ASU overpowered by No. 5 Texas Tech in series-opening loss

(Photo: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)

TEMPE – When senior All-American pitcher and recent Big 12 pitcher of the week Kenzie Brown stepped into the circle Friday night for Arizona State ahead of its matchup with No. 5 Texas Tech, the sellout crowd at Farrington Stadium buzzed with energy. The first time a top-five team walked into Tempe this season was only the second game of the season, when then-No. 2 Oklahoma won 2-1 in nail-biting fashion.

Through three innings, Friday night’s game seemed to be heading in that same direction. Brown had held the Red Raiders to just one hit, while ASU had only reached base once. Eventually, Texas Tech’s (45-4, 17-2 Big 12) offense spoiled the part at Club Farrington, winning 6-0 while shutting down the Sun Devils (35-14, 8-11) and capitalizing on the long ball.

After holding the Big 12’s top offense to an uncharacteristic one hit for the first half of Friday night’s game, Brown seemed to have found a dynamic rhythm in the circle. The senior right-hander quickly tallied the first two outs in the top of the fourth before a simple missed pitch led to a spiral.

Brown hit a Texas Tech batter after working into a 2-2 count with two outs on the scoreboard. After the blunder, Red Raider junior third baseman Taylor Pannell launched a rocket to deep left-center field to open up the scoring.

While Brown ended with 10 strikeouts, her 11th double-digit strikeout game this year, and six hits allowed, her offense could never rally around her quality performance. The Sun Devils managed to tally only two hits.

“I thought she threw beautifully and got out of some really tight spots,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “We’ve got to give her more runs, that’s just what it came down to.”

Part of the offensive struggle was the dominant performance in the opposing circle from junior pitcher Kaitlyn Terry. After holding a no-hitter through the bottom of the fourth until junior catcher Emily Schepp drove a double to the wall, Terry finished with a complete game and struck out seven batters.

Bartlett’s squad struggled to find barrels all night long, striking out at least seven times for the sixth time this season. The Sun Devils’ record in those games is now 3-3, showing that offensive struggles have led to low-scoring losses.

Reliable power hitters senior outfielder Kaylee Pond and junior infielder Katie Chester struggled at the plate, both striking out twice. The duo sits 10th and third in the conference in home runs on the season, but could never find confidence in the batter’s box.

“We let way too many early at-bats get away from us,” Bartlett said. “We were swinging at stuff too far up out of the zone … We’ve got to shorten up the swings a little bit. We have to pick out her pitches.”

Texas Tech took a commanding lead near the end of Brown’s start after five strikeouts in a row, when junior utility player Desirae Spearman drilled the second two-run homer of the game. The Red Raiders stretched out the lead even more in the seventh, when Bartlett pulled Brown and put in senior pitcher Aissa Silva, driving in two more runs on small-ball play.

The Sun Devils looked to replicate the late-inning success as the crowd stayed in its seats, hoping for a comeback. Instead, ASU could only manage one hit in the final two innings, going down in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

While it may not show up on the scorecard, the Sun Devils did make hard contact numerous times. In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia barreled a ball up, sending a shockwave pop into the stands.

Instead of the base knock to extend the inning, the softball flew right to the center fielder, serving as another disappointing inning for the top of the ASU lineup.

“Where I thought we had better approaches and finally made contact, it just got scattered throughout the game and the lineup,” Bartlett said. “It’s frustrating, but not controllable.”

The Sun Devils continue the celebrations of senior weekend at Farrington Stadium tomorrow night against the Red Raiders at 2 p.m. MST for the second game of the series. If ASU wants a fighting chance at one of the best teams in the country, it’ll take a full team effort, not just one side of the ball performing

“That’s the reality of these kids,” Bartlett said. “They continue to battle, and continue to fight, and believe in one another. I want a top-10 win, and I know they do too. So, we’re going to keep chasing and steal one.”