ASU Softball: Sooners shut out Sun Devils in WCWS ending their season

ASU softball‘s excellent year came to an end Saturday in the Women’s College World Series versus the two-time defending national champions Oklahoma.

What a year.

A team picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12 preseason poll exceeded all external expectations to finish third in arguably the toughest conference and reach the Women’s College World Series.

Arizona State fell to Oklahoma 2-0 in an elimination game Saturday as Paige Parker threw a masterpiece allowing no runs, two hits and striking out seven batters to extend the Sooners season.

The Sun Devils finished the season 48-13.

ASU was never able to produce good contact versus Parker with the hardest hit ball coming on a fly out from shortstop Jade Gortarez to right field in the fourth inning.

G Juarez and Breanna Macha split pitching duties today with Juarez throwing four innings and Macha pitching the final three innings.

After getting out of jams in the first and second inning, Juarez allowed a first-pitch solo home run to the nation’s best power hitter, Jocelyn Alo, for the game’s first run. It was Alo’s 29th home run of the season.

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Juarez settled in to finish the third and the fourth as she finished allowing the one earned run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Macha came on in relief in what ended up being her final collegiate game throwing three innings allowing one earned run on two hits to go with three strikeouts.

The Sooners added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a two-out RBI single from catcher Lea Wodach.

Just like all the season, the Sun Devils showed fight until the final out as they had the tying run at the plate in the seventh after a leadoff single from designated player DeNae Chatman.

ASU was unable to do anything after that as infielder Marisa Stankiewicz, Gortarez and second baseman Bella Loomis all recorded out.

Head coach Trisha Ford was very proud of her team’s season after the season-ending loss.

“I don’t think I could be more proud of them as a group. I think we had contributions from freshmen all the way up to fifth-year seniors,” Ford said. “They left everything they had on the field today and that’s all I can ask for.”

Macha, Stankiewicz and the rest of the senior class has helped Ford lay a foundation and instill a new culture to ASU.

“I thank the seniors and Stanks (Stankiewicz), a super senior, they helped build this. They brought ASU softball back to where it belongs,” Ford said. “And I just thank them for setting a standard, hanging tight with us and just doing a heck of a job and competing and showing the young ones what it looks like to be an ASU softball player.”

There’s a lot to look forward to as ASU is returning eight of their nine starters in Saturday’s game as this team is largely consisted of sophomores and juniors, and they look forward to building off this experience.

“We had a really good run. I wish we could have kept going, but there’s a lot to build off on this team. It’s not the last you’ll see from us,” right fielder Kindra Hackbarth said. “We’ll keep building, give it all up at practice. I’m telling you this is not the last time you see Sun Devil softball.”

Next: ASU Softball: Sun Devils fall to UO in WCWS first round

“I would say we haven’t won yet. Plain and simple, we haven’t won yet,” Juarez said. “And I guarantee, like they said, I can’t emphasize it enough, you will see us here again.”

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.

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