TEMPE, Ariz.-- Sophomore second baseman Bella Loomis finished the day with two home runs and six-RBI as the 16th ranked Arizona State softball team picked up a 12-0 run-rule victory over the South Dakota Coyotes on the final day of the ASU Invitational.
"It felt awesome," Loomis said of her two home runs. "I am starting to feel more comfortable in the box. I have changed my stance and tweaked a few little things, but I just feel comfortable. I am getting more confident and just trying to stay within myself."
After out-scoring their opponents 24-2 over the past two games, the Sun Devils offense continued its hot streak against the Coyotes, outhitting the visitors 12-3 in the shutout victory.
In the circle for the Sun Devils, freshmen Abby Andersen turned in another stellar performance, earning her first complete-game shutout victory, and sixth win of the season.
"I thought Abby Andresen threw her best game of the season today," head coach Trisha Ford said. "She had great command, her drop ball was dropping, she had an up-pitch, she had an off-speed. You could really see some distinct separation in her pitches. We made a couple defensive errors behind her, but I was proud of the way she kept her composure. She controlled the things that she could control and threw a lot of ground-ball outs. She just had a tremendous day for us in the circle."
Following a quick top of the first, the Sun Devil offense wasted no time before lighting up the scoreboard in what would be a seven-run frame. Following a lead-off bunt single from Kindra Hackbarth, senior Skylar McCarty put the Sun Devils on the board when she connected on her fourth home run of the season to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
Looking to stay aggressive, the Sun Devils offense continued to put the pressure on. After a Jade Gortarez single, DeNae Chatman would bring in ASU's third run of the day with a single of her own, pushing the score to 3-0.
The offensive barrage did not stop there as Bella Loomis made her way to the plate with bases loaded. The second basemen crushed a no-doubter over the right-field wall to break open the game and give ASU a 7-0 lead.
"Thank goodness for Bella," Ford said with a smile. "That little person can mash. She had another tremendous day in the box for us."
After a quiet second inning from both teams, the Coyotes looked to answer back in the third. With the leadoff batter reaching safely on an ASU error, back-to-back South Dakota singles loaded the bases with still nobody out. But Andersen would come through again for the Devils, drawing a ground ball to Kiara Kennedy at third who fired to Maddi Hackbarth at the plate, before turning to DeNae Chatman at first for a run-scoring double play. Just one batter later, Loomis would position herself perfectly under a fly-ball for the final out of the inning.
"That was a really firm ball hit to Kennedy," Ford said of the run-saving double play. "They work really hard on the infield. Maddi is one of those players who works so hard and gets very little credit. That kid is special. She is like the lineman who never gets credit for protecting the quarterback and producing holes for the running backs. She does more for this program, for our pitchers and for our defense than anyone can wrap their head around. She is a leader and I just can't say enough good things about her."
Following an Alli Tantall walk, Loomis connected on her second home run of the day, this time a shot deposited over the left field wall, to push ASU's lead to 9-0. The long ball marked her second of the day, and her second multi-home run game of season.
The Sun Devils would tack on three more runs in the 4th- inning. Following singles by McCarty and Morgan Howe, Gortarez would get her third hit of the game connecting on a two-run double to increase ASU's lead to 11-0. Catcher Maddi Hackbarth would later card an RBI single that brought in Gortarez to close out the 12-0 Arizona State victory.
The Sun Devils will be back in action Tuesday night hosting Lehigh in a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Farrington Stadium. Fans can follow all of the action from Tuesday's game, as well as the rest of the 2019 ASU softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"It felt awesome," Loomis said of her two home runs. "I am starting to feel more comfortable in the box. I have changed my stance and tweaked a few little things, but I just feel comfortable. I am getting more confident and just trying to stay within myself."
After out-scoring their opponents 24-2 over the past two games, the Sun Devils offense continued its hot streak against the Coyotes, outhitting the visitors 12-3 in the shutout victory.
In the circle for the Sun Devils, freshmen Abby Andersen turned in another stellar performance, earning her first complete-game shutout victory, and sixth win of the season.
"I thought Abby Andresen threw her best game of the season today," head coach Trisha Ford said. "She had great command, her drop ball was dropping, she had an up-pitch, she had an off-speed. You could really see some distinct separation in her pitches. We made a couple defensive errors behind her, but I was proud of the way she kept her composure. She controlled the things that she could control and threw a lot of ground-ball outs. She just had a tremendous day for us in the circle."
Following a quick top of the first, the Sun Devil offense wasted no time before lighting up the scoreboard in what would be a seven-run frame. Following a lead-off bunt single from Kindra Hackbarth, senior Skylar McCarty put the Sun Devils on the board when she connected on her fourth home run of the season to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
Looking to stay aggressive, the Sun Devils offense continued to put the pressure on. After a Jade Gortarez single, DeNae Chatman would bring in ASU's third run of the day with a single of her own, pushing the score to 3-0.
The offensive barrage did not stop there as Bella Loomis made her way to the plate with bases loaded. The second basemen crushed a no-doubter over the right-field wall to break open the game and give ASU a 7-0 lead.
"Thank goodness for Bella," Ford said with a smile. "That little person can mash. She had another tremendous day in the box for us."
After a quiet second inning from both teams, the Coyotes looked to answer back in the third. With the leadoff batter reaching safely on an ASU error, back-to-back South Dakota singles loaded the bases with still nobody out. But Andersen would come through again for the Devils, drawing a ground ball to Kiara Kennedy at third who fired to Maddi Hackbarth at the plate, before turning to DeNae Chatman at first for a run-scoring double play. Just one batter later, Loomis would position herself perfectly under a fly-ball for the final out of the inning.
"That was a really firm ball hit to Kennedy," Ford said of the run-saving double play. "They work really hard on the infield. Maddi is one of those players who works so hard and gets very little credit. That kid is special. She is like the lineman who never gets credit for protecting the quarterback and producing holes for the running backs. She does more for this program, for our pitchers and for our defense than anyone can wrap their head around. She is a leader and I just can't say enough good things about her."
Following an Alli Tantall walk, Loomis connected on her second home run of the day, this time a shot deposited over the left field wall, to push ASU's lead to 9-0. The long ball marked her second of the day, and her second multi-home run game of season.
The Sun Devils would tack on three more runs in the 4th- inning. Following singles by McCarty and Morgan Howe, Gortarez would get her third hit of the game connecting on a two-run double to increase ASU's lead to 11-0. Catcher Maddi Hackbarth would later card an RBI single that brought in Gortarez to close out the 12-0 Arizona State victory.
The Sun Devils will be back in action Tuesday night hosting Lehigh in a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Farrington Stadium. Fans can follow all of the action from Tuesday's game, as well as the rest of the 2019 ASU softball season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.