No. 6 ASU softball dropped the rubber game of the three-game series versus No. 14 Arizona as the Wildcats defeated the Sun Devils 4-2 in eight innings.
Anytime you hear a story about the Territorial Cup, you know it’s gonna be good. And just like any drama, No. 6 ASU vs No. 14 Arizona softball got juicy in the end.
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th, second baseman Marisa Stankiewicz came up big and shined in a clutch moment with a solo home run to tie the game.
TIE GAME @marisa_stank jumps the yard to make it a 2-2 game with nobody out! pic.twitter.com/9BfHa9pdt0
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 23, 2018
The game would go into extras. Heading into the top of the eighth, ASU ace G Juarez allowed three of the first four batters she faced reaching base safely.
Sun Devil head coach Trisha Ford had a quick mound meeting with Juarez, keeping her in the game. The Wildcats struck the very next pitch. Shortstop Jessie Harper knocked in two to give Arizona the 4-2 lead and the victory to win the Territorial Cup series.
Clutch 👊
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 23, 2018
Jessie Harper's RBI double broke a tie in extras and handed @ArizonaSoftball the rivalry rubber match. It's the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! pic.twitter.com/ItrNGkymiy
Despite the result, Ford doesn’t regret keeping Juarez on the mound saying that “this was her game.”
The game did not without its controversies. ASU was up 1-0 in the sixth when Arizona’s Ashleigh Hughes got on base after a controversial hit by pitch where the ball hit Hughes’ wrist while swinging the bat.
Two batters later, Alyssa Palomino would hit a two-run bomb to give Arizona the lead. When asked about the HBP after the game, Ford said in a disappointing tone that the ump told her that “the ball hit her on the wrist.”
https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/988227164569923584
Juarez definitely surrendered more hits than she usually does producing only six strikeouts. All four runs were earned, the highest since her opening day start when she gave up six to Tennessee.
The Glendale native believes she was just fine on the mound, “I hit their bat. They didn’t touch me. I hit their bat. That’s the way I view it,” Juarez said. “I just need to move forward and let this go.”
With only two runs and six hits, Ford expects more from her team, “Offensively we got to get some better production up and down the lineup.”
Center fielder Morgan Howe performed well going two for four. Even with the loss, Howe wants her team to realize how good they really are.
“We’re a good team and I don’t think we know it. I don’t think we walk around like it as much as we should,” Howe said. “This is a really disgusting feeling, and I don’t think anyone wants to feel it ever again.”
In the end, Ford believes this will help her team in the end as they continue their play in the Pac-12.
“This is good in some respects for them to have a little reality check,” Ford said. “I know we’re gonna move in the right direction and come out ready to go.”
Next: ASU Baseball: Bats come to life once again in 13-8 beatdown of Utah
Arizona State’s next series will be in Salt Lake City when they face Utah for a three-game series beginning on Friday.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.