Sun Devils obliterate Rebels to punch ticket to Super Regionals

By Scott Mammoser

Sun Devils celebrate victory at NCAA Regionals

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State softball team put together a dominating effort to eliminate the University of Mississippi, 9-0 in five innings, and advance to its first NCAA Super Regional since 2013, also the year of its last Women’s College World Series appearance. 

The eighth-seeded Sun Devils went a perfect 3-0 in the Tempe Regional and outscored its opponents (New Mexico State and Ole Miss twice) 18-1.

“I’m so proud of them tonight,” ASU coach Trisha Ford said. “Pitching, defense, all facets of our game were rolling. They did a great job of executing their plan. They were focused, and you could see it in their eyes. I enjoyed watching them compete, and this is the type of team I like to coach.”

ASU will host ninth-seeded South Carolina in the Super Regional next weekend in a best-of-three format. The Gamecocks needed to beat Liberty twice on Sunday to advance. All 16 of the top-seeded host teams moved on to the Super Regionals, and all except defending champion Oklahoma and Florida State represent either the SEC or Pac-12 Conference. 

The Sun Devils scored five of their runs in the first and four in the third inning. With runners on the corners and no outs, freshman designated player DeNae Chatman smacked a three-run home run to left for the early lead. Jade Gortarez drove home Marisa Stankiewicz to make it 4-0, and a fifth run scored on a sacrifice fly to right.

Gortarez then delivered an RBI single with no outs in the bottom of the third, and an error on the same play scored two more runs and landed her on third base. Taylor Becerra, who was 2-for-3 on the day scored Maddi Hackbarth for the ninth run.

Coach Ford inserted Breanna Macha at the mound to rest starter Giselle “G” Juarez to begin the fourth. Each pitcher had three strikeouts, and Juarez was credited with the win to improve to 24-4.

Juarez credited with the win, improving her record to 24-4.

“At the beginning of the season, I said our goal was to win a national championship,” the senior Macha said. “This really builds our confidence, and we’re ready to go. Coach says that preparation leads to success, and we had a big week of preparation this week.”

The Rebels season ends at 32-25, a year in which it finished in 12^th place in a deep SEC that sent every team to the NCAA Tournament. Brittany Finney started with three strikeouts, and Kaitlin Lee was credited with the loss (18-14).

“We lost to a really good ball club,” Ole Miss coach Mike Smith said. “You’re probably going to see them in Oklahoma City, and I say that knowing they’re going to be playing South Carolina, an SEC school. It’s going to be a great series. Whoever comes out of this region is going to be battle tested to compete for a national championship.”