Freshman infielder Brynley Steele scores against North Texas, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, at Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Mean Green 10-2. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)
In the first doubleheader of two consecutive in the Littlewood Classic, No. 21 ASU softball achieved two dominant wins over North Texas and Illinois State on Friday night.
The first game for ASU started about an hour past schedule because of games running late beforehand, which pitted the Sun Devils (6-3) against the North Texas Mean Green (2-5). ASU prevailed 10-2 in five innings of play.
Starting in the circle for the Sun Devils was freshman Dale Ryndak, who pitched all five innings for ASU, moving her record to 3-0 on the season after giving up only two runs with a WHIP of 1.16.
Ryndak said pushing through spurts of adversity has led to the stellar start to her freshman year.
"I've learned from a young age that putting ground balls and runs up on the board (shouldn't) give me that fear," Ryndak said. "I still have that same confidence and demeanor on the mound as when I get a strikeout."
This game, like many before this season, started painfully slow for ASU on the offensive end. The Mean Green took advantage on their side after two conceivably easy infield plays for ASU ended in miscues, taking a 2-0 lead after the top of the third inning off of two singles.
Senior third baseman Haley Steele would have a response of her own for the Sun Devils in the bottom of the frame, unloading the bases on a double to deep center field. Senior Amber Freeman brought Steele home soon after on a single to left, ballooning the ASU advantage to 4-2.
But the Sun Devils weren't done doing damage, adding five more runs to their lead before the fourth inning after some defensive miscues by North Texas.
Entering the fourth and fifth innings with a 9-2 cushion, Ryndak took down six straight Mean Green batters, setting up the bottom of the fifth for Elizabeth Caporuscio to crush a walk-off solo home run to deep right field, ending the game after five.
Ryndak said the seven run cushion made her job much easier.
"Knowing that my offense has my back, I can just throw my pitches and I'm not tense –– I can just throw my own game," Ryndak said.
The second game of the night featured the Illinois State Redbirds (3-4) and ASU took this game in commanding fashion as well, with the final being 9-4.
Starting in the pitching spot for the Sun Devils against ISU was freshman Breanna Macha, who pitched a complete game, striking out nine en route to her third victory in five decisions this season.
The offense for ASU was ignited in the second inning by sophomore Sashel Palacios' single up the middle, bringing home a run and giving the Sun Devils a 1-0 advantage.
A challenge for ASU came in the top of the third inning as Macha had the bases loaded facing sophomore Jordan de los Reyes, the Redbirds most talented hitter by a considerable margin. De los Reyes gave the Sun Devils fits with a powerful grand slam to right field, providing ISU a 4-1 lead.
The Sun Devils were quick to respond with offense of their own in the bottom of the frame, bringing home a run thanks to a sacrifice fly by Steele and adding another on a subsequent sacrifice fly by Freeman. It was 4-3 ISU at that point in the game.
The offense stalled on both sides after the third as Macha sent eight consecutive batters packing before facing the red-hot de los Reyes, who sent the ball soaring into left off the wall for a single that was inches away from being another home run.
ASU responded with back-to-back home runs from sophomore shortstop Chelsea Gonzales and Palacios, giving the Sun Devils a 5-4 lead.
What sealed the game up for the Sun Devils was a third and final home run in the sixth, coming off the bat of Freeman in the form of a grand slam, giving ASU its insurmountable lead of 9-4.
"The past three days at practice we've just been working on our plan," Palacios said. "We all held each other accountable and it was a team win. Everybody did their job."
ASU coach Craig Nicholson evaluated the importance of getting two wins tonight given the tough matchups coming up in this tournament.
"Every game is important at this stage of the year, but at the same time every game is a learning experience," Nicholson said. "Two important wins for us tonight knowing what lies ahead in the next couple days."
Staring down the Sun Devils on Saturday are two postseason teams from last season in Boston and No. 4 Oklahoma. First pitches for both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. at Farrington Stadium in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or on Twitter @RClarkeASU.
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