ASU freshman Dale Ryndak (front) pitching to Creighton while Senior Haley Steele waits on third base, Thursday Feb. 5, 2015 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Bluejays 7-4. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)
The Kajikawa Classic is in full swing for the ASU softball team, which notched two victories over Creighton and Western Michigan on Thursday to open up its season.
Game one pitted the Sun Devils (2-0) against the Creighton Bluejays (1-1). This game marked the second of Creighton's doubleheader after it defeated Pacific 2-0 previously. ASU squeaked by in this game with a 7-4 win.
Freshman Dale Ryndak got the start on the mound for ASU and had a tough time in both the late and early stages. Ryndak's pitch count climbed to 37 after the first half-inning, but she calmed down for the middle part of the game, allowing only five hits through six before being relieved by fellow freshman Breanna Macha with two outs in the seventh.
"I know I'm better than that," Ryndak said. "I guess for the first game it wasn't too bad but I have a lot more to show than that."
Ryndak felt the utmost support from her veteran teammates in her first start as a Sun Devil.
"Every time I would give up a hit they would come up to me right away," Ryndak said. "(My teammates) would let me know that I can go out on the next pitch and get a ground ball for them."
Senior third baseman Haley Steele shined for the Sun Devils, going 2-for-3 including a 3-run home run in the fourth inning that put ASU up 5-1. Steele added another RBI to her credit as well, slugging 2.000 on the game and providing part of the offensive punch that allowed ASU to succeed.
Steele came into her at-bats with knowledge of the task at hand.
"I knew they were going to pitch to me because I've got (senior catcher) Amber Freeman coming up behind me," Steele said. "That's the benefits of hitting in front of an All-American –– you'll get pitched to."
Freeman showed that she hasn't lost a step either, going 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI to boot. Freeman didn't catch for Ryndak in this game, however. The plan going forward is for Freeman to catch for Macha and sophomore Sashel Palacios to catch for Ryndak.
The Western Michigan Broncos (0-1) were the opponent in game two for ASU, and provided much less of a challenge as the Sun Devils prevailed 6-0.
Macha started in the circle and dominated the game from start to near-finish, ending with only one hit allowed and eight strikeouts in a six inning shutout before being relieved by Alexis Cooper.
"I got the pregame jitters out of the way when coach (put) me in there the game before (against Creighton)," Macha said. "Everyone is good at calming each other down and keeping each other on the same page."
Macha could not say enough about the performance and leadership of Freeman.
"She's always amazing," Macha said. "You can't even explain Amber on and off the field honestly. She's like an older sister and mother figure at the same time."
Freeman put together an amazing performance on the field in both games Thursday, finishing 6-6 on the day with two walks and an OBP of 1.000.
"That's never happened to me before, I've never hit 1.000 for a day," Freeman said with a laugh. "I just went up there really calm and confident and just tried to square up my pitch."
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or on Twitter @RClarkeASU.
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