TEMPE, Ariz. --- The 15th- ranked Arizona State softball team overcame a three-run deficit against ninth-ranked Texas Sunday afternoon, claiming a 9-6 victory in the final game of the 2019 Sun Devil Classic.
"We work really hard at swinging at strikes," assistant coach Carly Wynn said of the Sun Devils approach at the plate in their second meeting with the Longhorns. "As juvenile and cliché as that sounds the girls did a really good job today laying off the bad pitches. I hope our girls take away from this weekend that they can compete with the best. You don't have to be perfect, but you do have to swing at good pitches and you have to be on time. You need to be successful one out of three times to be good at our sport. We need to do our best to not make it more than it really needs to be."
The win marked the first ASU victory over a top-10 opponent this season, after falling to No. 4 Florida earlier this year.
Following a three-up-three down top of the first, junior Kindra Hackbarth led off the bottom of the frame with a rocket to deep to left center to give ASU an early 1-0 lead.
The Longhorns answered back in the top of the second frame, scoring four runs to make it a 4-1 Texas lead heading to the third.
Looking to increase the lead even more, the Longhorns worked a pair of runners into scoring position with two away in the third, but a diving catch by K. Hackbarth in right would hold the visitors off the board and jumpstart a Sun Devil rally.
After the first two batters were walked, K. Hackbarth stepped up to the box and blasted the ball out to left field, her second home run of the afternoon.
"I felt good all morning during batting practice," Kindra Hackbarth said. "We just went in the box and stuck to our plan. We didn't stick to our plan the first time we played Elish on Friday. We just needed to stick to our plan, do what the coaches told us and we just execute. I think we did that today."
In the fourth inning the Longhorns allowed two free bases, both off hit batters, before a wild pitch to Skylar McCarty plated the tying run for the Sun Devils.
Following a full-count walk to McCarty, Morgan Howe looped a double over the left fielder's head and advanced to third on a throwing error by the shortstop, trying to catch McCarty crossing the plate. Her double gave ASU an 8-4 lead with the game heading to the fifth. DeNae Chatman would add to the Sun Devil lead, reaching on an error that allowed Howe to score from third, making it a 9-4 ASU lead heading to the fifth.
The ninth-ranked Longhorns would not go quietly, adding a run in both the sixth and seventh inning, but it would not be enough as freshman Abby Andersen held down the circle to close out the game for her first save of her collegiate career.
"It makes you think it's really not quite over," Wynn said of the back and forth end of the game. "When you have that hope from an offensive standpoint and that tightness from a defensive standpoint, it keeps the game exciting."
The exhilarating win on Sunday ended a 3-2 showing for ASU in the Sun Devil Classic. Through the weekend, the Sun Devil offense combined to score 48 runs on 36 hits. As a team, ASU carded a .305 batting average, and held their opposition to just a .422 on-base percentage.
The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend hosting the 2019 ASU Invitational March 7-12. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"We work really hard at swinging at strikes," assistant coach Carly Wynn said of the Sun Devils approach at the plate in their second meeting with the Longhorns. "As juvenile and cliché as that sounds the girls did a really good job today laying off the bad pitches. I hope our girls take away from this weekend that they can compete with the best. You don't have to be perfect, but you do have to swing at good pitches and you have to be on time. You need to be successful one out of three times to be good at our sport. We need to do our best to not make it more than it really needs to be."
The win marked the first ASU victory over a top-10 opponent this season, after falling to No. 4 Florida earlier this year.
Following a three-up-three down top of the first, junior Kindra Hackbarth led off the bottom of the frame with a rocket to deep to left center to give ASU an early 1-0 lead.
The Longhorns answered back in the top of the second frame, scoring four runs to make it a 4-1 Texas lead heading to the third.
Looking to increase the lead even more, the Longhorns worked a pair of runners into scoring position with two away in the third, but a diving catch by K. Hackbarth in right would hold the visitors off the board and jumpstart a Sun Devil rally.
After the first two batters were walked, K. Hackbarth stepped up to the box and blasted the ball out to left field, her second home run of the afternoon.
"I felt good all morning during batting practice," Kindra Hackbarth said. "We just went in the box and stuck to our plan. We didn't stick to our plan the first time we played Elish on Friday. We just needed to stick to our plan, do what the coaches told us and we just execute. I think we did that today."
In the fourth inning the Longhorns allowed two free bases, both off hit batters, before a wild pitch to Skylar McCarty plated the tying run for the Sun Devils.
Following a full-count walk to McCarty, Morgan Howe looped a double over the left fielder's head and advanced to third on a throwing error by the shortstop, trying to catch McCarty crossing the plate. Her double gave ASU an 8-4 lead with the game heading to the fifth. DeNae Chatman would add to the Sun Devil lead, reaching on an error that allowed Howe to score from third, making it a 9-4 ASU lead heading to the fifth.
The ninth-ranked Longhorns would not go quietly, adding a run in both the sixth and seventh inning, but it would not be enough as freshman Abby Andersen held down the circle to close out the game for her first save of her collegiate career.
"It makes you think it's really not quite over," Wynn said of the back and forth end of the game. "When you have that hope from an offensive standpoint and that tightness from a defensive standpoint, it keeps the game exciting."
The exhilarating win on Sunday ended a 3-2 showing for ASU in the Sun Devil Classic. Through the weekend, the Sun Devil offense combined to score 48 runs on 36 hits. As a team, ASU carded a .305 batting average, and held their opposition to just a .422 on-base percentage.
The Sun Devils will be back in action next weekend hosting the 2019 ASU Invitational March 7-12. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.