(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)
TUCSON – After losing seven straight games, the Devils headed down to Tucson for the final Territorial Cup in Pac-12 Conference history. A win against the No. 19-ranked Wildcats would be huge for ASU, as its last two series are back home in Tempe before the Pac-12 tournament begins. Defensive struggles were put on display against Utah last week, and trying to shut down the Wildcats is a big ask for any team.
The Devils (18-23, 2-14 Pac-12) took everyone in Tucson by surprise only allowing two runs and five hits in six innings as the seventh inning began in a 2-2 tie. The home team prevailed in the end, as sophomore right fielder Kaiah Altmeyer ignited the crowd with a walk-off solo home run to give the Wildcats (29-13-1, 10-9 Pac-12) a 3-2 win in the first game of the weekend series.
Graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall stayed hot and set the tone early in the top of the first with a two-run moonshot. In her last two games, she has three home runs after hitting just two in her first 39 games. The Devils’ early offense helped set up senior right-hander Deborah Jones to keep the powerful Wildcat’s offense scoreless in the first two innings.
Arizona did answer in the third inning, after a stolen base attempt to second base helped set up a string of events that caused freshman second baseman Libby Walsh’s throw to be off target to third base, allowing the runner to reach home safely. Later in the inning, an RBI double from Altmeyer tied the game up.
Altmeyer played hero for the Wildcats in Friday night’s game, making up for two of the three runs in a game where every run and hit mattered. If the Devils can continue their pitching performance in Saturday’s game, the offense may come along with it. There were a lot of small mistakes that added up over the game that eventually cost them in a very winnable game against a top-ranked rival.
The biggest takeaway from this game was the defensive play. There were many plays made in both the infield and outfield that saved runs and gave the Devils a chance to win the game.
Arizona immediately threatened to score in the first inning with runners on first and second, but a great reaction from senior first baseman Audrey LeClair on a line drive saved the ball from going into the outfield and ended the inning. There were two or three more similar plays that kept ASU in the game and gave the dugout a ton of energy every time.
If the Devils come into Saturday’s game with the same attitude and play on the defensive side, the bats may eventually prevail and help ASU pick up its first win in the month of April.
