May 16, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 2008 Sun Devil Softball team opened their postseason Friday night with Megan Elliott leading the way to victory as she shutout the Stony Brook Seawolves, allowing only three hits on the night en route to her 20th win on the season. The win puts ASU at 57-5 overall and into the winner's bracket as the Seawolves fall to 31-23-1 overall.
The game turned out to be a vicious pitcher's duel as ASU pitted undefeated Megan Elliott against Stony Brook's Alyssa Struzenberg where they both pitched a phenomenal outing going four and a half giving up only four hits between both of them.
The Sun Devil offense finally woke up in the fifth though as they put together a two out rally starting with a lead off walk to Lesley Rogers. A stolen base later Jackie Vasquez pulled the count full before slicing one up the middle to plate Rogers and take the lead. After a wild pitch put Vasquez on second, Kaitlin Cochran came through in the clutch as she slapped the first pitch of the at-bat through the ride side as ASU rallied on to a 2-0 lead after five full.
While the meager offense proved to be all the Sun Devils needed for the win, Head Coach Clint Myers stated that "while the young lady from Stony Brook [Alyssa Struzenberg] pitched a tremendous game, we also didn't stick to our plan. We need to execute more, we need to show that we're better than what we portrayed today."
Jackie Vasquez also shared the same sentiment stating, "what happened out there tonight wasn't Arizona State softball. We came out thinking we had to come out huge in Regionals instead of sticking to the plan that has won us so many games. Tomorrow is another day, and with that day will bring true Arizona State softball, we have to believe that going into a contest against a team like Hawaii."
Megan Elliott took the win on the night as she allowed only three Seawolves hits and struck out eight as she kept her flawless record alive advancing to 20-0 on the season. On her outing tonight she stated, "I was definitely jittery out there at first tonight, but I just took a step back and stayed focused. I stayed in my plan and Kristen Miller called the pitch and I threw it."
The Sun Devils will hit the field tomorrow in Day Two of the Tempe Regional in Game Three where they'll set to face the Hawaii Rainbow Wahines at 2 p.m. in the winner's bracket at Farrington Stadium.
Tempe Regional Game One Results:
(3) Hawaii def. (2) Mississippi St. - 9-7
Game One Hawai'i vs. Mississippi St. Box Score in PDF Format