TEMPE, Ariz. – The 14th- ranked Arizona State softball closed out the 2019 Littlewood Classic with a pair of wins Sunday afternoon at Farrington Softball Stadium.
ASU began the day by defeating the Utah State Aggies, 10-2, and ended the afternoon defeating San Diego, 12-3 to improve to 8-2 on the year.
On the day, the Sun Devils outscored their opponents 22-5 due in large part to a hitting advantage of 22-11. In the circle, the Sun Devils were incredibly efficient, registering 17 strikeouts while giving up just six walks in the doubleheader.
Game One: ASU 10, Utah State 2
Starting pitcher Cielo Meza was on fire right out of the gate, giving the Aggies offense fits while recording seven-strikeouts through the first three innings of play.
"I thought she was just rolling through today," Ford said of Meza's outing in game one. "Her ball was moving and had a good crisp break to it. That was really good to see."
The Sun Devil offense would get things going in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI double from Kindra Hackbarth, that scored Taylor Becerra from second. K. Hackbarth would not be on the bases for long, as senior Skylar McCarty's long single off the left-field wall would extend ASU's lead to 2-0.
The offense backed Meza again in the home half of the fourth. This time it was Maddi Hackbarth who would set the tone with a leadoff single, followed by a Jade Gortarez double. With a pair of runners on, sophomore Bella Loomis blasted a no-doubter over the centerfield wall to push the Sun Devil lead to 5-0.
The Sun Devil offense would not stop there. After a perfectly placed bunt by Becerra, K. Hackbarth connected on her second home run of the season with a moonshot over the centerfield wall to make it 7-0 ASU, to conclude a five-run inning for the Sun Devils.
Utah State would add two-runs in the top of the six inning to make it 7-2 Sun Devils.
ASU would add three-runs in the home half of the sixth to make it 10-2, and secure the walk-off win.
Meza finished the day giving up just two-runs on three hits, while fanning 11 in her second win of the season.
"My curveball was working really well out there," Meza said of her outing. "During the week this week we made a few adjustments and I am back to feeling comfortable with my spin. I felt really good today, just coming out and doing my thing."
Game Two: ASU 12, San Diego 3
The Sun Devil's momentum continued in their second game of the day where ASU was able to get past San Diego, 8-3.
Much like the first game, the Sun Devil bats proved to be too much for the visiting side.
After allowing two early runs, DeNae Chatman got the Devils started in the third inning with a two-run blast to right field to even the score at 2-2.
Following a scoreless top of the fourth, Kiara Kennedy get things started for Arizona State with a single. A Loomis walk brought the dangerous K. Hackbarth to the plate.
The junior outfielder took full advantage of the situation, crushing her second home run of the day over the right field fence to give the Sun Devil's a 5-2 lead.
The ASU offense would only pick up steam from there, as ASU blew the game open in the sixth inning. Alli Tantall opened the inning with a single and was followed by a Kennedy walk. With two on and one away, Skylar McCarty launched an RBI-single to the left field fence to push the Sun Devils lead to 6-3.
Senior Morgan Howe would keep the offense rolling as she zipped a two-run single down the third base line to make it 8-3 ASU.
With the bases loaded, Maddi Hackbarth would put the game on ice with her fourth home run of the season, this time a walk-off grand slam that sent the ASU fans home with a 12-3 run-rule victory.
Samantha Mejia pitched her second complete game of the season and improved to 5-0 on the year with the victory.
ASU will be back in action Thursday when the team hits the road for the first time in 2019 to compete in Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Sun Devils will kick off the weekend slate with a Thursday doubleheader against Oklahoma State (11 a.m. MST) followed by a meeting with Texas Tech at 2:00 p.m. MST. Friday will feature another two games set to begin with a matchup against Nebraska at 11:00 a.m. followed by a game against Texas A&M. The weekend will continue with a Saturday matchup against Bethune-Cookman (9:00 p.m. MST), before closing out the road-trip with a game against Cal Poly, Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 softball season by following @SunDevilSoftball on Twitter.
ASU began the day by defeating the Utah State Aggies, 10-2, and ended the afternoon defeating San Diego, 12-3 to improve to 8-2 on the year.
On the day, the Sun Devils outscored their opponents 22-5 due in large part to a hitting advantage of 22-11. In the circle, the Sun Devils were incredibly efficient, registering 17 strikeouts while giving up just six walks in the doubleheader.
Game One: ASU 10, Utah State 2
Starting pitcher Cielo Meza was on fire right out of the gate, giving the Aggies offense fits while recording seven-strikeouts through the first three innings of play.
"I thought she was just rolling through today," Ford said of Meza's outing in game one. "Her ball was moving and had a good crisp break to it. That was really good to see."
The Sun Devil offense would get things going in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI double from Kindra Hackbarth, that scored Taylor Becerra from second. K. Hackbarth would not be on the bases for long, as senior Skylar McCarty's long single off the left-field wall would extend ASU's lead to 2-0.
The offense backed Meza again in the home half of the fourth. This time it was Maddi Hackbarth who would set the tone with a leadoff single, followed by a Jade Gortarez double. With a pair of runners on, sophomore Bella Loomis blasted a no-doubter over the centerfield wall to push the Sun Devil lead to 5-0.
The Sun Devil offense would not stop there. After a perfectly placed bunt by Becerra, K. Hackbarth connected on her second home run of the season with a moonshot over the centerfield wall to make it 7-0 ASU, to conclude a five-run inning for the Sun Devils.
Utah State would add two-runs in the top of the six inning to make it 7-2 Sun Devils.
ASU would add three-runs in the home half of the sixth to make it 10-2, and secure the walk-off win.
Meza finished the day giving up just two-runs on three hits, while fanning 11 in her second win of the season.
"My curveball was working really well out there," Meza said of her outing. "During the week this week we made a few adjustments and I am back to feeling comfortable with my spin. I felt really good today, just coming out and doing my thing."
Game Two: ASU 12, San Diego 3
The Sun Devil's momentum continued in their second game of the day where ASU was able to get past San Diego, 8-3.
Much like the first game, the Sun Devil bats proved to be too much for the visiting side.
After allowing two early runs, DeNae Chatman got the Devils started in the third inning with a two-run blast to right field to even the score at 2-2.
Following a scoreless top of the fourth, Kiara Kennedy get things started for Arizona State with a single. A Loomis walk brought the dangerous K. Hackbarth to the plate.
The junior outfielder took full advantage of the situation, crushing her second home run of the day over the right field fence to give the Sun Devil's a 5-2 lead.
The ASU offense would only pick up steam from there, as ASU blew the game open in the sixth inning. Alli Tantall opened the inning with a single and was followed by a Kennedy walk. With two on and one away, Skylar McCarty launched an RBI-single to the left field fence to push the Sun Devils lead to 6-3.
Senior Morgan Howe would keep the offense rolling as she zipped a two-run single down the third base line to make it 8-3 ASU.
With the bases loaded, Maddi Hackbarth would put the game on ice with her fourth home run of the season, this time a walk-off grand slam that sent the ASU fans home with a 12-3 run-rule victory.
Samantha Mejia pitched her second complete game of the season and improved to 5-0 on the year with the victory.
ASU will be back in action Thursday when the team hits the road for the first time in 2019 to compete in Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Sun Devils will kick off the weekend slate with a Thursday doubleheader against Oklahoma State (11 a.m. MST) followed by a meeting with Texas Tech at 2:00 p.m. MST. Friday will feature another two games set to begin with a matchup against Nebraska at 11:00 a.m. followed by a game against Texas A&M. The weekend will continue with a Saturday matchup against Bethune-Cookman (9:00 p.m. MST), before closing out the road-trip with a game against Cal Poly, Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 softball season by following @SunDevilSoftball on Twitter.