Sun Devils look to extend winning streak against Utah

(Photo credit: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)

After ASU Softball took two out of three contests against Kansas this past weekend, the Sun Devils hit the road to take on UTEP for two games before taking on another Big 12 Conference rival in Utah for a three-game set.

ASU and UTEP squared off in a doubleheader Wednesday, which saw the Sun Devils win both contests. In game one, the Sun Devils’ dominant right-handed senior pitcher Kenzie Brown threw a complete game shutout and only gave up three hits in an 8-0 ASU win.

Brown has been one of the best pitchers in the country in 2025, and her showing against UTEP — her eighth complete game of the year — was more evidence of that. With Brown not allowing a run on Wednesday, her ERA shrank to 1.16 in 120.1 IP.

Game two was a closer affair, even though ASU got another near-perfect performance in the circle. Sophomore Right-hander Meikka Lauppe threw a complete game and only allowed two runs while striking out five hitters.

On the offensive side, the Sun Devils had major contributions from the top of the lineup. Hitters one, two and three combined to go 6-for-11, score three runs, and hit three RBI’s.

Freshmen infielder Tiare Ho-Ching and freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia, along with junior outfielder Yannixa Acuna, dominated en route to a 5-2 win.

Now the Sun Devils will look to continue their hot stretch of play over the last week into another conference series win. This time, they will look to do so on the road in a hostile environment. Though Utah has struggled as of late, losing its last four contests, the Utes have little to lose against a conference rival, not to mention Utah has won the last four contests against ASU.

These two teams know each other well after competing in the Pac-12 Conference for many years, and overall, the Sun Devils have commanded the series. ASU holds a 48-26 record against the Utes dating back to 1975.

Utah is in the midst of a tough season in its first year in the Big 12. A 12-27 overall record and 4-8 Big 12 record show how much of a struggle 2025 has been in Salt Lake City.

However, there have been bright spots. Senior outfielder Kaylah Nelson has been the team’s best hitter, with a .336 average that is near the top of the Utah roster, and her 62 total bases lead the team.

With Nelson, in addition to freshman catcher Kennedy Procter and sophomore utility player Shonty Passi, the Utah offense can be explosive at points.

On the pitching side, Utah has relied on freshman lefty Hailey Maestretti. Maestretti leads Utah in almost every major category, including ERA (3.20), innings pitched (98.1), and complete games (4).

Expect both Brown and Lauppe to get lots of action against Utah, as they have been the best starters ASU has had this year. The aforementioned Ho-Ching, Mejia and Acuña have all been playing some of their best softball over the last couple of weeks and will try to stay hot in Utah.

The Sun Devils will want to take advantage of a weaker Big 12 opponent while Utah looks to defend its home turf and stick it to an old Pac-12 rival.