game, and get a big hit here and there, I think [it will] kind of relax us a little bit, because they’re getting tight at the end.”