March 3, 2013
Tournament Results
TEMPE, Ariz. - In their first matchup against a ranked opponent, third-ranked Arizona State softball fell to No. 22 Baylor, 6-2, on Sunday afternoon. The Sun Devils are 21-1 on the year with five wins during the weekend.
Sunday's game was a rematch of the 2011 Women's College World Series meeting between the teams - cue then-freshman Dallas Escobedo's 10-0 postseason perfection and a 4-0 victory. The postseason game was the last time the two teams met, while both starting pitchers reprised their rolls, however, this time Baylor's Whitney Canion got the win to boost the Bears to 19-3.
Baylor gained control in the top of the first inning, jumping to a 2-0 lead on Linsey Hays' two-run homer to center field. It didn't take long for ASU to tie it at 2-2, doing so in the bottom of the frame.
RT @asusoftball: Nice crowd of 1,076 to see @thesundevils and @baylorsoftball softball square off. @ncaasoftball @nfcaorg @pac12
— Sun Devil Athletics (@TheSunDevils) March 3, 2013
Back-to-back walks issued to Alix Johnson and Cheyenne Coyle put the Sun Devils in scoring position for batter Amber Freeman. Both runners moved around the bases when the Bears attempted a throw down, but an error on the same play brought in Johnson as the ball rolled into the ASU dugout. Coyle, who moved to third base on the error, tied it 2-2 on Freeman's sacrifice fly to center.
The lead fell back in the hands of the Bears, who used two additional homers to get runs off ASU in the third. Sarah Smith got a shot off past the left field fence for the lead and Heather Stearns followed with a long ball to right center to make it 4-2.
In the fourth, ASU elected to bring in Mackenzie Popescue to pitch as Escobedo left the game with six strikeouts under her belt. BU was still aggressive despite the pitching change, nabbing yet another home run. Robin Landrith hit one deep to right for a 6-2 Baylor lead on four home runs in seven hits.
ASU was unable to score after the first inning, but did improve to four hits along the way in the third, fifth and two in the sixth. Escobedo (11-1) took the loss for the Sun Devils, the team's first of the season. Popescue struck out five batters in 4.0 innings worked. Baylor's Canion is now 9-2 after going the distance and bringing down 11 Sun Devils via strikeout.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will host their fourth tournament of the season, the Diamond Devil Invitational starting March 8. ASU opens play on Friday, March 8, against UC Davis at 4:30 p.m. and then against Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.
Notes
The Sun Devils rewrote the program's best start at 21-0. The loss to No. 22 Baylor is the first loss of the season and the first loss to a ranked team since June 3, 2012 against No. 4 Oklahoma in the WCWS.
Clint Myers is hunting down a benchmark of his own, his 400th career Division I win. He has 398 after this week's games and will use each victory earned this weekend to boost him closer to the milestone.