TEMPE, Ariz. -- The 17th- ranked Arizona State softball team fell to Oregon State, 5-1, in the team's Pac-12 opening game Friday night at Farrington Softball Stadium.
"There are seven innings in a game and we played not great softball for six innings tonight," head coach Trisha Ford said. "We know it. We did not play clean defense, we didn't have a good day in the circle and offensively we didn't get anything started. It's all abut how we are going to respond. For a lot of our players this was their first Pac-12 game. We had some of the nerves going on, and we just have to funnel that a little better and use it to our benefit."
The Beavers jumped out ot an early lead, bringing in three runs on two hits, and two Sun Devil errors. The visitors would stay hot at the plate, bringing in another run in the second to make it 4-0 OSU heading to the third.
With neither team able to score in the third, the Beavers would tack on one more run in the fourth, ballooning the lead to 5-0.
"I don't think we made adjustments like we needed to," Ford said of the slow day at the plate. "We let some things that are not in our control effect us. I was honestly just disappointed with our approach tonight in the batters box."
From there, freshman pitcher Abby Andersen really seemed to settle in, as did the defense behind her. From the fourth inning on, Andersen held the Beavers to just one hit, and left the door open for a possible Sun Devil comeback.
In the sixth, ASU would attempt to get things going with a leadoff walk, but the Beavers would hold the offense at bay again, protecting their five-run lead.
In the sixth, ASU would lace a two-out single, but it would be too-little too-late as a groundout would end the opportunity.
The offense did come to life for ASU in the seventh. Junior catcher Maddi Hackbarth led things off with a no doubter over the wall in left-center that got the Devils on the board. Unfortunately, a pair of ground outs and a strikeout would stall the would-be comeback, and seal the Oregon State win.
The series will continue tomorrow with a 5:00 p.m. PT first pitch. Fans can watch all of the action from Saturday's game by tuning in to the ASU Live Stream, or by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"There are seven innings in a game and we played not great softball for six innings tonight," head coach Trisha Ford said. "We know it. We did not play clean defense, we didn't have a good day in the circle and offensively we didn't get anything started. It's all abut how we are going to respond. For a lot of our players this was their first Pac-12 game. We had some of the nerves going on, and we just have to funnel that a little better and use it to our benefit."
The Beavers jumped out ot an early lead, bringing in three runs on two hits, and two Sun Devil errors. The visitors would stay hot at the plate, bringing in another run in the second to make it 4-0 OSU heading to the third.
With neither team able to score in the third, the Beavers would tack on one more run in the fourth, ballooning the lead to 5-0.
"I don't think we made adjustments like we needed to," Ford said of the slow day at the plate. "We let some things that are not in our control effect us. I was honestly just disappointed with our approach tonight in the batters box."
From there, freshman pitcher Abby Andersen really seemed to settle in, as did the defense behind her. From the fourth inning on, Andersen held the Beavers to just one hit, and left the door open for a possible Sun Devil comeback.
In the sixth, ASU would attempt to get things going with a leadoff walk, but the Beavers would hold the offense at bay again, protecting their five-run lead.
In the sixth, ASU would lace a two-out single, but it would be too-little too-late as a groundout would end the opportunity.
The offense did come to life for ASU in the seventh. Junior catcher Maddi Hackbarth led things off with a no doubter over the wall in left-center that got the Devils on the board. Unfortunately, a pair of ground outs and a strikeout would stall the would-be comeback, and seal the Oregon State win.
The series will continue tomorrow with a 5:00 p.m. PT first pitch. Fans can watch all of the action from Saturday's game by tuning in to the ASU Live Stream, or by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.