Patience is a virtue.
The ASU softball team needed plenty of it Wednesday night in a sweep of Eastern Michigan.
The Sun Devils went scoreless for eight consecutive innings before their bats came alive in the second game of a doubleheader. They mustered just one hit over the final five innings of the first game and struggled at the start of Game 2.
Eastern Michigan junior right-hander Nikki Denman didn't allow a hit until senior left fielder Valerie Sevilla knocked a single to right with one out in the fourth.
The single opened the rally that the Sun Devils needed, putting an end to their offensive struggles.
Sophomore catcher Heidi Knabe hit a routine grounder that found its way through the legs of Eastern Michigan freshman second baseman Jessica Grant and rolled to the wall.
The Sun Devils took the lead two batters later on sophomore first baseman Sharee Zaleski's two-run home run, and then carried their momentum into the fifth by tacking on three more runs.
Freshman center fielder Ciri Bryan opened the sixth with her fourth walk of the night. ASU then rattled off three consecutive hits, highlighted by Sevilla's two-run double.
"I didn't have the greatest of weekends [at the Palm Springs Classic], so it felt good to come out and hit the ball again," Sevilla said. "It feels good to get one hit in a game, and for me, that second one was just an extra bonus."
Sevilla finished the doubleheader 3 for 5 from the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.
The Sun Devils scored in just three of 12 innings, but coach Linda Wells emphasized patience is the best way for her players to overcome slumps.
"Patience is important not only on offense, but also on defense," Wells said. "It's easy to get lulled to sleep on defense in games like these with so many strikeouts. It's very difficult to be patient behind pitchers who strike so many out."
Reach the reporter at brian.knapp@asu.edu.
