ASU Softball: Sun Devils’ bats stay hot in 8-4 win over Houston

(Photo via Janaé Bradford)

To close out the Sun Devil Classic on Sunday, ASU Softball took on Houston in Tempe for their final non-conference game before beginning conference play.

The Sun Devils (15-3) dominated the Cougars (10-11) 8-4 behind their solid lineup and the relief pitching of sophomore right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown.

“We are just hungry,” graduate infielder Alexa Milius said. “We just want to put up as many runs as we can for our pitchers because they work their butts off every single day, anything we can do to just get runs up on that board and put pressure on the other team’s defense.”

Milius went 3-for-4 on the day, reaching base safely four times with two doubles, a single and a walk. This added extra padding for Brown, who showed nothing but excellence as a relief pitcher Sunday, holding the Cougars scoreless through four innings, helping her team to victory.

“Our pitchers have so much good stuff. They just need to move it in the zone,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “Kenzie came in right away and got after the hitters … so that made us pretty happy.”

ASU allowed the Cougars to go up 1-0 in the first inning after a double from sophomore infielder Turiya Coleman, who then scored later on a wild pitch from the starter, freshman right-handed pitcher Kylee Magee.

Despite being down early, the Sun Devils responded with four runs in the bottom of the first, two of which were solo home runs from senior infielder Jordyn VanHook and junior outfielder Emily Cazares, making the score 4-1. With the home run, VanHook extended her hitting streak to 13 games, launched her 13th homer of the season, and recorded her first of three RBIs on the afternoon.

Magee’s eighth start this season was short-lived, as she was unable to make it through two innings. Magee walked two batters and had a throwing error in the second inning that gave the Cougars the momentum to tie the game up 4-4.

Magee struggled to show command of her pitches in the circle and was abruptly pulled by Bartlett in the second inning with the bases loaded. This brought in Brown to relieve the struggling Magee.

After the conclusion of the second inning, Brown shut the Cougars down, throwing 4.2 innings with six strikeouts. Brown allowed just two hits for the rest of the game and prevented the Cougars from scoring in the remaining innings.

Brown said that her performance on Sunday could not have occurred without the confidence her coaches and defense provided her.

“My coaches definitely help me,” Brown said. “They tell me all the time how good I am and how I just need to spin my pitches to make everything work for me. Trusting the defense behind me makes it so much easier because I don’t have to hit all my spots.”

From there, the Sun Devil’s offense continued to do what they do best: score runs. The team recorded its eight runs off nine hits while facing four different Houston pitchers. By the end of the second inning, ASU had regained the lead and set the score at 6-4. A two-RBI double by VanHook in the fourth gave ASU its seventh and eighth runs.

“Literally anywhere you hit in this lineup, someone is there to pick you up or get on base in front of you, so it’s really just a collective effort, and it is really fun to be around,” Milius said.

The Sun Devil offense hopes to continue bringing the heat to its Pac-12 Conference opener on Friday against No. 19 Arizona.

Bartlett complimented the Tucson program’s history and tradition and said her team would have to have a short memory if they want to come out with a series win against the Wildcats.

“It’s time to compete,” Bartlett said. “Let’s have some fun. They are going to punch, and we’re going to punch back, and at the end of the day, the chips are going to fall, and if it’s not in our favor, we adjust, and we go on to the next day to figure out how to win a series.”

Milius said that she and the Sun Devils are ready to open up conference play on their home field and take on their rivals.

“I am super super excited,” Milius said. “I have been telling everyone I know to come out to this game. It means a lot to this program and this team so we are super excited to have that here. The atmosphere is going to be unreal, and I am just ready to go.”