A sunny Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium concluded Arizona State’s three-game set against the visiting University of Utah. The Utes earned a sweep away from Salt Lake City after a 4-0 victory with all four runs coming in the final inning.
The first four innings saw only one hit from each team make the stat sheet. With both teams having sluggish performances offensively, much of the game was controlled on the mound.
Utah senior pitcher Mariah Lopez notched seven strikeouts in six innings pitched making the away team look comfortable on defense.
Meanwhile, ASU senior starter Deborah Jones managed to keep the game scoreless through six with help from teammates on the defensive side of the ball. Putting up four strikeouts of her own, Jones kept ASU in the game for as long as she could.
Struggling to find her rhythm in the final inning, Jones gave up a single and a walk with no outs. The deadlock was then immediately broken after Utah graduate student Haley Denning hit a deep RBI double off of the centerfield wall.
With the score at 2-0, the next batter, sophomore Abby Dayton, struck a pitch from Jones directly at shortstop Alesia Denby. The rapid pace of the ball caused a Denby error ensuring Dayton’s safety at first and another run to score. Dayton’s impact wasn’t over as she would steal second base, causing a misthrow from ASU catcher Kelsey Hall. The second error in back-to-back sequences gave the Utes a 4-0 win in quick succession.
The loss came as an unfortunate end not only to the game but the weekend as a whole for the Sun Devils.
“We had a ton of shots to win which is certainly all we can ask for from the pitching and defense,” said head coach Megan Bartlett. “Pitching and defense can continue to keep games tight and keep us in it, it’s just a matter of running into one ball then you’re right back in the game or the lead.”
While Arizona State can draw positive learning experiences defensively from its series loss against Utah, the team will look to put its inconsistent offensive production behind them.
Looking ahead, a quick turnaround has the Sun Devils next set to face in-state opponents GCU. The match will be played on the road at Grand Canyon on Tuesday, April 16 at 6 P.M. MST.
Following that midweek clash will be a rivalry matchup against the University of Arizona in Tucson over the weekend of April 19.
Leave a Reply