(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)
TEMPE — The sun beamed down onto a sold-out home finale crowd at Farrington Stadium. Parents, friends and fans alike all showed support for a program trying to continue its rise. Amidst the chaos, it proved little help.
At first glance, Arizona State’s problems seem minor. ASU has won at least 35 games in back-to-back seasons, with consecutive postseason berths very likely to follow . However, if one looks deeper into the tangled web of Sun Devil softball, the thread of conference record is tangled, and the emergence sticks out like a sore thumb.
Those donning the white jerseys with the maroon lettering and gold outlines took a nose-dive in Big 12 play, plunging head-first into a pool with no water.
ASU’s 5-1 loss to No. 5 Texas Tech on Sunday dropped its conference record to a dismal 8-13, as the loss marked the second time this season the Sun Devils have been swept at home.
The final Farrington fun day, where seniors were supposed to be extolled, turned dismal fast. The shining bright sun moving over Farrington Stadium couldn’t stop the conference struggles the Sun Devils continue to face.
Despite the struggles this season, it’s the second-best conference record the Sun Devils have reached thus far under head coach Megan Bartlett. But after finishing at a 14-10 mark last year, 2026’s results are a step back, with the weekend sweep ensuring ASU will finish with a losing record in Big 12 play.
Only three Sun Devils hitters with 60 or more at-bats have hit .300 or better throughout conference matchups, with only two others hitting above .250 with 50-plus at-bats.
The Sun Devils rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in average, hits, doubles, walks, on-base percentage and have committed the most errors. They are ranked sixth out of 11 in RBI’s and runs scored.
In the circle, a full descent to the ground has transpired. Only senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown has achieved an ERA below 4.00. The next closest to Brown’s 2.92 ERA is senior left-handed pitcher Aissa Silva, whose ERA is 5.16 in Big 12 play.
ASU’s 4.73 ERA in conference games ranks seventh in the conference, even with Brown’s effort. ASU is in the top echelon of the Big 12 in runs allowed, earned runs allowed, walks and home runs.
Defensively, the Sun Devils are tied for the most errors in the Big 12 with 3-0. The Sun Devils have the worst fielding percentage at .949 while allowing the most stolen bases per attempt, only throwing out one successful runner in 15 attempts before the series finale Sunday afternoon.
In fairness, Bartlett has had her hands full navigating injuries.
“Get healthy and stay healthy,” Bartlett said. “I mean, that’s the reality that, you know, resources and depth will protect you from a lot of things, but when you’re, you know, your All-American and you’re all-region kid go down for a month in the middle of the season, it just makes it tough. So we got to get healthy. Got to stay healthy. That’s the name of the game.”
On home turf at Club Farrington, a place where good results would be expected, ASU hasn’t been productive. The Sun Devils have gone 13-27 at Farrington since joining the Big 12, while 2025’s 8-8 conference record at home was the best any ASU team has produced under Bartlett.
If the Sun Devils want to make a run in the Big 12 tournament and eventually get back to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series, ending Big 12 play against BYU on a positive note will be extremely important in an effort to carry momentum into the postseason.
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