Freshman pitcher Breanna Macha opens the second game in a Saturday doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. Macha and relief pitcher Jenna Makis shut out the Indiana State Sycamores in a 14-0 blowout victory. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)It was a tale of two offenses for No. 19 ASU (11-5) Saturday as the bats in the second game answered the call that the bats in the first could not.
Unlike Friday night, ASU's hitters failed to show up as No. 19 ASU was defeated 4-1 by No. 15 Minnesota, dropping the Sun Devils to 1-3 against ranked teams this season.
Minnesota sophomore starting pitcher Sara Groenewegen stifled the Sun Devil batters throughout her complete game, giving up only one run on four hits and two walks, tallying eight strikeouts as well.
Head coach Craig Nicholson said the team was a bit passive against Groenewegen.
"She's good, but I thought we got some pitches to hit that we took and we had some opportunities," he said. "Later in the game when we made some adjustments and were a bit more aggressive, we got some hits but it was too little too late."
In addition, the lack of run support resulted in freshman pitcher Dale Ryndak's (5-1) first loss—she gave up eight hits and four runs in the loss.
Nicholson said Ryndak battled, but did not play to her potential Saturday.
"I don't think Dale had her best stuff tonight," he said. "However, I thought the home run she gave up was on a pretty good pitch. I thought she battled, but Minnesota is a good hitting ball club."
Minnesota broke the tie in the top of the third inning with senior shortstop Tyler Walker's two-run home run off Ryndak.
The Golden Gophers added to the lead with senior first baseman Kaitlyn Richardson's two-run double, which included a controversial call at the plate. Regardless, Minnesota took a dominant 4-0 lead into the bottom half of the fifth inning.
On the other side of things, Groenewegen had a no-hitter through 4.2 innings of work, fanning six ASU batters.
ASU's biggest opportunity presented itself in the fifth inning when senior Haley Steele's bloop single to right field ended the no-hitter and advanced senior Sierra Rodriguez to third base, bringing senior Amber Freeman to the plate with runners on the corners with two outs.
However, it was of no avail as Freeman flied out to end the inning and a chance to give ASU its first run of the night.
The Sun Devils finally scored their first run when sophomore Chelsea Gonzales hit a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the sixth, giving ASU only its second hit of the game.
In the bottom of the seventh, senior Elizabeth Caporuscio tallied her first hit, which was a double to right field with one out and power hitters Steele and Freeman due up consecutively.
It wasn't meant to be, though, as Steele and Freeman flied out to end the game.
In addition, the usual performers at the top of the order were no-shows in the loss as Rodriguez went 0-for-2, Caporuscio and Steele went 1-for-4 and Freeman went 0-for-4.
Looking ahead, Nicholson said the team needs to do a better job of taking advantage of its opportunities.
"We're getting runners on base against top-notch pitching, but we're struggling to cash them in," he said. "We just have to keep improving."
ASU buries Indiana State
A first-inning onslaught propelled ASU past Indiana State in the second game of the doubleheader, which ended by a score of 14-0 in a five-inning mercy rule.
Perhaps the offensive performance even overshadowed that of freshman pitcher Breanna Macha, who gave up no runs and six hits, while striking out five batters in four innings.
"I thought she had a pretty good night," Nicholson said. "There's times when the ball flattens out a bit on her, but she's just got to keep working to make sure she's hitting her spots."
After Macha worked her way out of a bases loaded jam in the top half of the first inning, the Sun Devils' offense scored eight runs off of Indiana State's senior pitcher Yvette Alvarez in the bottom half, five of which were earned.
Steele started the inning with an RBI double to score the first run of the game. The next batter, Freeman, was walked to load the bases, giving ASU an opportunity to blow the game open.
A pair of singles from Gonzales and senior Bethany Kemp scored two more runs for the Sun Devils, making it 4-0.
Two batters later, junior Nikki Girard hit a bases-clearing double, ballooning the lead to 7-0 ASU.
The last run came from Caporuscio's RBI double to left center that scored Rodriguez, ending a dominant inning and setting ASU up for a split in Saturday's doubleheader.
Alvarez was pulled after the first inning, where she faced 12 batters and gave up six hits and two walks to go along with the aforementioned five earned runs.
Nicholson thought his team's overall approach at the plate was much better in the second game.
"We came out with the mentality of going out and attacking right away and we did a nice job," he said. "Obviously it's a bit easier when you get eight runs in the first inning, but I thought we kept that approach throughout the game."
Freshman pitcher Abby Klopp replaced Alvarez, but did not do much better—she gave up nine hits and six runs in only three innings of work.
ASU scored two runs in the second inning as Kemp and Girard earned their second and fourth RBIs of the game, respectively.
The Sun Devils picked up where they left off in the fourth inning, scoring four more runs to make it 14-0.
Nicholson said he was pleased with what he's seen all weekend, noting the team's continued improvement.
"I think the pitching is coming along and the defense has been good all weekend, and we have to keep getting better in those areas," he said.
ASU looks to go 4-1 in the Diamond Devil Invitational with a win against New Mexico State on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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