No. 22/21 Arizona State (19-5, 0-2 Big 12) dropped its second straight game to begin conference play, falling 15-0 to Utah (20-5, 2-0 Big 12).
The ASU loss comes after the Maroon and Gold lost a nail-biting 9-5 game in extra innings to the Utes one night ago.
The Sun Devils called upon junior right-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe, who came in out of the bullpen on Friday night, to make the start in the circle.
Lauppe suffered from some sloppy defense in her last outing, charged with no earned runs in the series opener. In her second outing of the series, things slowly begin to spiral for the Maroon and Gold once again.
After a scoreless first inning from both sides, ASU took the field prepared for another battle against one of the better offensive teams in the Big 12.
The Utes began to get their offense rolling in the second, loading the bases after a pair of walks by Lauppe and a single by senior infielder Hailee White.
With ducks on the pond for junior outfielder Rees Lee, she knocked in a pair of runs with a two-run double, scoring the first run of the game for either side. Shortly after, a two-run double from sophomore catcher Kennedy Proctor extended Utah’s lead.
After allowing four runs and dealing with more foot traffic on the bases, ASU brought in senior left-handed pitcher Aissa Silva, the starter from Friday night’s game.
Silva walked the first batter she saw, loading the bases for Utah senior utility player Kayla Lyon, who brought home another pair of runs with a two-run single.
To top off the nine-run frame, junior utility player Shonty Passai hit a three-run homer, wrapping up the Utes’ offensive avalanche.
ASU couldn’t find the momentum it needed to stay in the game, only tallying one hit in five innings of play, which came from sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia.
“We have a great offense,” ASU coach Megan Bartlett said. “It takes one hit, and the runs will keep pouring.”
While Arizona State’s bats stayed silent, the Utah bats stayed vigilant, knocking in six more runs over the last three innings and ultimately taking the series win away from the Sun Devils.
“We’re not very decisive at the plate right now, and we need to stop doing a lot of second-guessing,” Bartlett said.
The Sun Devils’ momentum has stalled as of late, with the loss on Saturday night marking their first stretch of back-to-back losses this season
Following a rocky start to conference play, ASU will have to pick up the pieces and regroup before its series finale against the Utes.
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