(Photo: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)
TEMPE – Approximately 45 minutes away from No. 22 UCF’s campus in Orlando, Florida, NASA’s headquarters are used to seeing objects launched into the sky. The Knights have kept the same mentality, ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 54 home runs heading into their weekend against Arizona State.
After scoring just one run on Friday, UCF (31-11-1, 9-7-1 Big 12), found its astronomical power once again in Saturday’s 8-1 win over the Sun Devils (31-12, 5-9 Big 12), blasting a trio of softballs into orbit and over the fences at Farrington Stadium in the process.
“That’s not a team you can kind of fly by the seat of your pants,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “They are good hitters.”
ASU senior pitcher Aissa Silva had a short outing in the circle with pressure from the Knights early on, giving up three runs in 2.2 innings of work. Sophomore catcher Beth Damon drove a ball over the right field wall, adding to a plethora of hard hits from the Knights.
With runners on first and third, Bartlett turned to junior pitcher Meika Lauppe out of the bullpen to try and escape the third inning, which resulted in three runs scored for UCF. Lauppe’s five earned runs in 4.1 innings marked the third time in four starts in which she allowed four or more runs.
“[Silva] just lost her command a little bit,” Bartlett said. “Meika had done a nice job in her brief stand against UCF last year.”
ASU committed the line error of the night as well, as a throwing error from junior catcher Samantha Swan allowed junior center fielder Samantha Rey to steal home, as aggressive baserunning forced mistakes. Shortly after, sophomore designated player Kendall Yarnell hit a two-run home run, while junior infielder Sierra Humphrey added to the totals with a solo shot.
“They capitalized on mistakes,” Bartlett said. “Just too many crooked numbers.”
Unlike in past years, the pitching staff has really hurt the Sun Devils. ASU ranks 6th in the conference with a 3.54 earned run average, but it’s struggled to pitch in the clutch.
In key matchups against teams such as Utah and rival Arizona, innings that spiraled on the Sun Devils cost them games.
The Wildcats scored eight runs in four innings against Lauppe down in Tucson, leading to a 9-8 walk-off victory on Silva, which set them up to take the series. Against the Utes, ASU surrendered 35 runs in three games, resulting in a sweep.
On Saturday, the Knights hit .500 with runners in scoring position, staying within the theme. When Brown is not in the circle, the Sun Devils struggle to quiet the noise at the plate.
“A few times we caught middle, the ball left the yard, and that’s kind of the thing that’s hard to do against KB,” Bartlett said. “She’s really hard to kind of game plan, where Aissa and Meika are a little bit more repeatable.”
In contrast to the norm for the Sun Devils’ offense, they struggled to bring runs in when it mattered. Senior outfielder Kaylee Pond, who leads ASU’s starters with a 1.313 OPS, was struck out by UCF freshman pitcher Reagon Vokoun with the bases loaded in the third. The Sun Devils stranded eight baserunners in Saturday’s loss while batting 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Knights were impressive on the defensive end as well, posting a .1000 fielding percentage on the day, including a pivotal double play with runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the sixth.
The lone bright spot on offense was Swan, who went 3-for-3 with a double. Swan has been a leading factor for ASU’s bats, recording a hit in 15 of her last 22 at-bats with seven consecutive multi-hit games. Outside of her perfection at the plate, the other eight Sun Devils went 4-for-23.
“Sammy Swan can do no wrong right now,” Bartlett said. “She’s competing really well at the plate.”
The Sun Devils had solid at-bats while making decent contact, but couldn’t find success at the dish in the big moment. The Knights entered the weekend with a team ERA of 2.54, ranking 13th in the country, as they found their footing Saturday to keep pace with their season average.
“They did a nice job of keeping us off balance,” Bartlett said. “The reality is the Big 12 is a really great conference.”
The Sun Devils will look to bounce back in a rubber match tomorrow to take the series, where UCF will most likely hand the ball to its ace sophomore redshirt Isabella Vega. She leads the team with a 2.19 ERA, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. ASU was able to score seven runs off Vega in Friday night’s win, the most she’s allowed in a game all season. If the Sun Devils want to avoid a third consecutive conference series loss, they’ll need to find the same success they did to open the weekend.
“That’s kind of their rock and their superstar,” Bartlett said. “That’s a different hunt.”
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