(Photo credit: Zina Garcia/WCSN)
TEMPE — Returning to the batter’s box for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury in March 2024 while playing Oregon State, junior outfielder Yannixa Acuña needed to deliver a hit to the Arizona State softball team. Acuña hit a fly ball that looked like it was going to be caught, but instead, the ball dropped leading to two runners scoring and Acuña reached third.
Acuña’s triple helped flip a 2-0 deficit to a tied 2-2 ballgame, as ASU (11-5) came from behind to beat the Oregon State Beavers 9-2 in the first game of the ASU Invitational.
“I can’t prove anybody right or wrong right now, because there’s no high expectation for me,” Acuña said. “I was praying before, but it went God’s way.”
Before Thursday night’s game, Acuña had pinch run in multiple games but had yet to step into the batter’s box. Following her triple, Acuña followed it up with a single in the fifth inning and stole second base too. The fifth inning is when the Sun Devils turned the game on its head. Six hits and two walks combined to produce seven runs for ASU.
In a similar story to their win against Cal Baptist last weekend, timely singles and good baserunning lifted the Sun Devils to their big inning. A double from freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching and a home run from freshman catcher Lillian Holtje were the only two extra-base hits in the inning. Four singles advanced runners into scoring position before ASU’s offense scored.
“We get the momentum. We talked a lot about not giving it back,” Sun Devils head coach Megan Bartlett said. “Doing little things right to make sure we are constantly grabbing momentum and keeping it.”
Although the offense didn’t produce any more runs outside of these two innings, it was more than enough to seal the win over the Beavers. A phenomenal performance from senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown also pushed ASU over the line.
Coming into the game, following a rocky showing from sophomore right-hander Meika Lauppe, Brown immediately dominated Oregon State’s batters. Two strikeouts against the first two batters she faced set the tone early. Brown ended the day with a total of thirteen strikeouts, continuing her recent dominance.
“I go in with that mindset that I’m better than you,” Brown said. “As cocky as that sounds, I just do my best to put my best foot forward.”
Over her last three appearances, Brown hasn’t allowed a single run in 13.2 innings pitched. In that period, Brown has also totaled 24 strikeouts and has only given up three hits in total.
With Big 12 Conference play starting next weekend, the Sun Devils are building momentum with every game. For the rest of the ASU Invitational, ASU will play five games in the next three days, with two doubleheaders scheduled for Friday and Saturday before a rematch against Oregon State on Sunday.
“The momentum is certainly nice,” Bartlett said. “Every weekend these guys roll out here, they create a little bit more confidence in themselves and the program.”
