TEMPE – No. 22 Arizona State (6-1) opened up a long weekend of games at the Littlewood Invitational with a sweep of its doubleheader at Club Farrington on Thursday, highlighted by a nail-biting 7-6 victory over Indiana (5-2).
The Sun Devils racked up 18 runs, relying on contributions from multiple players to secure an 11-5 victory over Portland State (2-5) in the opener and a close win over the Hoosiers in the nightcap.
In a back-and-forth contest against Indiana, ASU’s lineup showed resolve, fighting through four Hoosier pitchers and scratching across enough runs late by way of its power hitting.
“(It’s) not always pretty but really complete team wins,” ASU coach Megan Bartlett said about her team’s performance in the doubleheader. “Our pitching staff is normally lights out, but they got into a little bit of trouble today. (Our) defense and hitters picked them up. That’s what good teams do because that’s the reality of softball, that’s a stick and ball sport, it’s not always going to go as planned.”
Both teams started slow, going scoreless in the first three innings before the offenses began to break through. The Hoosiers broke through in the fourth, scoring two runs in the fourth inning and adding another one in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead.
Despite the early deficit, the Sun Devils responded at the bottom of the fifth with a home run off the bat of senior outfielder Kaylee Pond. Her second homer of the day swung momentum back toward the Maroon and Gold.
“When you’re really playing for your team, it just makes it that much more special, I mean, I think that puts us ahead, so that obviously gives us a little more breathing room,” Pond said. “Indiana is a great team, and we knew that they were going to come out and hit, but it just felt good.”
ASU offense continued to surge, plating seven runs across the fifth and sixth innings. Junior catcher Emily Schepp capped the rally with a deep home run to left field that secured the victory for the Sun Devils.
Despite an up-and-down outing, senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown struck out seven batters in the first two innings, holding Indiana scoreless early. Brown finished with a season-high 14 strikeouts and tied her career high with six walks.
“It’s great to support her whenever we can,” Schepp said. “I mean, we always try to; she always does great for us on the mound, and to just provide the extra support.”
The pair of wins keeps Arizona State’s momentum rolling, as the Sun Devils improve to 6-1 with their only loss coming to No. 3 Oklahoma in a one-run game.
After opening the Littlewood Invitational with victories over Portland State and Indiana, the Sun Devils will look to stay undefeated over the weekend when they face Nevada on Feb 13.
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