(Photo credit: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)
PHOENIX — At the beginning of the bottom of the sixth inning, the game was still tied 0–0. Then, freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching changed the game with one swing, bringing every Sun Devil fan to their feet.
After taking the first pitch of the at-bat for a strike, Ho-Ching sent the following pitch over the wall. Off the bat, it appeared that the ball would die short of the wall, but it never stopped until it was over.
“I thought that was one of the hardest balls I’ve hit in my career,” Ho-Ching said. “I was just thinking double, get to two.”
Perhaps aided by the wind, the ball had just enough velocity and carry under it to leave the yard, giving Arizona State Softball (16-6, 1-0 Big 12) a 1–0 lead late in the game. One run was all the Sun Devils needed, as senior righthander Kenzie Brown dominated the BYU Cougar (14-5, 0-1 Big 12) offense, throwing one of the best games in ASU history.
After a rocky beginning to the game, Brown finished with 7.0 innings pitched, 18 strikeouts and only gave up two hits on 131.
“I need to do a better job at not getting excited,” Brown said. “Just dialing in and doing what I do best.”
Brown had to dial in quickly, allowing back-to-back walks to the game’s first two batters. After a visit to the circle from pitching coach Jeremy Manley, Brown went on to strike out all three of the following Cougar hitters.
“Man, just happy she’s a Sun Devil,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “Kenzie was brilliant tonight.”
This was Brown’s second consecutive complete game on the year, as she went 7.0 innings and picked up the win against the Utah State Aggies on Saturday, March 1. It also put her in the record books.
Brown’s ninth strikeout of the game was also the 200th K of her career. On top of that, 18 strikeouts is the second-most strikeouts in a game in Sun Devil history.
As for ASU’s offense, it faced its most difficult challenge yet.
Coming into the game, BYU junior righty Kaysen Korth had a 0.27 ERA, good enough for second in the entire country. Korth also ranked 17th in the nation with a 0.78 WHIP.
“I think we had six different hard-hit balls throughout the game and we came up with four hits off a kid who had a 0.27 ERA,” Bartlett said. “I thought the girls played with a lot of poise and maturity tonight.”
Korth went 5.1 innings tonight, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four. She was pulled one at-bat after giving up the go-ahead home run to Ho-Ching in the bottom of the sixth.
Most pitchers would be thrilled with a performance like Korth’s, but the Cougars certainly were not. She was handed her first loss of the season and her ERA increased to 0.37.
Only three Sun Devils and two Cougars managed to get a hit all night. It was a classic pitcher’s duel, one in which ASU came out victorious by a score of 1-0.
The Sun Devils now look to accomplish another goal, beat the same team twice in one weekend, as they have not done that yet this year. They will have two more chances this weekend, as they continue their inaugural Big 12 Conference series against BYU.
