Senior Sun Devil Elizabeth Caporuscio makes contact with the ball during the first of two games for the Sun Devils February 8, 2015 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. ASU lost to Texas 9-4. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)
No. 16 ASU softball finished off its slate of seven games in four days on Sunday with another doubleheader against Texas and Cal State Northridge in the Kajikawa Classic. The Sun Devils (4-3) dropped both games in devastating fashion.
Up first for ASU were the Texas Longhorns (3-2) out of the Big 12 conference. Texas returned a number of key players from last year's team that made it to the regional round of the postseason. The Sun Devils fell against the Longhorns 9-4 in a game Texas controlled from the very beginning.
Starting in the circle for the Sun Devils for the third time was freshman Breanna Macha, who pitched only one inning after giving up four hits and six runs. All-time great Sun Devil pitcher and last year's ace Dallas Escobedo was in attendance to watch young Macha and her team.
The first inning proved incredibly challenging for Macha against an absolutely blistering Longhorn lineup, so coach Craig Nicholson opted for freshman Dale Ryndak from the second inning forward.
An ample opportunity to come back came in the third inning for ASU as it had the bases loaded with one out. The Sun Devils couldn't cash in, however, as Amber Freeman struck out and Bethany Kemp sent an easy pop fly to the second baseman.
The Longhorns only added to the lead the following inning, bringing in two more runs to increase their advantage to 8-0 thanks to an RBI triple by junior Lindsey Stephens and an RBI single by junior Holly Kern.
ASU fought hard to get back into the game down the stretch, scoring one run to survive the fifth inning and three to survive the sixth before going scoreless in the seventh, cutting the comeback attempt short.
Nicholson evaluated the first of two losses on the day for his team.
"In that first game we really competed," Nicholson said. "We had plenty of opportunities but could just never get that big hit to get ourselves close."
The final game of the Kajikawa Classic featured the Sun Devils against Cal State Northridge (4-1) and the Sun Devils fizzled down the stretch after a hot start on offense.
Starting out this game in the circle for ASU was junior Alexis Cooper, who pitched 3.1 innings and allowed five hits and four runs before being relieved by Macha, who pitched 3.2 innings and allowed six hits and four runs herself. Ryndak returned to finish the game off for ASU.
Senior third baseman Haley Steele tries to tag Texas Longhorn Lindsey Stephens near third base on February 8, 2015 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. ASU lost 9-4 (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)
Senior third baseman Haley Steele got the offensive game going for the Sun Devils in the first, hitting a two-run shot to left center field. It was her third HR in the first seven games.
The second inning provided another example of wasted opportunities for ASU as CSUN substitute pitcher sophomore Brianna Elder retired three consecutive Sun Devil batters with the bases loaded.
Freeman did what she does best and lit up the Matadors in the third inning with a solo home run. The homer was the 43rd of her career, giving her sole possession of fourth all-time in ASU history.
However, the Matadors took complete control of the game in the fourth inning, scoring six runs thanks in part to a number of errors committed by ASU in the infield.
Nicholson knows that those kind of errors are inexcusable.
"It's stuff that we work on in practice and we just didn't execute," Nicholson said. "There's (been) times where I don't know what we're doing out there."
Following that dreadful half-inning, Nicholson brought his downtrodden team together, hoping to motivate each and every one of them to fight back in this game. Unfortunately for Nicholson's Sun Devil squad, CSUN was on a mission to secure this win.
But junior Katee Aguirre had other plans. Aguirre came up to pinch hit with 2 outs in the final inning and hit a 3-run bomb to deep right center, tying the game at six and keeping the Sun Devils alive.
Freeman praised the never-say-die attitude of her teammate.
"That was so clutch," Freeman said. "We needed that."
In the eighth, CSUN scored two runs off of two RBI singles to take an 8-6 lead. It was up to ASU to score two or more in the bottom of the frame, and it failed to do so.
Nicholson knows his team will learn from the experience of this weekend.
"We've got a ways to go –– we've just gotta keep grinding and keep getting better," Nicholson said. "I don't know if you learn a ton because you lost –– you learn something because of the way you lost."
ASU softball's next two tests will be against North Texas and Illinois State on Friday, February 13, in the opening games of the Littlewood Classic at Farrington Stadium.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or on Twitter @RClarkeASU.
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