Tempe, Ariz.– On the final game of alumni weekend, No. 22 Sun Devil softball (22-5) took down Oregon State (22-7) with a walk-off home run from upperclassman Bella Loomis after going to extra innings to sweep its first Pac-12 series of the season, 9-6 at Farrington Stadium.
In addition to Loomis's walk off, senior Jessica Puk had her first home run as a Sun Devil to bring ASU within one in the bottom of the seventh and Jazmine Hill had a home run to get things started in the bottom of the first inning.
"Our biggest thing is that we have to make sure to stay within our at bats. We don't have to do anything crazy," Hill said. "We trust each other and when one person gets started, we just keep rallying."
Junior Lindsay Lopez got the start as she pitched 4.2 innings and struck out four batters throughout her start. Freshman Mac Morgan came in for relief with two outs in the top of the fifth where she pitched the rest of the game for the Sun Devils.
ASU 9, OSU 6
Up Next:
Sun Devil Softball travels down to Tucson next weekend for a three-game series with No. 9 Arizona on Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27. All games can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.
Quotes:
Head Coach Trisha Ford:
On this weekend's Sweep:
"Today we showed some grit and punch-back, I'm so proud of the team. We have some players who struggled a little bit throughout the year that have come up big for us so that's what I'm most proud of is that they were ready for that moment. I thought Puk's home run was huge, obviously, I'm happy to see a Bella bomb back in Farrington. I also think Jazmyn Rollin hitting that ball through, Jaz Hill had a really good at-bat to get us started. I think for me it was a really good job of us getting punched and punching back and having a delay and just us showing what we're made out of. Mac came in and did a great job after giving up the long ball, but we came back the next inning and punched right back. For me, it's what we do, we're never out of a game."
On persevering through the deficit today:
"I think our lineup from top to bottom gives us a chance, we did a great job passing the bat, focusing on our at-bats and we've had some ups-and-downs in pre-conference but I think those ups-and-downs have helped us. I think since its Pac-12 play we knew it was going to be a battle and we know it's Oregon. St is a great team, we knew today was going to be super hard, and I think we lived in the moment. I'm proud of them for taking the emotions out of it and taking it one pitch at a time."
On the upcoming series against Arizona:
"We need to tidy up some things and get rolling but I'm super excited, this was a win for us and I'm looking forward to the hostile environment, I think our players do as well."
Bella Loomis
On energy in the dugout and sweeping the series
"Our energy is never down and we don't quit, it's kind of our thing. It's a great feeling sweeping the first series, so we're just looking ahead and taking it one series at a time."
Jazmine Hill
On her approach at the plate
"My biggest thing is to just keep staying aggressive. I had my timing down pretty well so I had to make sure to stay calm and be aggressive."
Jazmyn Rollin
On staying focused after weather delay
"We kind of fell apart after the rain delay and lost a little bit of focus. But I think us coming together and knowing that we have to do it not just for ourselves, but when another pushes our team to do really well. So as long as we're playing for more than just ourselves and we compete and go hard against everyone else."
Follow Along:
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball for the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
In addition to Loomis's walk off, senior Jessica Puk had her first home run as a Sun Devil to bring ASU within one in the bottom of the seventh and Jazmine Hill had a home run to get things started in the bottom of the first inning.
ABSOLUTE CLUTCH FROM @bellaloomis ?? ??#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/5ZFpdruReI
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 20, 2022
"Our biggest thing is that we have to make sure to stay within our at bats. We don't have to do anything crazy," Hill said. "We trust each other and when one person gets started, we just keep rallying."
WE'RE TIED UP IN TEMPE ?? ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 20, 2022
thanks to a big hit from @Jazmine_h77
B7: 6-6#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/gdOIkJGVn2
Junior Lindsay Lopez got the start as she pitched 4.2 innings and struck out four batters throughout her start. Freshman Mac Morgan came in for relief with two outs in the top of the fifth where she pitched the rest of the game for the Sun Devils.
How It Happened:And ... @jessi_puk hits a home run to get us within one ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) March 20, 2022
B7: 6-5 OSU#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/WziHV5eHXv
ASU 9, OSU 6
- Jazmine Hill homered to left field with two outs in the bottom of the first to bring in Cydney Sanders after she singled to center field which gave ASU the early 2-0 lead.
- With no one out in the bottom of the third, Torres singled to left field bringing Savannah Price to second. Price advanced to third and Torres advanced to second on a wild pitch prior to the game stopping for 30 minutes due to weather in the area. When the game started up again, Acuña had a fly out to leftfield bringing in Price to make it 3-0 for the Sun Devils.
- A double for Oregon State gave it its first run of the afternoon. Then a two run home run to center field tied up the game, 3-3, in the top of the fourth inning.
- A two home run to right field by the Beavers gave them their first lead of the game, 5-3, in the top of the fifth inning.
- A double from Jazmyn Rollin in the bottom of the sixth brought in Emily Cazares to bring ASU within one of OSU, 5-4.
- The Beavers had a solo home run to center field in the top of the seventh inning to bring them ahead again by two, 6-4.
- Senior Jessi Puk hit her first home run of the season to centerfield in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one run game, 6-5. With two outs, Hill doubled to right field which brought in Acuña to tie the game, 6-6, but the Beavers would hold on to keep the game tied, leading to extra innings.
- The Sun Devils took care of business on defense in the top of the eighth inning going into their half of the inning. At bat was graduate student Bella Loomis who had her first home run of the season to have a walkoff homer to right field to win the game and sweep the series, 9-6.
Up Next:
Sun Devil Softball travels down to Tucson next weekend for a three-game series with No. 9 Arizona on Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27. All games can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.
Quotes:
Head Coach Trisha Ford:
On this weekend's Sweep:
"Today we showed some grit and punch-back, I'm so proud of the team. We have some players who struggled a little bit throughout the year that have come up big for us so that's what I'm most proud of is that they were ready for that moment. I thought Puk's home run was huge, obviously, I'm happy to see a Bella bomb back in Farrington. I also think Jazmyn Rollin hitting that ball through, Jaz Hill had a really good at-bat to get us started. I think for me it was a really good job of us getting punched and punching back and having a delay and just us showing what we're made out of. Mac came in and did a great job after giving up the long ball, but we came back the next inning and punched right back. For me, it's what we do, we're never out of a game."
On persevering through the deficit today:
"I think our lineup from top to bottom gives us a chance, we did a great job passing the bat, focusing on our at-bats and we've had some ups-and-downs in pre-conference but I think those ups-and-downs have helped us. I think since its Pac-12 play we knew it was going to be a battle and we know it's Oregon. St is a great team, we knew today was going to be super hard, and I think we lived in the moment. I'm proud of them for taking the emotions out of it and taking it one pitch at a time."
On the upcoming series against Arizona:
"We need to tidy up some things and get rolling but I'm super excited, this was a win for us and I'm looking forward to the hostile environment, I think our players do as well."
Bella Loomis
On energy in the dugout and sweeping the series
"Our energy is never down and we don't quit, it's kind of our thing. It's a great feeling sweeping the first series, so we're just looking ahead and taking it one series at a time."
Jazmine Hill
On her approach at the plate
"My biggest thing is to just keep staying aggressive. I had my timing down pretty well so I had to make sure to stay calm and be aggressive."
Jazmyn Rollin
On staying focused after weather delay
"We kind of fell apart after the rain delay and lost a little bit of focus. But I think us coming together and knowing that we have to do it not just for ourselves, but when another pushes our team to do really well. So as long as we're playing for more than just ourselves and we compete and go hard against everyone else."
Follow Along:
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball for the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.