Tempe, Ariz.—The Arizona State Sun Devils capped the 2018 Kajikawa Classic with a pair of wins Sunday afternoon, defeating Indiana, 2-1, before topping Saint Mary's, 8-4, at Farrington Stadium. The game brought to an end one of the premier preseason tournaments in the country that saw 28 teams play in a total of 76 games across five fields over the past four days.
"I think this is such a huge tournament for the sport," head coach Trisha Ford said. "I really want to thank the Pac-12 and Ray Anderson, for making this tournament what it was. I thought the network did a great job. It's a wonderful sport, so to be able to have everyone across the nation be able to watch it on different platforms is great. Ray coming out and speaking during the broadcast shows you how important softball is here at ASU, and shows what a storied history we have and the support we have here."
GAME ONE: ASU 2, Indiana 1
In the first half of the Sunday doubleheader, the Sun Devils defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 2-1.
Offensively, the Sun Devils got off to a slow start, but a spark from junior Morgan Howe would prove to be just what the Sun Devils needed. The centerfielder went two-for-three at the plate with two RBI.
Howe got ASU on the board in the bottom of the third inning with a hard-hit ground ball up the middle that scored Kindra Hackbarth from third giving the home side a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Howe struck again, this time launching a double to left-center that brought in another run to extend ASU's lead to 2-0.
"I think they're figuring out a way to get wins," Ford said. "I think Indiana's coaches have done a great job. They are going to get that Indiana team headed in the right direction. I thought we responded well in a close game."
Defensively, senior pitcher Breanna Macha had another stellar performance in the circle. After six innings of work, she was relieved by G Juarez, who closed out the top of the seventh with three consecutive strikeouts.
On the day, Macha racked up five strikeouts and allowed just one run on two hits and one walk.
In the final game of the Kajikawa Classic, Arizona State topped Saint Mary's, 8-4, to extend their win streak to five games.
The Sun Devil offense did not wait to put runs on the board, bringing three across in the bottom of the first with RBI singles from Howe and Fa Leilua, and a double from Maddi Hackbarth.
After the Gales clawed their way back with a three-run frame, the Sun Devils responded in the home-half of the second. Arizona State's catcher Maddi Hackbarth started the rally with a bases-loaded single, putting the Sun Devils back on top.
In the fourth, ASU plated three more, on a two-run homerun by Howe and a RBI double from sophomore Kindra Hackbarth bringing the score to 8-3 after five innings of play.
"I thought we did a good job at getting some big hits when we needed them," Ford added. "We grinded it out today. This weekend was big for us. We took a tough one on Thursday night, but I was really happy with how they bounced back and put up some wins."
Sophomore pitcher, Alyssa Loza entered the game in the top of the third and held Saint Mary's to only three hits and one run. Due to travel arrangements, the game was called after the top-half of the sixth with a final score of 8-4.
The Sun Devil offense was on fire this opening weekend but it was junior Morgan Howe who impressed at the plate. In tonight's game, Howe went three-for-three with two singles, a homerun, and three RBI. Through the weekend, the centerfielder was 12-for-20 with two doubles, three home runs, and eight RBI.
The Arizona State Sun Devils will be back at Farrington Stadium to host the 2018 Littlewood Classic starting Friday, February 16th. The first game of the Classic will be against North Dakota with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. MST. Fans can keep up with all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Softball season by following on @ASUSoftball Twitter.
"I think this is such a huge tournament for the sport," head coach Trisha Ford said. "I really want to thank the Pac-12 and Ray Anderson, for making this tournament what it was. I thought the network did a great job. It's a wonderful sport, so to be able to have everyone across the nation be able to watch it on different platforms is great. Ray coming out and speaking during the broadcast shows you how important softball is here at ASU, and shows what a storied history we have and the support we have here."
GAME ONE: ASU 2, Indiana 1
In the first half of the Sunday doubleheader, the Sun Devils defeated the Indiana Hoosiers, 2-1.
Offensively, the Sun Devils got off to a slow start, but a spark from junior Morgan Howe would prove to be just what the Sun Devils needed. The centerfielder went two-for-three at the plate with two RBI.
Howe got ASU on the board in the bottom of the third inning with a hard-hit ground ball up the middle that scored Kindra Hackbarth from third giving the home side a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Howe struck again, this time launching a double to left-center that brought in another run to extend ASU's lead to 2-0.
"I think they're figuring out a way to get wins," Ford said. "I think Indiana's coaches have done a great job. They are going to get that Indiana team headed in the right direction. I thought we responded well in a close game."
Defensively, senior pitcher Breanna Macha had another stellar performance in the circle. After six innings of work, she was relieved by G Juarez, who closed out the top of the seventh with three consecutive strikeouts.
On the day, Macha racked up five strikeouts and allowed just one run on two hits and one walk.
GAME TWO: ASU 8, Saint Mary's 4Mood. @kindiboo pic.twitter.com/xagF5V9ysg
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 12, 2018
In the final game of the Kajikawa Classic, Arizona State topped Saint Mary's, 8-4, to extend their win streak to five games.
The Sun Devil offense did not wait to put runs on the board, bringing three across in the bottom of the first with RBI singles from Howe and Fa Leilua, and a double from Maddi Hackbarth.
After the Gales clawed their way back with a three-run frame, the Sun Devils responded in the home-half of the second. Arizona State's catcher Maddi Hackbarth started the rally with a bases-loaded single, putting the Sun Devils back on top.
In the fourth, ASU plated three more, on a two-run homerun by Howe and a RBI double from sophomore Kindra Hackbarth bringing the score to 8-3 after five innings of play.
You can put a bow on that one ???? pic.twitter.com/TQELeutK9d
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 12, 2018
"I thought we did a good job at getting some big hits when we needed them," Ford added. "We grinded it out today. This weekend was big for us. We took a tough one on Thursday night, but I was really happy with how they bounced back and put up some wins."
Sophomore pitcher, Alyssa Loza entered the game in the top of the third and held Saint Mary's to only three hits and one run. Due to travel arrangements, the game was called after the top-half of the sixth with a final score of 8-4.
The Sun Devil offense was on fire this opening weekend but it was junior Morgan Howe who impressed at the plate. In tonight's game, Howe went three-for-three with two singles, a homerun, and three RBI. Through the weekend, the centerfielder was 12-for-20 with two doubles, three home runs, and eight RBI.
What a WEEKEND! ??
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 12, 2018
Sun Devils top the Gauls in an 18 hit thriller to finish the Kajikawa Classic 5-1! #GoDevils pic.twitter.com/MA7QHlEdFE
The Arizona State Sun Devils will be back at Farrington Stadium to host the 2018 Littlewood Classic starting Friday, February 16th. The first game of the Classic will be against North Dakota with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. MST. Fans can keep up with all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Softball season by following on @ASUSoftball Twitter.