TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State softball opened the 2019 Littlewood Classic with a win, defeating the Illinois State Redbirds, 9-6, on Thursday afternoon at Farrington Stadium.
"Today was just a different day," head coach Trisha Ford said. "It was rainy and cold in Arizona. I think it is good for us. It is good to throw some things at our team and see how they respond. I am happy with the win, but I still think we could have had some better at-bats, played better defense and thrown some better pitches in certain situations. At the end of the day, we got the win, and that is the important thing."
After a relatively quiet first inning for both teams, the Sun Devil offense got things going in the home half of the second to the tune of a four-spot in the frame. Jade Gortarez got the ASU offesne started, hitting a ground ball and legging out the throw for a single and advanced to second off a stolen base.
Yannira Acuña followed soon after with a walk, and both runners advanced into scoring position when the Redbird starter threw a wild pitch. Bella Loomis added another walk to load the bases full of Sun Devils for Taylor Becerra.
Becerra came through, lacing a single up the middle to plate both Acuña and Gortarez to secure a 2-0 lead for ASU in the bottom of the second. With Becerra on first and Loomis on second, Kindra Hackbarth stepped up to the plate and sent a 1-2 pitch down the right field line for a double, allowing Loomis to score and Becerra to advance to third.
With two in scoring position and two outs, Skylar McCarty hit a dribbler to second and drew the throw, allowing Becerra to cross the plate from third for a 4-0 ASU lead.
The third inning was again a quiet one for both teams, but the Sun Devils added a valuable insurance run in the fourth frame, again by K. Hackbarth. Becerra hit a single and used her speed to advance to second off a fielding error by the centerfielder, and later scored when K. Hackbarth singled for her second hit and second RBI of the game.
"Becerra had a heck of a day," Ford said of her senior infielder. "She works hard and she is a veteran. She has been in these situations and had a great game for us offensively."
Illinois State put up four runs in the top of the fifth off five hits. New pitcher Cielo Meza came in with two outs to limit the damage and induced an infield pop out to end the Redbird threat.
Meza came back out for a second inning of work in the top of the sixth and set Illinois State down in order off two fly outs and a strike out.
ASU again came out swinging in the bottom of the sixth, as Acuña knocked a leadoff single and advanced all the way to third off an error by the Redbird right fielder. Becerra knocked her in with a sacrifice bunt for her third RBI of the afternoon to set a fire under ASU.
Two hits and a wild pitch later, the Sun Devils put up a four-spot to increase their lead to 9-4, and Meza came back out for the final seventh inning.
The Redbirds loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with nobody out. Freshman Mikayla Santa Cruz took over in the circle, securing out one with a sacrifice fly. Santa Cruz notched clutch back-to-back strikeouts to limit Illinois State to two runs in the inning and secure the 9-6 victory and her first career save.
"I think we are putting her in some good situations," Ford said of Santa Cruz's efforts. "We are doing that early on and getting her to work through some of the jitters. I thought she did a great job. The mound wasn't great today and she couldn't make one of her pitches, her best pitch, work today. She went with her other pitches and did a great job of keeping her composure and making that pitch be effective for her."
The Sun Devils are back in action tomorrow for day two of the 2019 Littlewood Classic. First pitch against No. 4 Florida is set for 7 p.m. MST. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"Today was just a different day," head coach Trisha Ford said. "It was rainy and cold in Arizona. I think it is good for us. It is good to throw some things at our team and see how they respond. I am happy with the win, but I still think we could have had some better at-bats, played better defense and thrown some better pitches in certain situations. At the end of the day, we got the win, and that is the important thing."
After a relatively quiet first inning for both teams, the Sun Devil offense got things going in the home half of the second to the tune of a four-spot in the frame. Jade Gortarez got the ASU offesne started, hitting a ground ball and legging out the throw for a single and advanced to second off a stolen base.
Yannira Acuña followed soon after with a walk, and both runners advanced into scoring position when the Redbird starter threw a wild pitch. Bella Loomis added another walk to load the bases full of Sun Devils for Taylor Becerra.
Becerra came through, lacing a single up the middle to plate both Acuña and Gortarez to secure a 2-0 lead for ASU in the bottom of the second. With Becerra on first and Loomis on second, Kindra Hackbarth stepped up to the plate and sent a 1-2 pitch down the right field line for a double, allowing Loomis to score and Becerra to advance to third.
With two in scoring position and two outs, Skylar McCarty hit a dribbler to second and drew the throw, allowing Becerra to cross the plate from third for a 4-0 ASU lead.
The third inning was again a quiet one for both teams, but the Sun Devils added a valuable insurance run in the fourth frame, again by K. Hackbarth. Becerra hit a single and used her speed to advance to second off a fielding error by the centerfielder, and later scored when K. Hackbarth singled for her second hit and second RBI of the game.
"Becerra had a heck of a day," Ford said of her senior infielder. "She works hard and she is a veteran. She has been in these situations and had a great game for us offensively."
Illinois State put up four runs in the top of the fifth off five hits. New pitcher Cielo Meza came in with two outs to limit the damage and induced an infield pop out to end the Redbird threat.
Meza came back out for a second inning of work in the top of the sixth and set Illinois State down in order off two fly outs and a strike out.
ASU again came out swinging in the bottom of the sixth, as Acuña knocked a leadoff single and advanced all the way to third off an error by the Redbird right fielder. Becerra knocked her in with a sacrifice bunt for her third RBI of the afternoon to set a fire under ASU.
Two hits and a wild pitch later, the Sun Devils put up a four-spot to increase their lead to 9-4, and Meza came back out for the final seventh inning.
The Redbirds loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with nobody out. Freshman Mikayla Santa Cruz took over in the circle, securing out one with a sacrifice fly. Santa Cruz notched clutch back-to-back strikeouts to limit Illinois State to two runs in the inning and secure the 9-6 victory and her first career save.
"I think we are putting her in some good situations," Ford said of Santa Cruz's efforts. "We are doing that early on and getting her to work through some of the jitters. I thought she did a great job. The mound wasn't great today and she couldn't make one of her pitches, her best pitch, work today. She went with her other pitches and did a great job of keeping her composure and making that pitch be effective for her."
The Sun Devils are back in action tomorrow for day two of the 2019 Littlewood Classic. First pitch against No. 4 Florida is set for 7 p.m. MST. Fans can keep up with the action all season long by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.