Feb. 5, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. – Katelyn Boyd went 3-for-5 in her Sun Devil debut as the No. 2 Sun Devil Softball Team took the field in their season opener Thursday night in Tempe which saw them rattle off a 5-4 win in eight innings over McNeese State. The Sun Devils are 1-0 to start while dropping the Cowgirls to 0-1.
The game didn’t start off in traditional A State fashion as the Sun Devil offense kept a quiet profile as the Cowgirls put three on the board in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Sun Devils uncharacteristically left seven on base through five innings before finally putting a run on the board with a single to left center from Katelyn Boyd cutting McNeeses lead to 4-1.
The sixth inning started to see the ASU offense shake off the cobwebs and break the game open as a hit by pitch and two hits later gave ASU three runs to tie it at four apiece. Singles from Michelle Nulliner and Mandy Urfer made the difference as the game rolled on into extra innings with the Cowgirls hanging on.
Going into extra innings, Hillary Bach shut down the Cowgirl offense, giving ASU all the opportunity they needed as they headed into the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back walks to Lesley Rogers and Kaitlin Cochran opened the inning before a bunt from Krista Donnenwirth advanced the runners to scoring position before Katelyn Boyd dug in to lift an 0-1 pitch to left center for a double for the walk-off win.
Up next, the Sun Devils will kick-off the 2009 Kajikawa Classic tomorrow with games against Central Florida at 5:30 and Portland State at 7:30, both at Farrington Stadium. Games for the Kajiawa Classic start at 9:30 a.m. and run through the day at Farrington Stadium and Tempe Sports Complex.