ASU Softball: Sun Devils split top-25 doubleheader in ASU Invitational

No. 16 ASU softball’s late heroics led to a split in the opening doubleheader of the ASU Invitational, beating No. 21 JMU before losing to No. 25 Michigan.

Late heroics by sophomore second baseman Bella Loom and senior center fielder Morgan Howe plus solid pitching by freshman pitcher Abby Andersen led to an Arizona State win against James Madison, 6-4, but the Sun Devils fell short in the second game against Michigan, 7-6, Friday night.

In the first game, ASU got in trouble as junior pitcher Cielo Meza walked three and was replaced by Andersen. Sophomore Hannah File would hit a double, scoring two to give JMU a 2-0 lead.

James Madison would add another run to its lead in the second inning after a home run by junior Kirsten Roadcap.

The Sun Devils would respond with a homer by sophomore Kiara Kennedy, cutting the JMU lead to 3-1 in the third inning. Senior left fielder Skylar McCarty slashed the deficit further with a double off the left field wall that brought in junior right fielder Kindra Hackbarth.

The 3-2 JMU lead would hold until the top of the sixth, when it added one more run to their lead through a error by junior shortstop Jade Gortarez on a throw to home plate.

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The Sun Devils’ offense was quiet most of the game – until the last inning.

ASU went to the bottom of the seventh down by two until Loomis hit a 2-run home run to tie the game at four. Howe would walk the game off by crushing a homer over the center field wall, bringing herself and McCarty in to give the Sun Devils a 6-4 win.

ASU managed to get the win through only four hits and a strong performance by Andersen, who pitched 6.2 innings and only gave up one earned run.

The second game started slow for both teams, as Michigan and ASU only put up a combined three hits in three innings.

In the fourth inning, the Wolverines opened the scoring through a double by freshman Lexie Blair that scored one.

Michigan would add two more to their lead the next inning through doubles by Blair and sophomore Natalie Peters. The Sun Devils responded in the same inning with a triple by Kennedy, who later scored off a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 3-1.

The Wolverines added three in the top of the sixth through back-to-back RBI singles by Peters and junior Hayley Hoogenraad plus a sacrifice fly by senior Faith Canfield, giving them a 6-1 lead.

The Sun Devils fought back, scoring four of their own in the bottom of sixth thanks to a McCarty single that brought two runs in and a Loomis single that brought in two more.

The Wolverines went to the top of the seventh with a 6-5 lead. They added one more run to it through an error on a throw to third by junior catcher Maddi Hackbarth, who was trying to catch the runner stealing.

ASU would not quit there, however, as Howe would get a 1-run HR to cut the deficit to 7-6. But the Sun Devils were not able to add one more, giving Michigan the 7-6 win.

One takeaway that head coach Trisha Ford took away from both games was maturity.

“You can hear the maturity from the dugout,” Ford said. “There was a much more mature thought process and approach in dugout, which showed up today.”

And the one thing in display for the Sun Devils throughout both games – the team’s fight.

“We have a lot of fight and grit,” Andersen said. “We don’t give up.”

The Sun Devils are now 16-7 and will face New Mexico State tonight at 7 p.m. to continue their play in the ASU Invitational.

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