Utah bats spoil Sun Devils’ return to Farrington

(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)

TEMPE – The Sun Devils came back home this weekend after spending almost a month away from Tempe on the road and looked to fill Club Farrington up with energy.

Unfortunately, the Utah bats thought differently and took game one of the series 9-3. A four-run fourth inning courtesy of senior infielder Aliya Belarde’s grand slam flipped the game upside down in favor of Utah.

Senior right-hander Deborah Jones started for the Devils (18-19, 2-11 Pac-12 Conference) in the first game of the series, and pitched a strong first three innings. Once she gave up that grand slam to Belarde, Jones struggled to get outs. After giving up multiple RBI extra-base hits to extend the Utes (23-17, 5-11 Pac-12) lead to 6-1, head coach Megan Bartlett pulled her and subbed in freshman righty Meika Lauppe.

After not playing for over three weeks earlier in the season, Lauppe has now made an appearance in four straight series for the Devils. She gave up three runs, with one being a runner left on from Jones, and the other two were on a fielding error.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth out of Meika,” Bartlett said. “Not someone that came in with a bunch of confidence, and was a one-pitch, one-trick pony. She’s worked incredibly hard to rebuild her motion and literally is learning pitches as she’s learning to pitch. She has an amazing attitude, but when the learning curve is that big in one of the best conferences in the country, you’re going to get a lot of lessons quickly.”

The Devils led early after an RBI single in the first inning from senior third baseman Kayla Lissy but didn’t score again until the fifth off a solo home run from graduate shortstop Alesia Denby. It was Denby’s first home run since March 16 and also her first multi-hit game since Feb. 25 against New Mexico State.

“We brought (Alesia) here to play amazing shortstop, which she’s continued to do,” Bartlett said. “It’s not just the power numbers. Her presence in the box is great. Her hand-eye coordination is amazing, so if we can get her going, it’ll be a game changer.”

The Utes added two more insurance runs off an error from freshman second baseman Libby Walsh. Walsh mishandled a ground ball with the bases loaded as it drifted into right field, and two runs came around to score to make it a seven-run deficit for the Devils to overcome in the seventh inning.

The Devils had plenty of chances to get back in this game but were just 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Utes’ senior lefty Mariah Lopez pitched six innings and dominated ASU, allowing just five hits and striking out five batters.

“Lopez is just such a good pitcher,” Bartlett said. “She’s also from here, and all the Arizona kids who go to school out of state love to show out whenever they come here. Our swing-and-miss rates are way too high. We’ve got to be more disciplined at the plate.”

Senior left-hander Sarah Ladd came in relief for her after Lopez walked graduate pinch hitter Marissa Schuld to begin the seventh. The Devils started a two-out rally with a walk and single, which brought up Lissy with a runner in scoring position. She hit a ball through the infield gap between first and second base to score graduate first baseman Audrey LeClair, but graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall misread the ball and was caught in a pickle between home and third base before being eventually tagged out to end the game in a 9-3 loss.

The Devils were looking to get back on track back home, and still have two more games to do so. In a game where the score may seem like it wasn’t close, if the defense fielded a couple more balls cleanly, this game could have looked a whole lot different.

“They’ve got to keep fighting,” Bartlett said. “Any time you have a team this injured, you’re in uncharted waters. It’s a short bench with all hands on deck, and everyone needs to continue to fight. You’ve got no other choice than to keep fighting.”