TEMPE – Sun Devil softball outlasted the Oregon State in the final game of the weekend series 5-1 on Sunday Afternoon at Farrington Stadium.
Marissa Schuld got the start in the circle for the Sun Devils, throwing three perfect innings to begin the game and ultimately posting her third complete game of the season to earn her second win in Pac-12 play.
Neither team was able to score a run until the fifth when
Jordyn VanHook came on as a pinch hitter and delivered a two-run double to give Arizona State (17-11, 2-4 Pac-12) the lead. With two outs in the ASU sixth,
Samantha Swan walked, and
Sara Kinch singled in front of
Libby Walsh, who delivered a three-run home run to left to extend the Sun Devil's lead to 5-0.
Oregon State (14-15, 3-3 Pac-12) avoided the shutout with a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh, but Schuld would force a flyout to end the game and secure the victory.
Kinch finished with two of the team's seven hits, and Walsh scored two runs. Schuld gave up just five hits and recorded four strikeouts.
NOTABLES
- The Walsh home run was her second of the season and provided her fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Kinch recorded her first multi-hit game of the season.
- Tanya Windle singled in the fourth inning for a five-game hitting streak, during which she is 11-for-17 with six doubles.
- Schuld pitched her third complete game of the season and second of Pac-12 play.
QUOTABLES
Assistant Coach Hailey Decker
On Libby Walsh's growth throughout the season so far
"Libby's been great. She's far away from home and away from a lot of support systems that she has. There were some growing pains early, so to see all the work that she's put in and now she's reaping the benefits, we're happy for her."
On the energy switch after Jordyn Vanhook's big hit
"I think hitting is contagious. Energy is contagious. For Jordyn to come in in a big moment like that as a pinch hitter and do something great, we're just all really happy for her, and the team really feeds off of it."
Freshman Infielder Libby Walsh
On finishing the series with a win:
"It's huge, especially in the Pac-12. It's a really good conference. Every team is super competitive, and we just have to keep coming out strong, really punching teams in the face early, and continuing to do it throughout the game."
On carrying the momentum from the series moving forward:
"We're just gonna remind ourselves to play for each other, believe in each other and believe in ourselves because when we do, we come up big. We know we can compete with anybody. We just have to compete in those first couple of games in the series and not wait until the last game."
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils will travel north to take on the Oregon Ducks for a three-game series on March 22-24. All three games of the series will be available on Pac-12 Networks.
