Sun Devil bats spark third-inning rally on their way to a Win over Arizona

(Photo credit: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)

TEMPE — With one out in the third inning, a towering two-run shot off the bat of freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia gave Arizona State softball its first lead of the series against Arizona.

In their previous two matchups, the No. 23 Sun Devils (23-10, 5-4 Big 12) were only able to bring home two runs and 10 hits against the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats (29-5, 6-3 Big 12).

“She can hunt,” ASU head coach Megan Bartlett said. “When you give her the pitch that she’s looking for and she’s on time, watch out. She’s powerful enough to get it out in about any yard in the country.”

ASU found its groove in the third game of the three-game set, getting eight hits, forcing Arizona to use three pitchers and beating the Wildcats 3-2. None of the hits were as impactful as Mejia’s two-run bomb in the third.

After a base hit up the middle from junior outfielder Tanya Windle, Mejia hit the first pitch she saw over the fence. Her home run gave ASU a 2-0 lead and its first lead in the entire series.

“A lot of the time when that happens and we go up, there’s no putting us down,” Mejia said. “When we’re up, we’re up.”

After the home run, graduate righty Saya Swain was replaced by graduate pitcher Miranda Stoddard. Stoddard did not record a third of an inning pitched before she was pulled from the game. She gave up back-to-back doubles, including an RBI double from freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching.

“I was certainly happy with how quickly we got Stoddard out of the game,” Bartlett said. “She gave us fits on Friday night.”

The three-run third inning would be just enough for the Sun Devils to triumph over the Wildcats on Sunday. The ASU offensive attack in the third helped the pitching staff keep the game under control. Senior right-hander Kenzie Brown threw 6.0 innings, giving up four hits, fanning eight batters and only allowing one earned run.

“It’s always nice when we punch first,” Brown said. “It was awesome to see Ashleigh come through in that moment because she just wants it so bad.”

Once Arizona redshirt freshman left-hander Ryan Maddox relieved Stoddard in the third inning, things settled down for ASU’s offense. Maddox only allowed two more hits in 3.2 innings of work.

For the Sun Devils, the poor offensive showings in the first two games had not been the cause of the lack of talent or being outmatched by an opponent, but simply a lack of execution.

“For us, it’s not so much about the x’s and o’s,” Bartlett said. “Really, they need to hunt pitches and they need to stay on time.”

With ASU being a young team, ranked No. 23 and being top-five in the Big 12 standings in their first year in the conference, they have to treat the big moments like any other moments to be successful.

“When it’s a good team, we’re not trying to change anything,” Mejia said. “It’s another game, yes, but we’re going to keep competing regardless.”