(Photo: Alli Cline/WCSN)
Growing pains are expected for any freshman pitcher making the transition from high school to collegiate softball, and Arizona State freshman Dale Ryndak is no exception.
Playing in the second of a three-game set against the Utah Utes (32-16, 10-10 Pac-12), Ryndak continued her propensity of giving up the long ball, as sophomore Utes catcher Bella Secaira’s three-run home run in the fourth inning was the difference in a 8-1 victory over ASU (30-17, 8-8 Pac-12).
Ryndak fell to 13-8 on the season and finished her evening with four innings, three hits, four runs and two walks. She also added to her team lead with 27 home runs allowed this year.
Ryndak got no help from her offense however, as ASU managed only four hits against freshman Utah starter Katie Donovan, who picked up her 14th win of the season.
Following a Sierra Rodriguez lead-off single in the bottom of the first, ASU proceeded to go 20 batters without registering a hit until senior catcher Amber Freeman slapped a single to left field in the sixth inning.
ASU head coach Craig Nicholson thought all aspects of the game doomed the Devils on this evening.
“Early in the game we didn’t do a very good job of making adjustments offensively,” said Nicholson. “And I thought Dale (Ryndak) actually looked pretty good through three innings, and then it all just kind of fell apart.”
The Sun Devils did grab the first lead of the game however, as a fielder’s choice by Haley Steele in the first inning plated Rodriguez for a 1-0 advantage.
The Sun Devils had a golden opportunity to extend the lead in the third, but freshman pinch runner Marisa Stankiewicz was gunned down at home plate trying to score on an error by Utes center fielder Kate Dickman, and later left the bases loaded as first baseman Bethany Kemp fouled out to Kristen Stewart at third base.
After the third inning the Devils never came remotely close to scoring again, not getting a base runner until Freeman’s sixth inning single
Nicholson knows that his team will need to produce more offense in order to help the young pitching staff.
“The biggest thing we have to do is swing at better pitches,” said Nicholson. “I thought we were really off-balance offensively tonight and we have to do a better job of getting better pitches to hit.”
The Utes did do a good job of getting better pitches to hit, as they exploded for seven runs in the fourth and fifth inning, as sophomore shortstop Anissa Urtez and senior left fielder Maddy Woodard joined Secaira in taking Sun Devil pitching deep.
Nicholson strayed from his usual strategy of having freshman Breanna Macha relieve Ryndak, and instead called upon junior Alexis Cooper to record the final nine outs of the contest following Urtez’s home run in the fifth inning.
“Had we gotten to the sixth or seventh inning in a tight ball game we probably would have (called upon Macha),” said Nicholson. “The number of pitches are piling up on (Macha’s) arm, and we have to think about the rest of this season and the postseason.”
Cooper saw her first game action since throwing 2.1 innings in relief of Macha on April 11th in a 12-3 loss to the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.
Cooper finished this game allowing four runs on six hits with two walks in three innings pitched.
After splitting the first two games of the weekend, the Devils will go for their second consecutive series win on Sunday afternoon at Farrington as they try to win their first two series since being swept by Oregon April 10-12.
