OKLAHOMA CITY - The sixth-ranked Arizona State softball team (48-12) fell to the top-ranked Oregon Ducks (53-8) Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the 2018 Women's College World Series held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
"I think all facets of your game need to be on point if you're going to beat a team like Oregon," head coach Trisha Ford said of ASU's opening game at the 2018 WCWS. "I thought G. threw well, and I just some things didn't go our way. I thought we did a heck of a job in the box but defensively it cost us."
Sophomore lefty G Juarez made the start for the Sun Devils in the circle, striking out four Ducks in her seven innings of work. With her four strikeouts in today's game, Juarez has now struck out 301 batters on the season, and is the ninth Sun Devil pitcher to strike out at least 300 batters in a single season in ASU softball history.
On the season, there have been just eight pitchers to reach 300 strikeouts, with Florida's Kelly Barnhill (310) the only other pitcher still playing in 2018 with 300 or more strikeouts. Of the pitchers still competing this season, UCLA's Rachel Garcia is the next closest to breaking the 300 strikeout mark.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead when freshman DeNae Chatman launched her ninth home run of the season that scored Kindra Hackbarth to give ASU a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the first.
The Sun Devil lead would be short-lived, however, as the Ducks responded with a two-run bottom of the frame to make it a 2-2 game after just one inning of play.
With neither team able to score in the second, the Ducks broke the game open in the home half of the third, plating three-runs on three hits to carry a 5-2 lead into the fourth inning of play.
Following a one-run bottom of the fourth, the Sun Devils came roaring back with a three-run top of the fifth, courtesy of a three-run shot from Morgan Howe, the second home run of the day for the ASU offense.
With their second home run of the game for the Sun Devils in the fifth, ASU has now had two multi-home run games in the 2018 postseason, with their last coming against Ole Miss on May 19. On the season, ASU has hit two or more long balls in 18 games, including five multi-home run outings against Pac-12 teams.
Unfortunately for the Devils, the Ducks would answer in their half of the inning, blasting a two-run shot of their own, pulling the score to 8-5 heading to the sixth.
ASU threatened again in the sixth, but were ultimately turned away, leaving the door open for the Ducks who added three more runs to pull the score to 11-5 heading to the seventh.
The Sun Devil offense battled through the final frame, including plating a run with an RBI single from Kindra Hackbarth, but the would-be rally would be snuffed out by the Duck defense, making the score final 11-6.
The Sun Devils will be back in action on Saturday facing either Oklahoma or Washington in an elimination game. First pitch in that contest is slated for 9 a.m. PT and will be televised on ESPN. Fans can also follow all of the action from the 2018 WCWS by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
"I think all facets of your game need to be on point if you're going to beat a team like Oregon," head coach Trisha Ford said of ASU's opening game at the 2018 WCWS. "I thought G. threw well, and I just some things didn't go our way. I thought we did a heck of a job in the box but defensively it cost us."
Sophomore lefty G Juarez made the start for the Sun Devils in the circle, striking out four Ducks in her seven innings of work. With her four strikeouts in today's game, Juarez has now struck out 301 batters on the season, and is the ninth Sun Devil pitcher to strike out at least 300 batters in a single season in ASU softball history.
On the season, there have been just eight pitchers to reach 300 strikeouts, with Florida's Kelly Barnhill (310) the only other pitcher still playing in 2018 with 300 or more strikeouts. Of the pitchers still competing this season, UCLA's Rachel Garcia is the next closest to breaking the 300 strikeout mark.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead when freshman DeNae Chatman launched her ninth home run of the season that scored Kindra Hackbarth to give ASU a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the first.
WELCOME TO OKC, DeNae Chatman! The freshman lights up the scoreboard with a two-run HOMER to open the 2018 #WCWS! @ASUSoftball leads Oregon 2-0 in Game 1! pic.twitter.com/ePqIYVeulT
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 31, 2018
The Sun Devil lead would be short-lived, however, as the Ducks responded with a two-run bottom of the frame to make it a 2-2 game after just one inning of play.
With neither team able to score in the second, the Ducks broke the game open in the home half of the third, plating three-runs on three hits to carry a 5-2 lead into the fourth inning of play.
Following a one-run bottom of the fourth, the Sun Devils came roaring back with a three-run top of the fifth, courtesy of a three-run shot from Morgan Howe, the second home run of the day for the ASU offense.
With their second home run of the game for the Sun Devils in the fifth, ASU has now had two multi-home run games in the 2018 postseason, with their last coming against Ole Miss on May 19. On the season, ASU has hit two or more long balls in 18 games, including five multi-home run outings against Pac-12 teams.
ONE. RUN. GAME. #WCWS pic.twitter.com/y85Mx7LHbc
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 31, 2018
Unfortunately for the Devils, the Ducks would answer in their half of the inning, blasting a two-run shot of their own, pulling the score to 8-5 heading to the sixth.
ASU threatened again in the sixth, but were ultimately turned away, leaving the door open for the Ducks who added three more runs to pull the score to 11-5 heading to the seventh.
The Sun Devil offense battled through the final frame, including plating a run with an RBI single from Kindra Hackbarth, but the would-be rally would be snuffed out by the Duck defense, making the score final 11-6.
The Sun Devils will be back in action on Saturday facing either Oklahoma or Washington in an elimination game. First pitch in that contest is slated for 9 a.m. PT and will be televised on ESPN. Fans can also follow all of the action from the 2018 WCWS by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.