(Tempe, AZ) Fielding miscues and silent bats caused the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils to drop the conference opener to No. 17 Arizona, 9-0. Arizona State recorded just four hits – all singles – while also committing four errors in the field.
Makenna Harper led the Sun Devils, going 2-3 but the rest of the lineup went a combined 2-19. ASU finished 1-for-12 with runners on base and hitless in four at-bats with runners in scoring position.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Arizona took advantage of three first-inning walks to score one run, but Mac Osborne recorded a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam.
The Wildcats would score single runs in each of the first five innings to build a 5-0 lead.
Kayla Lissy and Yanni Acuña each singled with one out in the third inning, but a groundout and a strikeout ended any scoring threat.
Arizona used a four-run seventh inning to blow the game open.
NOTABLES:
This was the first game this season ASU didn’t have an extra-base hit and it snapped a run of 61 consecutive games with an extra-base hit by the Sun Devils dating back to last season.
With Harper’s two hits, it marks the 23rd time in her career she’s assembled a multi-hit game and the third time she’s reached the mark against the Wildcats.
Acuña has now gotten at least a hit in 16 of 19 games this season, in fact since the start of the Tempe Regional on May 13, 2022, she’s assembled a hit in 25 of the last 28 games.
She has now achieved seven hits against the Wildcats in the last four games, batting .636 dating back to last year’s sweep against the team down south.
Nine strikeouts pitching against Arizona marks the most against the rival since April 18, 2021, when the team combined for eight in a 4-3 victory.
Osborne finished with five strikeouts in the circle to give her three straight appearances with at least five strikeouts.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Megan Bartlett
On Yanni Acuña
“Yanni is an ESPN highlight outfielder and has been for years. So all we did was kind of move her 60 feet in a different direction. She’s just an amazing ballplayer and a great athlete. I’m sure she’ll get some rest tonight, come back and adjust some things and be ready to go tomorrow.”
On Telling Her Pitchers to Trust Their Defense
“We continue to reiterate to them, you have to trust your defense. I mean, that’s the reality of softball at this level, high scoring games are a commonplace. If we just picked the ball up behind her early on, it’s probably a little bit of a different ballgame. We kept the ball in the ballpark, which was a big deal. I mean, that’s a home run hitting team and they can hit for good power, but at the same time that ball was coming off hot in certain places and we have to do a better job of that. I.feel like the game plan was good. We just got way too much white. And again, we’ve got a pretty young and inexperienced pitching staff.”
UP NEXT:
The Sun Devils look to bounce back against Arizona in game two tomorrow at 5 p.m. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo
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