Another gem from Kenzie Brown gives ASU the win over UNLV

(Photo credit: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)

TEMPE — After its furthest road trip of the season, newly ranked No. 23 Arizona State Softball returned to Farrington Stadium to continue its pitching dominance.

Senior righty Kenzie Brown had another phenomenal night in the circle, fanning 10 batters in 6.0 innings pitched, only giving up one hit. Her performance helped the Sun Devils (22-8, 4-2 Big 12) to the 4-1 win over visiting UNLV (16-12, 1-2 Mountain West).

“Kenzie is special. She’s one of the best in the game right now,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “She’s got a lot of tools to beat you with.”

On top of her 10 punchouts, Brown carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning Tuesday. The first hit of the night for the Rebels came on a two-out RBI single from senior infielder Karmyna Becerra, which ended up being the only run scored by UNLV all night. The Rebels only managed two hits on the night.

The Sun Devils defense contributed greatly to Brown’s success, not giving up an error all game long. One of ASU’s biggest changes to its defense this year was moving senior utility player AJ Murphy from third base to shortstop.

“AJ is just a leader. She operates with a lot of calm,” Bartlett said. “She’s a glue girl in the locker room.”

In the top of the fourth inning, Murphy made the play of the night. On a slow ground ball off the bat of Becerra, Murphy stretched to her left and managed to scoop the ball up just before the cutout of the outfield grass. She then jumped and made the throw in time for the first out of the inning, bringing all the fans at Farrington Stadium to their feet.

“She kind of went [Derek] Jeter back over her shoulder and the girl at first, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I was still thinking about it three innings later,” Bartlett said.

Although it was not flashy, the Sun Devils’ offense did its job. ASU played small ball Tuesday, with junior outfielder Tanya Windle, junior infielder Ayden Allen, graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall and freshman catcher Lilian Holtje all driving in runs. The Sun Devils managed four runs on eight hits off the UNLV pitching duo of junior right-hander Amelia Weber and freshman righty Yanina Sherwood.

“I think there were a lot of things that we could have done way better tonight,” Bartlett said. “It wasn’t a talent issue, it was just a bit of a lack of execution.”

Following Tuesday’s win the No. 23 Sun Devils will host their rivals, the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats in a three-game set in Tempe this weekend. The Wildcats and the Sun Devils sit second and third respectively in the Big 12 Conference standings.

“These young ones are gonna get their first taste of a really big, really nasty rivalry,” Bartlett said. “It is one of the best in the country. … We’re gonna give them hell.”