Long-ball pushes Sun Devils to 5-1 win

(Photo credit: Zina Garcia/WCSN)

TEMPE — Arizona State softball showed its strength in a long-ball win Sunday.

Arizona State (10-5) earned the 5-1 win over the New Mexico State Aggies (9-8) to end the three-day Sun Devil Classic. The Sun Devils finished with a 3-1 record on their home turf, with their only loss coming against No. 3 Florida.

ASU was threatening to score early in the first inning Sunday with freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching in scoring position. Freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia stepped up to the dish with two runners on and quickly got to a 1-0 count. Mejia got the party started early at Farrington Stadium, putting a ball over the left field fence, giving the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead.

Mejia said she was looking for something ‘outside and fat.’

“That’s what I got,” she said. “It’s really important to stick to a plan and execute on it, especially at this level. I think I did a really good job of that.”

Two solo shots in the fifth inning put the nail in the Aggies’ coffin.

Senior utility player AJ Murphy led off the inning, sending a drive to center field near the pitch clock. It was Murphy’s third home run of the year after a two-homer game against Miami (OH) earlier in February. Sunday’s home run brought Murphy just one shy of her total from last season with San Diego State, with plenty of time left to pass her 2024 number.

“I think the softball here is advanced,” Murphy said. “The stuff I’ve learned here in the last few months is the most I’ve learned in the last three years.”

A mound visit did not help Aggies left-handed sophomore pitcher Faith Aragon get settled in. Graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall soon launched a no-doubter deep to center field.

Not only was it the second time this season that Hall and Murphy rounded the bases on the same day, but it extended Hall’s home run streak to three games. She leads the team with 18 hits on a .462 batting average and .795 slugging percentage

“Kelsey is certainly a wonderful standard holder for us offensively,” head coach Megan Bartlett said. “She’s really just cruising right now.”

The defense also showed signs of improvement, executing nine-for-nine putouts on ground balls. The pitching matched the infield’s performance, once again throwing lights out.

Sophomore right-hander Meika Lauppe made her third start in a row, pitching three complete innings and only allowing one earned run. Senior right-hander Kenzie Brown earned back-to-back wins after taking over the rest of the game in the circle and tossing six strikeouts.

The win continued to prove ASU’s ability to close out series finales. The Sun Devils are now 3-0 on Sundays, ending the Littlewood, Kajikawa and now Sun Devil Classics on high notes. The fight the team has after many consecutive games has not gone unnoticed by Bartlett, who said those Sunday wins are ‘big time’ especially as ASU moves into Big 12 Conference play.

“You’re playing three-game sets with people, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,” Bartlett said. “The fact we can get up early, come out strong after a long weekend, and find a way to win ball games should pay dividends.”