TEMPE, Ariz.- In the first game of the 2022 Littlewood Classic, No. 21 Sun Devil softball opened its second tournament of the season on a high note as Arizona State (4-2) defeated Minnesota (3-4) in six innings, 8-0. This is the second shutout in six games for the Sun Devils as they head into the rest of the weekend.
In their run-rule victory, the Sun Devils had three home runs with transfer Jazmyn Rollin earning her first in maroon and gold in the bottom of the fourth inning, Jazmine Hill led the night off with a home run to center field and Yannira Acuña finalized the game with her two-run homer to left center.
"Our biggest goal for this week was to come off aggressive and I definitely think we did that," junior outfielder Hill said. "I'm proud of how strong we came out and how much energy we had during the game."
Junior left-handed pitcher Lindsay Lopez got the start in the circle for the Sun Devils on Thursday night, her first start of the season. Lopez played the whole game where she only allowed two walks after facing 27 batters and had eight ground outs. Her classmate, Jordyn Vanhook, subbed in for first base during the sixth inning as well as pinch hitting during the fifth inning while freshman Cyd Sanders was moved to third base. Sophomore Emily Cazares made her fourth appearance of the season where she played left field for the fifth and sixth innings.
"We're trying to attack more strikes early instead of getting deep in our count, there's no problem getting deep in our count," Rollin said. "But who we are as Sun Devils, we try to attack early from the first punch."
Overall, head coach Trisha Ford was impressed with how the game went, as it was the Sun Devils' second win of the season from the run rule.
"As the game went on, we did a much better job, I thought Lindsay threw a heck of a game," Ford said. "It was nice to see Jaz Rollin be Jaz Rollin, she's got tremendous pop."
ASU 8, UM 0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Up Next: Arizona State continues play in the Littlewood Classic in a matchup with Portland State on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., and the game can be viewed on the ASU Live Stream.
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
About the Littlewood Classic…
The classic is named in honor of Mary Littlewood, the founder and leader of ASU softball and the classic is in its 16th year. Littlewood was the founder and a staple of the majority of women's sports at ASU today. Littlewood was the first coach of ASU softball where she led the team for 21 years. She's one of just two coaches in program history to notch 500 career wins and led the team to back-to-back AIAW National Championships (before the program entered the NCAA) in 1972 and 1973. She had a winning season in each of the 21 years she was head coach from 1966-1989 and compiled a record of 551-222-1.
In their run-rule victory, the Sun Devils had three home runs with transfer Jazmyn Rollin earning her first in maroon and gold in the bottom of the fourth inning, Jazmine Hill led the night off with a home run to center field and Yannira Acuña finalized the game with her two-run homer to left center.
How our Thursday night ended, thanks to @yanniraacuna ??#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/BMd2eQKgA6
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 18, 2022
"Our biggest goal for this week was to come off aggressive and I definitely think we did that," junior outfielder Hill said. "I'm proud of how strong we came out and how much energy we had during the game."
?? LEADOFF HOMERUN ?? @Jazmine_h77
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 18, 2022
?? https://t.co/32TXsKg4yr
B1: 1-0 ASU #ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/o6nGC69XAj
Junior left-handed pitcher Lindsay Lopez got the start in the circle for the Sun Devils on Thursday night, her first start of the season. Lopez played the whole game where she only allowed two walks after facing 27 batters and had eight ground outs. Her classmate, Jordyn Vanhook, subbed in for first base during the sixth inning as well as pinch hitting during the fifth inning while freshman Cyd Sanders was moved to third base. Sophomore Emily Cazares made her fourth appearance of the season where she played left field for the fifth and sixth innings.
"We're trying to attack more strikes early instead of getting deep in our count, there's no problem getting deep in our count," Rollin said. "But who we are as Sun Devils, we try to attack early from the first punch."
?? LASER SHOW @JazzyRollin ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 18, 2022
B4: 3-0 ASU#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/waJEy8qu7G
Overall, head coach Trisha Ford was impressed with how the game went, as it was the Sun Devils' second win of the season from the run rule.
"As the game went on, we did a much better job, I thought Lindsay threw a heck of a game," Ford said. "It was nice to see Jaz Rollin be Jaz Rollin, she's got tremendous pop."
ASU 8, UM 0
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- When it was the Sun Devils' turn to bat in the bottom of the first inning, Jazmine Hill hit a leadoff home run to center field to give ASU the early 1-0 edge.
- The Sun Devils kept the second and third innings scoreless with defensive plays as Jazmyn Rollin picked off the lone base runner for the Gophers while she attempted to steal a base.
- With two down in the bottom of the fourth, Jazmyn Rollin homered to right center, bringing in Alynah Torres to increase the Sun Devils' lead 3-0.
- In the top of the fourth, Lopez faced three batters to get things done in the circle for ASU. A double from Yannira Acuña to left field brought in Hill and VanHook, who was pinch hitting, to make it 5-0 ASU in the bottom of the fourth.
- A double to right field from Rollin, her second hit of the night, brought in Cydney Sanders in the bottom of the fifth inning to increase the Sun Devils' lead further.
- Hill made it to second base on a passed ball after reaching first base on an error by the Gophers. With Acuña at the plate, she homered to left center bringing in Hill to win the game for the Sun Devils on run rules, 8-0.
Up Next: Arizona State continues play in the Littlewood Classic in a matchup with Portland State on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., and the game can be viewed on the ASU Live Stream.
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
About the Littlewood Classic…
The classic is named in honor of Mary Littlewood, the founder and leader of ASU softball and the classic is in its 16th year. Littlewood was the founder and a staple of the majority of women's sports at ASU today. Littlewood was the first coach of ASU softball where she led the team for 21 years. She's one of just two coaches in program history to notch 500 career wins and led the team to back-to-back AIAW National Championships (before the program entered the NCAA) in 1972 and 1973. She had a winning season in each of the 21 years she was head coach from 1966-1989 and compiled a record of 551-222-1.