(Photo: Jake Abele/WCSN)
TEMPE — As the temperature grew colder under the bright lights at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium, Arizona State junior infielder Nehanda Lewis jogged off the field to a standing ovation and glove taps from her teammates after making a diving catch to her right to end the inning and halt Texas State’s comeback.
Lewis’s big-time plays did not end there. Earlier in the game, she hit a solo home run to extend the Sun Devils lead to 3-0 while making nine defensive plays overall. Friday’s performance earned Lewis to be named the ‘player of the game’ by ASU senior outfielder Tanya Windle.
“She showed up and showed out on defense,” Windle said. “That also helps our pitchers to really go out there and throw the ball as hard as they can and do and plays like that, what Nini (Nehanda) did tonight is huge.”
The Sun Devils (2-1) defeated the Texas State Bobcats (2-1) in the Kajikawa Classic 3-2 at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium on Friday night. The Sun Devils were backed by strong defense and pitching against a tough Bobcats squad.
“Texas State is always a solid team,” Bartlett said. “They typically come to the Kajikawa Classic, so we are certainly familiar with each other. (Junior pitcher) Maddison Azua is a tough arm, and she continued to give us trouble at the plate.”
The sisterhood between Arizona Wildcats transfers, senior pitcher Aissa Silva and junior catcher Emily Schepp, was on full display. After catching for Silva in Tucson, the two reconnected in the diamond, this time donning the Maroon and Gold in their first starts as Sun Devils.
Silva notched her first win on her sister’s birthday while seeing and hearing the standing ovations after every batter she faced from her family in the stands.
Silva ended the night going 4.2 innings and gave up four hits, one walk, her first two earned runs of the season and struck out four.
“They have a really special bond,” Bartlett said. “There is a lot of trust there. Schepp kind of knows exactly how to set her (Silva) up for success …You can tell that it is already coming through on day two.”
The Sun Devils got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first when Windle softly hit a two-run single that hit off of Bobcats junior second baseman Katarina Zarate’s glove and into the outfield.
Besides the Windle hit and the Nehanda Lewis home run, ASU’s offense was once again dormant, mustering up just four hits total and only pulling home three runs despite a trio of Texas State errors.
After hitting .302 as a team in 2025, the Sun Devils have started 11-for-69 (.159) in their first three games on offense.
“The hitters have been put to task and put to challenge,” Bartlett said. “I do not know that we are picking great pitches … We need to approach these at-bats with a little more maturity. It is like we get one strike called on us and then we are just swing happy.”
Down 3-0, Zarate’s two-run no-doubt home run deep to right field off of Silva breathed some life back into Texas State’s offense, which, despite scoring one less run, had the same number of hits as ASU.
The Sun Devils’ pitchers worked their way out of multiple jams on Friday night. The rotation of seniors Aissa Silva and Kenzie Brown, alongside junior Meika Lauppe, has started the 2026 season scorching, leaving Bartlett to express confidence in her pitching staff.
“I can bet all my money on each pitcher,” Lewis said. “I know that they have my back, and I have their back offensively and defensively, and I can say that for every pitcher on this team.”
The Sun Devils will look to get their bats going Saturday, Feb 7, when they continue their Kajikawa Classic journey at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium against the Northwestern Wildcats at 6:15 p.m. MST.
“Stick to our plan,” Lewis said. “We are capable and we can beat any team I feel like that crosses our path.”
