The Arizona Prep Sun Devils lost 12-2 against the Northwest Christian Crusadors in its final home game for its seniors Wednesday afternoon.

The game was called early due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Both teams went scoreless in the first two innings, with only three hits between the two teams.

After making some adjustments, the Crusaders came into the third inning ready to hit and went through their whole lineup, recording 10 runs off of nine hits.

“The pitcher was pitching really good and she was working the off speed very well," Northwest Christian coach Rod Bair said. "Our girls were out in front, they weren’t staying back and letting the ball travel. That typically happens when you go from facing pitchers that throw really hard in the last couple of games to this. I was really proud of my team because it only took them one time around the line up to make their adjustments.” 

Also in the third inning, Hope Flisyn, the sophomore catcher for the Crusaders, hit two home runs.

“I was just trying to wait on the pitch and just make sure that I let the ball travel so that I could get a hit,” Flisyn said.

Megan Steel, a junior, was pitching a perfect game up until the bottom of the fourth inning, when she allowed three hits. She threw 63 pitches and struck out six during her complete game performance. 

“I tried to keep calling the pitches a little high, because they were going for it. So if they were to get in a 0-2 count I would try to get them to chase,” Flisyn said.

In the bottom of the fourth the Sun Devil’s leadoff hitter and their second batter both scored.

This allowed them a chance to not have the 10-run mercy rule go into affect just yet, flustering the Crusaders a bit.

“When they got their two runs, we kind of got a little frazzled and a little frustrated," Blair said. "When you play this game the more frustrated you get the worse you play. So they just needed to calm down and resettle themselves in order to get out of the inning."

Steel added, “We just wanted to play our hardest like we know how to do. Sometimes we forget about that and we kind of fall apart like we kind of did. We just had to bring it back so we can be solid and play how we know how to play."

However, at the top of the fifth inning the Crusaders (11-13-1) responded with two runs of their own, putting the pressure back on the Sun Devils. ASU Prep was not able to respond in the bottom of the inning, causing the game to end.

The Crusaders are now focusing their attention on the next opponent, Chino Hills.

“Because in or next game we play someone that throws hard, tomorrow at practice I’m going to have to get the machine out so that we can reset our approaches at the plate," Bair said. "We can always work on not being frustrated and making mistakes."