(Photo credit: Zina Garcia/WCSN)
TEMPE — A rollercoaster of a game Sunday for Arizona State softball ended on a low note.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (15-6) fell to former Pac-12 Conference rival Oregon State (9-10) 6-3, ending the 2025 ASU Invitational with their only loss of the weekend.
“That’s the most silent clubhouse I think I’ve had here after a loss for three years now,” head coach Megan Bartlett said.
Down by one run for the fourth consecutive inning, freshman infielder Takyla Davis stepped up to the dish for the Sun Devils looking to make magic happen at Farrington Stadium in the bottom of the seventh. A quick strikeout brought up freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching, who seemed to lay down a perfect bunt down the third base line, dashing past the first base bag. However, after the umpires conferred, the call was overturned to being a foul ball.
Ho-Ching was unable to convert again, popping out to OSU senior first baseman Lici Campbell. With two outs and no runners on, all hope seemed to be lost for ASU.
Graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall then did what ASU has been doing all season: using speed for offensive production. An infield single kept the dream alive for the Sun Devils. Freshman infielder Lillian Holtje then knocked a grounder toward OSU senior third baseman Samantha Gutierrez, who was unable to grasp it. The fielding error put sophomore pinch hitter Nehanda Lewis in scoring position with the game at the will of the bat of junior outfielder Tanya Windle.
Windle sent a sharp single out to right field, putting every Sun Devil fan on their feet. Bartlett was desperately waving around Lewis, sending her home for the tying run.
“They were kind of jamming me up and in a little bit,” Windle said. “I was expecting up ’cause they kept doing that to me. I was thinking ‘hard ground ball,’ and I hit to the right side to score her in. That’s all I could do in that moment.”
There seemed to finally be true belief at Farrington as ASU entered its third extra-inning game of the season.
OSU started the eighth with junior outfielder Morgan Howey in scoring position. A grounder toward Holtje advanced Howey, putting the Beavers sixty feet away from gaining the lead. A two-out double from Gutierrez silenced the left side of the stands.
With another threatening scoring chance, OSU sophomore infielder Jaeya Butler got every piece of the delivery from freshman right-hander Cambree Creager, connecting the ball with the pitch clock out in center field. The 6-3 OSU lead put the game out of reach for the Sun Devils, handing ASU its first loss against a former Pac-12 opponent this season.
The tail end of the game was not the only back-and-forth the teams had. The game was knotted up 1-1 entering the fourth, where things quickly got too shaky for ASU.
With OSU junior catcher Nicole Donahue standing over the plate, a ball high and wide in the opposite batter’s box indicated that freshman right-hander Julianne Tipton had lost her control in the circle from the night before.
Tipton went from walking no batters Saturday night in five complete innings to three straight walks against the Beavers, including Donahue, that loaded the bases.
While Tipton was in a jam, Butler sent a fly ball out to junior outfielder Yannixa Acuña. With a deep drive that looked like a guaranteed run for the Beavers, Acuña catapulted a quick one-hop throw to sophomore catcher Samantha Swan. Donahue recognized the ball was getting to the plate quickly and used her agility to execute a successful swim move around Swan.
After the score, Tipton still couldn’t hit her spots, allowing a single to center field, giving the Beavers some insurance. Luckily for Tipton, her defense took care of the extra runner in scoring position.
Gutierrez started to round second, thinking Windle would make the throw home. Instead, Windle darted a throw to shortstop senior AJ Murphy, who made the tag for the second out of the inning. The bleeding for the Sun Devils stopped there, but they had ground to cover in the bottom half of the fourth.
Windle kept up with ASU’s speed on the basepaths to start the inning. Windle put a grounder down to the left side of the infield slow enough for her to beat out the throw to first base. Freshman infielder Ashleigh Mejia pushed her up a bag the following at-bat.
For the second time in the inning, a ground ball went to Butler at shortstop. Mejia got to the second base bag just in time, helping Acuña reach on a fielder’s choice. The Sun Devils turned the tables on the Beavers, now with the bases loaded and no outs, threatening a dangerous output in the fourth inning.
Swan put Butler back to work. A heated ground ball bobbled out of Butler’s glove, allowing Windle to get across for ASU’s second run. Still with the bases loaded and no one out, Murphy kept her barrel too low, popping out to the circle.
Davis then put another ball on the ground to the left side of the infield. Gutierrez elected to get Mejia out as the lead runner, keeping the bases loaded for ASU. Ho-Ching stepped up in the box, making good contact and driving a ball to left field. Had that happened earlier, the Sun Devils might have earned a run on a sacrifice fly. Instead, it ended the inning, leaving the bases loaded and still down one run.
“The energy was up,” Bartlett said. “It just didn’t go our way today. But, I don’t think it was for a lack of focus or attentiveness or a lack of competitiveness.”
The Sun Devils had shown resilience all season, with multiple comebacks, including wins after being down three or more runs against Miami (OH), California, Utah Valley and Seattle. Although they were not able to do the same Sunday, they enter conference play with a .714 win percentage, tacking on eight wins in their last nine games.
With wins against California, Oregon, Washington and Oregon State, ASU is currently 4-1 against its former conference. The battle against the former Pac will continue into Big 12 Conference play, as ASU will face Arizona and Utah. Before those crucial matchups, ASU hosts the BYU Cougars next week.
“I think we just got to be dogs out there,” Windle said. “You just got to go out there and keep the same energy. … We’ll be fine.”
