(Photo: Alli Cline/WCSN)
It was a solid series with a disappointing finish.
Rival Arizona crushed the Arizona State Sun Devils from the start, causing the slaughter rule to take effect, and giving Arizona the 11-1 victory in Tucson on Sunday.
The freshman tandem that faired so well in the first two games of the weekend hit a wall in the finale. Breanna Macha and Dale Ryndak struggled to contain one of the Pac-12’s top offenses for one last time.
Head Coach Craig Nicholson had Macha in the circle to start the contest. The Red Mountain High School alum took a beating at the hands of the Wildcat bats, allowing five earned runs while walking four through 4 2/3 innings.
Michelle Floyd started the game for Arizona, shutting out the Sun Devils for three innings before she was removed in the third in favor of the hard-throwing Trish Parks.
While Floyd was able to hold Arizona State scoreless through three, she did experience her fair share of control issues. Floyd walked four batters and gave up three hits, allowing ASU to mount multiple scoring threats on the sophomore.
Parks continued to provide the pitching support for an offense that would look unstoppable for most of the evening. Parks turned in a solid two innings, giving up just one run on a walk and three hits.
The Sun Devils certainly had their chances in the early going. Despite loading the bases in the first and third innings, the Sun Devils failed to capitalize and push any runs across, stranding eight runners through the first three frames.
The Wildcats struck first in the second inning, scoring three runs on a couple of bombs off the bats of senior Chelsea Goodacre and red shirt sophomore Mandie Perez.
Macha experienced another rough patch in the fourth when the freshman loaded the bases with one out and brought up the meat of the Wildcat’s order. Macha navigated out of danger when she struck out the Pac-12’s home run leader, Katiyana Mauga. However, a Goodacre single through first and second would put Arizona up 6-0, and give them their highest scoring total of the series.
ASU finally answered back in the fifth when Sashel Palacios singled up the middle to score fellow backstop Amber Freeman and put the Sun Devils on the board 6-1. The Sun Devils loaded the bases once again in that inning, but for the third time of the night, they failed to score with the bases juiced.
Macha’s less-than-brilliant outing would come to end in the fifth after surrendering her third home run of the night to Hallie Wilson.
Ryndak didn’t fare much better, coming in and giving up the game-winning three-run homer to Mauga. The bomb was not only the cherry to top the dominant performance by the Wildcats, but also Mauga’s 15th on the year, giving her sole possession of the conference long ball lead.
While it was a disappointing showing for No. 13 ranked Arizona State, the Sun Devils still bring home the series win, claiming the first two games on Wildcat turf from a top ten team.
ASU will pack its bags and head to Las Cruces for a double-header against New Mexico State on April 9. This will be the second of four consecutive road series for the Sun Devils as we enter the month of April. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m., with the second game to follow at 7 p.m.
