(Photo credit: Bryan Ross/WCSN)
TEMPE — Arizona State softball knocked off its third-straight former Pac-12 Conference opponent after taking on Washington Saturday afternoon and then took an upset loss to Belmont in the second game of a doubleheader.
The Sun Devils (6-3) beat the Huskies (4-5) by a score of 4-1 on Saturday. The Huskies struggled to cash in at the plate, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the night.
Washington hitters went 3-for-7 in the leadoff spot, but only 2-for-11 with runners on. Sophomore catcher Jadyn Glab and sophomore outfielder Ava Carroll had two hits each.
The pitching duo of sophomore right-hander Meika Lauppe and senior right-hander Kenzie Brown cruised all game, combining for one earned run, 10 strikeouts and no walks.
“Meika has been fantastic,” defensive coordinator Hailey Decker said. “I have really enjoyed watching her play and coming into her own.”
Brown shut down the Huskies’ offense, only allowing three hits and striking out seven in the final four innings of the game.
Along with the pitching, the Arizona State defense helped tremendously in holding Washington to only one run, as they had no errors in the game. Sophomore outfielder Nehanda Lewis had two great catches in left field, and freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching played amazing defense at second, covering first base on bunt coverage.
Small ball shined for the Sun Devils, as they scored all four of their runs on sacrifice plays or singles. Graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall, freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia, freshman catcher Lillian Holtje, and Lewis all finished with RBIs in the game.
After being tied 1-1 in the fourth inning, the Sun Devils pulled away putting up two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Mejia hit an RBI single to put the Devils up by one, and Holtje hit a line drive to left field to knock in the second run of the inning, putting ASU up 3-1. Hall knocked junior outfielder Tanya Windle in with an RBI single in the fifth inning, bringing the score to 4-1.
Washington never truly threatened ASU offensively, with its only run coming in the third inning on a sacrifice flyout from sophomore infielder Giselle Alvarez.
Arizona State’s second game of the doubleheader was not as fluid and defensively sound.
The Sun Devils fell to the Belmont Bruins (5-4) on Saturday night, 5-1 in eight innings after holding a 1-0 lead until the sixth inning. Belmont tied it in the sixth on an RBI single from senior outfielder Emily Cockrill.
Lauppe pitched another gem in the circle for the Devils, throwing 7.1 innings, giving up five hits and four runs, with only one of them being earned.
Defensive woes killed Arizona State and Lauppe in the eighth inning, as they gave up four errors. Holtje and freshman infielders Takyla Davis and Grace Molitor were all credited with at least one error during the eighth inning.
“Unfortunately we didn’t quite have the defense or the bats behind [Lauppe], but man, did she kill it today,” Decker said. “She was fun to watch.”
Molitor had the roughest go in the eighth, giving up a throwing and fielding error on the same play. Molitor bobbled a ground ball for the fielding error and missed a throw to Davis at third base, sending the ball into the dugout for the throwing error, allowing a run to score.
“We call it choking the puppy,” Decker said. “Sometimes you care so much about something that you end up choking the puppy. … [Molitor] just cares a lot and puts a lot of pressure on herself to perform, when really she just needs to be Grace.”
The game seemed in the Sun Devils’ control for most of the second game of the doubleheader, especially after Ho-Ching hit a towering fly ball that snuck over the wall to break the 0-0 tie and give ASU the lead in the fourth inning.
Much like the game earlier Saturday against Washington, it appeared that ASU’s pitching would propel it to another low-scoring victory. The defense and lack of offense allowed the Bruins to pull off the upset victory at Farrington Stadium.
“No matter the win or the loss, we need to take it, evaluate, and continue to play Arizona State Softball,” Decker said.
