Each year the Judi Garman Classic showcases some of the nation’s top softball talent.
This year’s tournament provided more of the same, and behind timely hitting coupled with dominant pitching, the ASU softball team claimed four wins in five games.
The No. 5 Sun Devils (30-2) faced their most challenging competition so far this season including two nationally-ranked teams.
ASU kicked off the weekend with a 5-1 victory over Penn State on Thursday. Then in game two, a classic pitcher’s duel saw ASU narrowly lose to No. 6 Michigan by a final score of 1-0.
The Sun Devils returned with a 4-3 defeat over Pacific and a 10-4 win against No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, and in the finale on Saturday, the Sun Devils ran away with a 9-3 victory over Boise State.
After seeing its 23-game winning streak snapped, ASU immediately started another with three straight wins to close out the weekend.
“We jumped right back into the win column,” ASU coach Clint Myers said. “You go out there, you play your best. When it’s all said and done, you look at the score, see who scored the most and there you go. For the most part all season, it’s been us. We’ve got a very good, well-balanced club, but we still got to work at the consistency part.”
In the tournament opener on Thursday, ASU faced the Nittany Lions (13-10).
Freshman pitcher Mackenzie Popescue took to the circle and tossed seven innings of three-hit softball.
After hitting only a single home run last season, sophomore second baseman Sam Parlich continues to provide a power bat in the ASU lineup this year.
In the first inning, Parlich launched her eighth home run of the season to give ASU an early 2-0 lead.
After freshman Alix Johnson walked and senior Mandy Urfer doubled, both scored thanks to PSU fielding miscues in the second inning. Johnson then scored ASU’s final run in the third frame on yet another Nittany Lion error.
The marquee pitching matchup came against the Wolverines (29-2) in Thursday’s second game.
Freshman pitcher Dallas Escobedo went head to head with UM senior pitcher Jordan Taylor.
Through the first five, it was a scoreless battle as both Escobedo and Taylor retired their opponents with ease.
In the sixth, UM would get all the offense it would need when sophomore second baseman Ashley Lane launched a solo home run.
“It was my rise ball,” Escobedo said. “I threw one that was a ball that was obvious. I threw another one that was close that I thought was a strike, but the umpire called it a ball. I had to try to get one in there to make my count better. So I threw another rise ball lower, and I left it over the plate a little. She was ready for it.”
The Sun Devil offense was stone-cold at the plate. Taylor finished with eight strikeouts and only allowed two hits.
“The problem against Michigan was we did not get opportunities with getting base runners on,” Myers said. “We got to do a better job at getting people on. It’s tough to score when there isn’t anybody on.”
ASU attempted to rally in the final frame as senior third baseman Krista Donnenwirth nearly tied the game with a long fly ball to the left field that fell in for a double.
Second base was as far as Donnenwirth would get as Taylor regrouped to seal the narrow win.
After suffering their first loss in 23 games, the Sun Devils responded with a gritty performance against the Tigers (14-9).
Johnson’s two-RBI double in the fourth inning put ASU on the board. Johnson would strike again in the fifth by smacking a two-run home run.
Junior pitcher Hillary Bach and Escobedo both came on in relief to nail down the 4-3 win.
The Cajuns (17-10) faced off against ASU in the nightcap game on Friday.
In another matchup of aces, Escobedo returned against UL pitcher Ashley Brignac.
Escobedo would win the duel and her 13th win of the season by scattering six hits, four runs, and striking out seven.
Doubles from Parlich, senior catcher Kaylyn Castillo, and Johnson in the opening inning gave ASU a quick 3-0 lead.
Three runs in the second and sixth innings gave the Sun Devils a comfortable lead as Escobedo finished off the Cajuns.
ASU closed out the Garman classic against the Broncos on Saturday.
Bach started and threw five solid innings by limiting BSU to three runs.
Junior shortstop Katelyn Boyd led the way for ASU at the plate with a three-hit performance. She now leads the team with a .483 batting average.
After a slow start to the weekend, Boyd simplified her approach in the batter’s box.
“Just be aggressive to the first pitch that is in my zone,” Boyd said. “I think I struggled at the beginning of the tournament, and I think a lot of that had to do with I was guessing up there, trying to do too much.”
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu
