Whether it was in the circle or at the plate, nearly everything went right for the ASU softball team against Creighton on Sunday.
The No. 7 Sun Devils (17-1) will aim to duplicate their success against the Bluejays (7-8) in a rematch Tuesday night at Farrington Stadium.
ASU enters the rare midweek matchup riding a 13-game winning streak, with the most recent victory being an impressive 11-1 win over Creighton. Meanwhile, the Bluejays are mired in a four-game losing streak.
Despite winning the previous matchup by a large margin, the Sun Devils are not taking the Bluejays lightly.
“Now that we know what to expect, they know what to expect as well,” senior first baseman Mandy Urfer said. “So we just need to keep staying aggressive and making sure that we stay focused during the week. This will be important for us to come out and show what we have during the week.”
Creighton boasts a young but talented roster that features 11 freshmen.
One of those young players is infielder McKenna Setlik. She scored the only run for Creighton with her solo home run in the top of the second inning on Sunday.
Junior outfielder Christa Ruf has also been a force at the plate so far this season, hitting .333 with three home runs and two doubles.
In the circle, Creighton will hope for improved pitching after going through four pitchers in Sunday’s contest.
Freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom has seen the majority of the time in the circle for the Bluejays. She has a 4-4 record with a 1.31 ERA this season.
Junior pitcher Kylie Hovinga has also toed the rubber for Creighton and has seen success in the circle with a 2-1 record and respectable 2.95 ERA.
ASU coach Clint Myers believes facing good young pitching will be beneficial.
“I’ve been very pleased with the pitching that we’ve faced,” Myers said. “It has been better pitching this year in non-Pac-10 games than we’ve seen in the past. That only helps us get ready for the Pac-10. The better the pitching, the more reps we can get for a few of these people, then the better I think things are going.”
ASU will counter with a strong staff of its own. Freshman Dallas Escobedo now holds a 10-0 record on the season.
Escobedo got the starting nod against Creighton on Sunday and proceeded to plow through the Bluejay lineup.
The right-hander finished with 11 strikeouts while only allowing four hits and one earned run. Escobedo started three games and came on in relief during one contest over the weekend, which could lead to junior pitcher Hillary Bach and freshman Mackenzie Popescue seeing time in the circle.
“We’ll probably have our scripts that we’ll have for this week … where we’ll throw Hillary (Bach) and Mack (Popescue) a little more to give Dallas (Escobedo) some opportunities to rest,” Myers said.
In the batter’s box the Sun Devils will look to continue their hot hitting.
Senior outfielder Lesley Rogers is coming off a 3-for-3 day at the plate against Creighton. She launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the second that gave ASU a 4-1 lead.
Junior infielder Annie Lockwood also smacked a home run against the Bluejays as ASU collected 11 hits.
While continuing to hit well will be key, ASU is confident this form will continue in Tuesday’s game and the upcoming week.
“I think we’re on a good roll right now,” Lockwood said. “We had a really good weekend. I think we took it to a lot of teams. We’re definitely going to carry that into the rest of this week.”
Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu
