TEMPE, Ariz.-- The Sun Devil softball squad rallied back from Friday night's loss against Oregon State to win Saturday night, 18-2, to bring the series with the Beavers to a split. This win marks head coach Trisha Ford's 100th win in only three seasons so far with the program.
"What I was most pleased with was the fact that we came out and we bounced back from last night," head coach Trisha Ford said of her team's performance in the win. "Yesterday's game was rough and I thought we stepped up to the challenge in a big way tonight. Obviously our bats came to life and did some damage. Tomorrow we are going to have a good plan and come out and execute. Offensively, we are one of the best teams in the country. Coach (Jeff) Harger has done a fantastic job, and our pitchers are keeping us in games. Moving forward we just need to limit the free bases and let our defense make outs."
In the circle, junior right hander Samantha Mejia picked up her 11th win of the season. Mejia, threw a complete five innings, holding the Beavers to just two runs on five hits, while carding six strikeouts.
"It was an amazing feeling," Mejia said of the win. "After the loss yesterday, to come back and do what we do, it was just a great feeling overall."
Following a quite top of the first, junior outfielder Kindra Hackbarth led off Arizona State's first trip to the plate with a solo-shot to left center to give ASU an early, 1-0, lead. But, Oregon State would strike back in the following inning with an RBI double off the centerfield wall to tie the game at 1-1.
The Sun Devil offense came to life in the third inning, scoring 10 runs on eight hits and a pair of Beaver errors. In total, 14 different ASU batters stepped into the batter's box with two outs on the board.
Following a one-out double from K. Hackbarth, Morgan Howe and DeNae Chatman hit back-to-back home runs to make it a 4-1 ASU lead. Howe's homer sailed over the wall in left-center and found a home among the palm trees, while Chatman's blast headed straight down Broadway marking the Sun Devils' third homer of the game.
As the inning continued, eight different Sun Devils would tally RBI, sending the game to the fourth with ASU leading Oregon State, 14-1.
Following a quick three-up, three-down top of the fourth, Skylar McCarty stepped up and hit a home run of her own, pushing the ASU lead to 15-1. Three batters later, Alli Tatnall pinch hit for Chatman and sent the first pitch she saw for a ride out to the scoreboard in left field for a three-run shot, her first collegiate home run in the maroon and gold. When the dust settled in the fourth, ASU had pushed the lead to 18-1.
The Beavers would make some noise in the final frame, blasting a leadoff homer, and working a runner on, but it would be too-little too-late as Mejia and the Sun Devil defense would buckle down to secure the 18-2 victory.
The series will conclude tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. PT first pitch. Fans can watch all of the action from Sunday's game by tuning in to the ASU Live Stream, or by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"What I was most pleased with was the fact that we came out and we bounced back from last night," head coach Trisha Ford said of her team's performance in the win. "Yesterday's game was rough and I thought we stepped up to the challenge in a big way tonight. Obviously our bats came to life and did some damage. Tomorrow we are going to have a good plan and come out and execute. Offensively, we are one of the best teams in the country. Coach (Jeff) Harger has done a fantastic job, and our pitchers are keeping us in games. Moving forward we just need to limit the free bases and let our defense make outs."
In the circle, junior right hander Samantha Mejia picked up her 11th win of the season. Mejia, threw a complete five innings, holding the Beavers to just two runs on five hits, while carding six strikeouts.
"It was an amazing feeling," Mejia said of the win. "After the loss yesterday, to come back and do what we do, it was just a great feeling overall."
Following a quite top of the first, junior outfielder Kindra Hackbarth led off Arizona State's first trip to the plate with a solo-shot to left center to give ASU an early, 1-0, lead. But, Oregon State would strike back in the following inning with an RBI double off the centerfield wall to tie the game at 1-1.
The Sun Devil offense came to life in the third inning, scoring 10 runs on eight hits and a pair of Beaver errors. In total, 14 different ASU batters stepped into the batter's box with two outs on the board.
Following a one-out double from K. Hackbarth, Morgan Howe and DeNae Chatman hit back-to-back home runs to make it a 4-1 ASU lead. Howe's homer sailed over the wall in left-center and found a home among the palm trees, while Chatman's blast headed straight down Broadway marking the Sun Devils' third homer of the game.
As the inning continued, eight different Sun Devils would tally RBI, sending the game to the fourth with ASU leading Oregon State, 14-1.
Following a quick three-up, three-down top of the fourth, Skylar McCarty stepped up and hit a home run of her own, pushing the ASU lead to 15-1. Three batters later, Alli Tatnall pinch hit for Chatman and sent the first pitch she saw for a ride out to the scoreboard in left field for a three-run shot, her first collegiate home run in the maroon and gold. When the dust settled in the fourth, ASU had pushed the lead to 18-1.
The Beavers would make some noise in the final frame, blasting a leadoff homer, and working a runner on, but it would be too-little too-late as Mejia and the Sun Devil defense would buckle down to secure the 18-2 victory.
The series will conclude tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. PT first pitch. Fans can watch all of the action from Sunday's game by tuning in to the ASU Live Stream, or by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.