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Spring Showers Bring May Flowers (and Postseason Dubs)

by thesundevils.com
May 20, 2021

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 15 national seed Sun Devil Softball defeated Southern Illinois, 7-4, following a back-and-forth battle through seven innings on the 2021 NCAA Tempe Regional opening day. In a stroke of postseason unpredictability and a rare sight for the Arizona desert, the two teams competed in the middle of a rainstorm at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium on Thursday night.

ASU landed on the board first with a three-run first inning. The Sun Devils scored again in the second to extend the lead, 4-0. The momentum shifted to the Saluki's favor as they scored four runs over the next two innings to tie the game going into the fifth.  
 

"The one thing I know about Southern Illinois is that they're gonna be gritty; they're going to fight and stay in the game the whole time," said head coach Trisha Ford. "It was good for us to come out right away and put up some runs, and we dealt with some adversity today that was good. It was a game that went up and down, and I was proud of us for going through those ups and downs."

The Sun Devils scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth while sophomore pitcher Lindsay Lopez held SIU scoreless. The Arizona native pitched the entire game for the Sun Devils, her ninth complete game of the season. 
 

UP NEXT: The Sun Devils face the winner of game one, Virginia Tech, tomorrow at 1 p.m. MST. The game will air on ESPN3. The winner of that game advances straight through to Sunday's game which will determine who advances to the Super Regionals. 

ASU 7, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Lindsay Lopez started in the circle for the 17th time this season. She notched swinging strikeouts against her first two batters before closing out the inning after seeing only four at-bats.
  • The first inning was a parade for the Sun Devils as five batters walked. Yannira Acuna hit her sixth double of the season for two RBI that put the Sun Devils on the board first, 2-0. Denae Chatman reached on a fielder's choice that brought home the third run. 
  • Lopez went through another four batters quickly to hold the Saluki's scoreless. 
  • The Sun Devils tacked on another run in the second as Jazmine Hill scored on an Alynah Torres single. 
  • SIU grabbed its first run via wild pitch to cut the Sun Devil's four-run lead to three, 4-1, in top of the third frame. 
  • Saluki Maddy Vermejan homered to the right-center in the following inning -- tying the game at four runs apiece. 
  • ASU got a couple on base but ended up leaving them stranded. 
  • Lopez stopped the Saluki momentum, forcing their offense to leave two on base.
  • Acuna was the first to get on base in the top of the fifth on a hit by pitch. Makenna Harper reached on an odd fielder's choice that ended with Acuna out at second. Denae Chatman singled to center field, advancing Harper. Savannah Price walked to load the bases. 
  • Bella Loomis hit a two-RBI single to left-center followed by Kindra Hackbarth reaching on a fielder's choice that scored Price, putting the Sun Devils up, 7-4, at the end of the fifth. 
  • Lopez protected the lead in the sixth, going three-up, three-down against SIU.
  • ASU tried to extend the lead in the bottom of the sixth but wasn't able to capitalize. Lopez took another quick one-two-three turn to pick up her 16th win of the season and advance the Sun Devils to the winner's bracket. 

 

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