No. 23 ASU softball swept the first day of the Littlewood Classic, defeating Illinois State and No. 10 Kentucky in defensive battles.
Redshirt senior pitcher Cielo Meza struck out 15 batters in her two appearances, earning a win against Illinois State (2-5) and a save against Kentucky (5-1).
Illinois State
ASU was victorious in its first game, defeating Illinois State 3-0 in a game that only featured nine total hits.
The Redbirds were sat down in order by Meza to start the top half of the first, then the Hackbarth sisters wasted no time getting the Sun Devils on the scoreboard in the bottom half.
Senior center fielder Kindra Hackbarth hit a lead off single and then quickly stole second base. Senior catcher Maddi Hackbarth drove her in from second base on a deep sacrifice fly that was caught by Redbirds senior right fielder Kadi Borries as she crashed into the wall.
Offense was once again initiated in the third inning for the Sun Devils with a Kindra Hackbarth double. Junior second baseman Bella Loomis then added two more runs with a home run to center field.
Meza worked herself into trouble in the fourth inning with one out and two runners on base. The tough situation was alleviated by Meza striking out the next two batters, stranding the runners.
Meza's outing came to an end in the sixth inning after striking out the first batter of the inning, but allowing the next three batters to reach on base. Junior pitcher Madison Preston came in relief and forced junior third baseman Andrea Coursey to ground into a 1-2-3 double play avoiding any damage for the Sun Devils.
"My ball moves enough that if you can throw a strike, they'll hit it, it is going to be a grounder and that's an easy double play, and that's what happened," Preston said.
The Sun Devils only managed to accumulate four hits the entire game, but the stellar pitching performances did not require much run support.
Preston was given the task of finishing the game, and she ended it just like Meza started it: retiring the next three Redbirds she faced.
Kentucky
Arizona State battled with No. 10 Kentucky all night, winning 3-2 on the back of great pitching.
Preston stepped into the circle once again and continued her great pitching, as she did not give up a hit until the third inning.
Head coach Trisha Ford made her first significant lineup change by moving freshman shortstop Alynah Torres up from sixth in the lineup to the fourth spot. Freshman right fielder Jazmine Hill also moved from eighth to fifth in the lineup.
"We are slowly moving those freshman a bit..." Ford said. "They made me look smart tonight."
Hill immediately rewarded the move with a double to center in the second inning, but that would be the only hit in the first two innings for either team.
The scoreless tie was broken by the Sun Devils in the third, starting with junior third baseman Kiara Kennedy ripping a leadoff double down the third base line, followed by a Kindra Hackbarth RBI double. Loomis then scored Hackbarth with a single to right field giving the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead heading to the fourth.
The Wildcats put pressure on Preston after loading the bases with two outs in the top of the fourth. Preston fell behind in the count 3-1, but fought back to strike out sophomore outfielder Renee Abernathy, stranding three runners for the Wildcats.
Pitching roles were reversed in the night cap for ASU, as Meza entered in the fifth inning to relieve Preston who threw four shut out innings.
The Wildcats cut their deficit in half in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by freshman center fielder Rylea Smith. Meza struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
ASU quickly got the run right back after a wild pitch by Kentucky sophomore pitcher Tatum Spangler, allowing Loomis to slide into home safely to score.
Meza breezed through the first two outs of the top of the sixth, but junior pitcher Grace Baalman pinch hit and added another run for the Wildcats with a solo home run to left-center field. Meza then walked the following two batters, prompting a meeting at the circle.
Meza escaped the jam, striking out the next batter to end the top of the sixth, stranding two Wildcats on base.
After the Sun Devils failed to get any insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, Meza took the circle in the top of the seventh looking to get three more outs to secure the 3-2 victory.
Meza threw her only scoreless inning of the game when she needed it most, retiring the Wildcats in order to win the game and collect the save.
"I told myself no more runs..." Meza said. "I said let's get these last three outs, I don't care how we get them."
ASU will look to continue its run against Detroit Mercy and Kentucky in a doubleheader on Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. MST respectively in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at kbdyer2@asu.edu and follow @TheKamDyer on Twitter.
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