Aggies drop Game 1 to Arizona State
Staff and wire report
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Kaylyn Castillo's two-run, two-out bases-loaded single lifted the top-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils to a 3-2 victory over Texas A&M in the opener of their best-of-3 super regional series Thursday night before 2,037 at Farrington Field.
Game 2 is set for 8 p.m. Friday and will be televised on ESPNU with Game 3, if necessary, at 10:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 (Ch. 28).
ASU (54-6) was down to its last two outs and trailing 2-1 when A&M starting pitcher Melissa Dumezich walked pinch-hitter Lucy Aubrecht. Dumezich bounced back from a 3-0 count on Talor Haro to get her to foul out to first baseman Rhiannon Kliesing.
The Aggies (44-14) opted to walk leadoff hitter Katelyn Boyd, who was batting .439 with 14 doubles, 17 homers and 60 runs batted in. Dumezich hit Lesley Rogers to load the bases, then fell behind 2-0 against Castillo.
Castillo grounded sharply toward A&M shortstop Brittany Walker who was unable to get a glove on the ball as Boyd jumped out of the way. No apparent contact was made, and the ball continued into the outfield with two runners easily scoring to give ASU the victory.
Dumezich immediately pointed toward Boyd asking for interference, but the play stood with the umpire ruling no contact had been made between Walker and Boyd.
The 16th-seeded Aggies, who had their 10-game winning streak snapped, took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh on Dumezich's booming home run over the center-field fence.
A&M's only other hit was a home run by freshman Amber Garza.
ASU freshman right-hander Dallas Escobedo (31-3) struck out 15 and walked sixth over seven innings, throwing 158 pitches.
Dumezich (31-9) gave up four hits, walked six and struck out three over 130 pitches.
Escobedo walked Taran Taylor in the seventh after Dumezich's homer, and with two-outs, Naatlie Villarreal earned a walk on the 10th pitch of her at-bat. But with action in the ASU bullpen, Escobedo retired Walker to end the inning.
ASU, which came in hitting .343 and scoring 7.4 runs per game, turned a leadoff walk to Krista Donnenwirth in the second inning into a run when Sam Parlich doubled in pinch-runner Kayla Ketchum who had moved up on a sacrifice bunt.
Garza tied the score at 1 with a mammoth home run with two outs in the fourth. The freshman left-handed hitter laced a 1-0 riseball over the fence in right field.
The ball cleared a second fence as did Dumezich's blast. The red-hot Garza had 10 runs batted in during A&M's three wins in the College Station Regional.
Garza's hit was the first solid contact against Escobedo who struck out the side in the first three innings, allowing only a walk to Kliesing.
Dumezich didn't retire the Sun Devils in order until the sixth but managed to get clutch outs. She walked Boyd to start the third, but Boyd was called out for leaving the base early on the first pitch to Rogers, who doubled on the second pitch. Dumezich retired the next two batters.
In the bottom of the fourth, Dumezich struck out Sarah Rice after Parlich was credited with a two-out double when left fielder Kelsey Spittler couldn't catch the sinking line drive.