TEMPE – If there was a will, there was a way for Sun Devil Softball on Thursday as the Littlewood Invitational host scored a combined eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat Portland State, 11-5, and Indiana, 7-6, to open the four-day tournament.
After Portland State (2-5) and Arizona State took a 5-5 score into the bottom of the fourth, Katie Chester, who recorded the game-ending single against Memphis to conclude last weekend’s Kajikawa Classic, sent a 2-2 pitch into center field for a two-out, run-scoring single to score Brooke Piwowar from second.
But the one-run Sun Devil advantage stood for only two innings.
Millie Roberts opened the bottom of the sixth by drawing a five-pitch walk to set the stage for a Tanya Windle two-run home run down the right field line. Three batters later, Avery Motroni added another run for ASU with an infield single to score Emily Schepp from third. Kaylee Pond put a bow on the five-run, five-hit frame with a one-out, two-run home run.
4⃣4⃣ is TOUGH 😤#ForksUp /// @tanya_windle pic.twitter.com/0ChLtLuZ3x
In the nightcap of Arizona State’s Thursday doubleheader, Indiana (4-2) not only broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth but took a multi-run lead with a two-out, two-run infield single off the bat of Ellie Goins. The Hoosier lead grew by a run the following inning when Aly VanBrandt scored from third on a groundout by Avery Parker.
And that’s when the magic began.
Before the bottom of the fifth began, the game was delayed coming out of a commercial break by two minutes after a loose rabbit ran from left field, into the left field corner, back down the left field foul line toward home plate, before cutting across the infield dirt and into a small hole underneath the gate along the right field foul line.
Hello, Rally Rabbit 👋#ForksUp /// @ContextSoftball pic.twitter.com/sbA6XeqgMj
Indiana pitcher Taylor Hess hit Yazzy Avila with the second pitch of the inning, before walking Schepp on five pitches two batters later. The pair of Sun Devils advanced on a passed ball before Avila scored on a ground ball off the bat of Chester. Then Pond sent a 1-2 pitch over the left-centerfield fence for a two-out, three-run home run to give ASU its first lead of the contest.
Despite Goins hitting a one-out, two-run home run in the top of the sixth to give Indiana the lead, again, Schepp came through in the clutch in the bottom half with a two-out, three-run home run off Hess, who re-entered the pitching circle for Ella Troutt, moments before Schepp stepped back into the box.
Unlike Arizona State, Indiana was unable to find a lucky rabbit as despite a one-out solo home run by Parker in the top of the seventh, Kenzie Brown (2-1) struck out the final two batters to seal her third consecutive home start with 10-or-more strikeouts (14).
From head coach Megan Bartlett
“Those were two – not always pretty – but really complete team wins today. Our pitching staff is, normally, lights out, but they got into a little bit of trouble today. So, the defense and hitters picked them up and that is what good teams do, because that is the reality of softball. That is a stick and ball sport. It is not always going to go to plan, and you will have nights when one facet of the game is pulling the rope a little bit harder than the other. I will take it, though, as Indiana is a great team. That is going to be a postseason team that is going to do really well in the Big Ten.”
From senior outfielder Kaylee Pond
“I have to give credit to the coaching staff. They really calmed me down. I have a tendency to get in my head a little bit, and they just said to trust your athletic abilities and try to find the inside seam, so that’s what I did.”
Up next
With two more wins under its belt following Thursday’s tournament-opening slate, Arizona State (6-1) will square off against Nevada (3-2) inside Farrington Stadium at 6:15 p.m. MST on Friday, Feb. 13.
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