5th-Inning Turnaround Gets Sun Devils the Win

The Arizona State Sun Devils (22-6 overall, 2-3 Big 12) hosted the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (17-9, 1-4) for game 1 of the three-day series, a game the Sun Devils won, 5-4. 

Back and forth early on

The Sun Devils got the board fast as junior catcher Samantha Swan opened with an RBI double to center, scoring junior utility Avila Yazzy from second. 

Things started to get out of hand for the Sun Devils, as junior pitcher Meika Lauppe allowed freshman outfielder Jayelle Austin to hit her fifth home run, which tied the game back up.

The Sun Devils were able to take back the lead in the 3rd inning on an error from shortstop Aubrey Jones, scoring senior outfielder Kaylee Pond and Avila.

Lauppe’s early pitching struggles continued in the 4th inning, as a home run from senior catcher Amanda Hasler started a two-run top of the fourth that gave OSU the tie.

During the 5th inning, both teams exchanged runs as senior outfielder Lexi McDonald singled up to midfield for an RBI to give the Cowgirls the lead. However, in the bottom of the 5th inning, junior infielder Katie Chester sent an absolute moonshot into deep center field, tying the game back up at 4-4.

It was Chester’s ninth of the year.

Lauppe slams the door

During the final two innings of the game, the Sun Devils were able to seal the win after Lauppe was able to strike out three batters, bringing her season total to 35 KOs.

“Oh, gosh. This afternoon was awesome. I’ve been wanting a game like this,” Lauppe said. “What did it best for me is that Coach John and I have really worked on not overthrowing my ball cause I tend to do that quite often, but my cutter really seemed to be taking off tonight. Otherwise, the defense was awesome tonight, and I was able to meet my goal on pounding the zone.”

In the end, junior infielder Ryan Brown was able to get her first home run of the season, the winning run of the game. 

The Sun Devils will be hosting the Cowgirls again Sunday for the final game of the series. They will be looking to extend their win streak to four and close this series out with a sweep.