ASU Softball: Howe leads Devils in game two victory against Stanford

After snapping a nine-game losing streak on Friday night, Arizona State (27-17, 7-10 Pac-12) returned to action for game two in Palo Alto on Saturday night. ASU took the series over Stanford (31-12, 7-7 Pac-12) by winning their second consecutive game by a final score of 7-4.

Leading the charge for the Devils was senior center fielder Morgan Howe. She went 3-4 with four RBI’s, including a home run and two doubles to contribute to the winning effort.

Howe wasn’t the only senior outfielder to contribute to the effort however. Her counterpart in left field, Skylar McCarty, also had three hits and an RBI.

After going up 1-0 in the first inning, Stanford dropped four runs in the bottom half. Nevertheless, the Devils rallied quickly and answered with two runs in the second inning. They later added three runs in the fourth and one in the seventh to secure the victory.

In the circle for ASU, Sam Mejia, Abby Andersen, and Cielo Meza combined for the win. Among other standouts, sophomore first baseman Denae Chatman had two RBI’s courtesy of a big double in the fourth inning.

Now back to their winning ways, the Sun Devils will go for a sweep in the Bay Area for tomorrow afternoon. McCarty and Howe were a pivotal part of the offense on Saturday night, and they will look to continue to round out their senior years in style. That is something they addressed earlier this week.

“This is hard for me but going into these last nine games...It’s just enjoying every single moment with each one of these 18 girls,” said Howe earlier this week. “These last three weeks have not been ideal whatsoever. Nobody wants to be in their senior year going on a nine-game losing streak, that sucks. But at the same time, all the moments in between...There are just little things that you are going to remember forever and it’s knowing that we all went through this experience together. That’s what I am going to take from this going into these last nine games. Just enjoying every pitch and every moment.”

McCarty added to Howe’s point.

“We have nine games with 18 girls,” McCarty said. “That's what I am taking from the game. They are 18 of my best friends and I am never going to get these moments back. That’s my mentality.”

Game three between ASU and Stanford is set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MST.