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Big Bats Bite #8 Ducks in #12 Softball's Series Win

by thesundevils.com
May 2, 2021

Tempe, Ariz - In the last regular-season home game and Senior Day, the No. 12 Arizona State softball team shut down the No. 8 Oregon Ducks, 9-6. The ASU lineup hit three home runs in the series win on Sunday to cap off a ten-dinger weekend - the most home runs Oregon has conceded in a series this season. Despite four appearances over the weekend, Allison Royalty continued to trip up the Ducks to collect her 11th collegiate win. 

With the series win, ASU has won the last five of six conference series, including the sweep of Arizona. The Ducks (31-13, 9-10) scored first with a four-spot in the second inning, but their quacks were silenced quickly by Allison Royalty who secured the win after throwing 5.2 innings of relief for the Sun Devils (31-12, 11-7).
 

The Hackbarth sisters propelled today's offense with four hits and four RBI's combined.  After today's win, Maddi and Kindra Hackbarth, along with Olivia Miller, Cielo Meza, and Alli Tatnall were recognized for their achievements on and off the field at ASU.

UP NEXT: The Sun Devils will travel to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers for a four-game series to close out the regular season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • Lindsay Lopez started her 15th game of the year before handing the ball over to Allison Royalty.
  • Trailing 4-0 in the third inning, Kindra Hackbarth got the Sun Devils on the board with a two-run home run, her tenth of the year.
  • With runners on second and third, Makenna Harper put the Sun Devils ahead with a three-run home run, making it 6-4. It was Harper's ninth bomb of the season and second three-run shot of the season. 
  • The Sun Devils pushed the lead to 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning courtesy of Alynah Torres' 12th home run of the year.
  • In the bottom of the sixth, the Sun Devils added two more runs off of a Jazmine Hill double and Maddi Hackbarth single, extending the lead to 9-4.
  • The Ducks added two runs in the seventh, but Royalty battled to secure the win.

Quotes:
Allison Royalty

On having Maddi as a battery mate:
"It's really a game-changer having Maddi back there. I can't explain enough how grateful I am to have her back there. She's an amazing catcher, she has great skills and has been working really hard. She's really great to have back there as a friend, she knows what to say to us when she calls time and what to look for. It's really awesome having an experienced catcher behind the plate for the both of us."

On how her freshman season has gone:
"Just reflecting from the beginning of the season, there's been a lot of ups and downs and learning experiences. Some weekends have been better than others but there's always a lesson to be learned. I've just been excited and grateful looking back on the whole season- going through hard times and still getting through them keeping my head up and knowing I have a job to do. I have to be here for my teammates no matter where I'm at or how good or bad I feel. I feel like I learned I feel that I've grown a lot as a pitcher just having to go through those [times]."

Kindra Hackbarth

On her homerun:
"It felt good because Lindsay came out and gave all she had, and we wanted to have her back on it. It felt even better on the fact we had our pitcher's back."

On Senior day:
"It was pretty emotional because the fan support at ASU is so awesome and it feels like a second family. It wasn't as sad because I know we're going to host a regional, so it doesn't feel like my last game [here at Farrington]."

"It was fun, it was a happy but sad kind of day, but the fact we won makes it even better."

Maddi Hackbarth:

On Allison's performance:
"I think Allison's performance today was by far one of her best, if not her best. I thought she grew in this game as we continued through the lineup, she made the adjustments she needed [to make]. She knew what she could get them out on and her confidence kept building and building. Our relationship got better as the game went on today. She was telling me to keep her on the fun side and keep it balanced from being competitive and fun. I'm very impressed with what she did today. You face them [Oregon] four times and you do that? Normal people don't do that. I think Allison is built different and she's going to be very good for this program."

Coach Trisha Ford
On Allison's performance:
"I told her today after the game it's probably the proudest I've been of her all year. She's pitched some big games but she gutted that out today. She kept fighting and beat them with one pitch. For me I was just proud of her tenacity, her perseverance and just her drive to be great. We got to see Royalty's insides today, which I think is pretty exciting for the future of ASU softball."

On Kindra and Maddi Hackbarth:
"For me, they've really helped tie things together and help us build what we envisioned here. They've been huge for our program. We wouldn't be here today without them quite honestly. For me, Kindra came to us as a slapper but now she's one of the feared hitters in the country. She can do it all; she can steal bases, she's a five-tool player. Maddi, for me, I'm just so proud of her. She's a monster in the box, I don't know if there's anybody that wants to pitch to her ever. She's made them pay, she obviously won the UofA series, she helped score that run for us on the last inning on Sunday.  Today she had a big hit for us again, she's having big hits on big situations. Here we are with two weekends left in conference play and she's still tearing it up. If you look at her numbers every year, she's just gotten better and better."

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