In the third inning against Boise State, senior Amber Freeman hit her fourth home run of the season. She was greeted by her Sun Devil teammates at home plate in celebration at Farrington Stadium on Feb. 20, 2015 in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)After a statement win against Oklahoma to close out the Littlewood Classic, No. 19 ASU softball (10-4) swept the first night of the Diamond Devil Invitational behind two quality pitching performances from its freshmen pitchers.
In the first game of the doubleheader, ASU attacked Boise State starting pitcher Rachel Rodriguez early and never looked back, defeating the Broncos 4-3 behind a solid outing from freshman pitcher Breanna Macha.
Macha nearly went the distance, giving up nine hits, three runs, and striking out four batters in 6.2 innings of work.
Senior left fielder Elizabeth Caporuscio's double in the first inning advanced Sierra Rodriguez to third. Junior Breona Peralta, who pinch-ran for Caporuscio, scored on a fielder's choice to make it 1-0 ASU after one frame.
Head coach Craig Nicholson said the main aspect of Caporuscio's game right now is the fact that she's healthy.
"She's confident in what she is doing and she's one that has really bought into what the coaches are teaching," he said. "She's getting good pitches to hit and doing well."
On the flip side, Boise State gave Macha some trouble early, but only managed one run, which came from Boise State right fielder Kayla Clause's double in the top of the second.
Nicholson said he is liking the continued development from Macha.
"She worked her way into and out of some jams tonight," he said. "She has to find ways to make the pitches to get out of those types of jams and I thought she did that tonight."
Caporuscio continued her contributions in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored junior center fielder Jennifer Soria to break the tie and put ASU ahead 2-1 after two innings of play.
In the bottom of the third, senior Amber Freeman hit her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Rodriguez.
After her home run, the Broncos shot themselves in the foot with consecutive errors from shortstop Teauna Hughes and left fielder Makenzie Sullivan, leading to one more run to extend ASU's lead to 4-1 after three innings.
Macha pitched six innings of one-run ball, including four straight scoreless innings and after allowing a run in the second.
However, Boise State gave ASU a scare when it scored two runs off Macha to bring the game within one in the top of the seventh.
After Macha's 6.2 innings and 144 total pitches, fellow freshman Dale Ryndak took over and recorded the final out of the game with runners on first and second, securing a 4-3 ASU victory.
"Macha is just going to go compete," Nicholson said. "She may have made a mistake here and there tonight, but we have a ton of confidence in her. We just wanted to give them a different look because it was the fourth time through their lineup."
Freshman pitcher Dale Rydnak pitched a complete game, giving up only five hits and one run, with seven strikeouts to seal the victory on Feb. 20, 2015, against the Colorado State Rams at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils would go on to win the game. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press) .ASU denies Fisher 100th win
Colorado State head coach Jen Fisher was looking for her 100th career win in the second game of Friday's doubleheader.
Unfortunately, she was denied by Ryndak and ASU, which defeated the Rams by a score of 6-1.
Ryndak pitched a complete game, giving up only five hits and one run, with seven strikeouts to seal the sweep.
Nicholson credited the freshman for yet another great performance in the circle.
"Her velocity was good and she was hitting her spots tonight," he said. "In the fifth inning they strung some hits together and she made a big pitch to get out of the inning, so I thought that displayed her growth."
Just as the first game, ASU jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Freeman's double scored senior third baseman Haley Steele, who reached on an error by Colorado State third baseman Savannah Clark.
However, what looked to be a pitcher's duel quickly turned the other way in the fourth inning, where ASU essentially sealed the game and the Friday night sweep.
Rodriguez hit a two-out RBI-double, which scored pinch-runner Marisa Stankiewicz and kept the inning alive. The next batter, Caporuscio, knocked a three-run home run to right field to make it 5-0 ASU.
Nicholson said because of her success thus far, Rodriguez has the leadoff spot locked up as of now.
"She hit some balls hard tonight but even when she's not swinging the bat well, she finds ways to get on base," he said. "That's what you need out of a leadoff hitter—start a rally and get some things going."
Heading into the fifth, Rydnak had allowed only one hit.
Colorado State scored one run in the top of the fifth when sophomore shortstop Haley Hutton's single to left field scored freshman Madison Kilcrease.
However, ASU kept its foot on the gas pedal, scoring one more in the fifth from a Nikki Girard single that scored Chelsea Gonzales to extend the lead to 6-1 Sun Devils.
Unfortunately, the run was meaningless as ASU closed out the game and won 6-1.
The Sun Devils will play No. 15 Minnesota and Indiana State on the second day of the Diamond Devil Invitational.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3.
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