Going into Thursday night’s matchup against No. 21 Oregon, Arizona State sophomore right-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe still had bitter feelings from last season, as the Ducks swept the Sun Devils in Eugene last March.
Tonight, however, the sophomore from Pleasant Grove, Calif., entered her postgame interview in a more joyful mood. She held a lineup sheet with the words ‘revenge is sweet’ written across it after tossing four scoreless and hitless innings to help lead ASU Softball to an upset 4-3 victory in extra innings over No. 21 Oregon.
“I really wanted the Ducks tonight,” Lauppe said. “I knew we could totally beat them. That’s what we did, we went duck hunting.”
Freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching came up with the clutch single to walk it off for the Sun Devils and improve their record to 4-1 while handing Oregon its first loss of the season.
The Ducks entered the game undefeated and scored 73 runs in their first five games. That trend looked to continue early after freshman catcher Emma Cox singled into right field to put the visitors in front.
It took until the third inning for ASU to come alive, but the Sun Devils finally broke through and tallied three hits and three runs in the frame.
First, freshman infielder Grace Molitor singled after a bunt, which was followed by an Oregon error to put Molitor to third base. Up stepped Ho-Ching, who drilled a double into center field to give ASU a 2-1 lead.
Ho-Ching then scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Sun Devils a two-run advantage entering the fourth inning.
“This year is going to be a powerful moment,” Lauppe said on the team’s growth. “Even with a young team, everyone takes it on like veterans. Nobody sees themselves as a younger player who can’t do something because of their age.”
ASU almost kept the Ducks off the scoreboard during the fourth, but a late double by freshman Kaylynn Jones allowed two runners to score. It was the only inning pitched by senior left-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown as Lauppe replaced her in the fifth.
Both sides held each other scoreless during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Lauppe and Oregon redshirt junior pitcher Elise Sokolsky traded clean frames entering the final inning.
Lauppe finished the game with three strikeouts in the final four innings, which drew praise from ASU head coach Megan Bartlett.
“She is such a hard worker,” Bartlett said after the game. “I’ve watched that kid work so hard over the past two years and now get to see her start having this success. I’m so happy for her.”
The Sun Devils applied pressure on Oregon after sophomore infielder Nehanda Lewis’ double put ASU on the brink of victory. The Ducks opted to change pitchers. Sophomore Taylour Spencer closed out seventh to send the game into extra innings.
The walk-off came in the eighth as Ho-Ching’s single allowed junior outfielder Tanya Windle to score the winning run and seal ASU’s first victory against Oregon in over six games. With the win, the Sun Devils improved to 26-9 in the month of February across three years with Bartlett at the helm.
Ho-Ching singles and Windle runs in. ASU wins 4-3, upsets No. 21 Oregon.@InfernoIntel pic.twitter.com/ar1vkKsAj3
— Jake Iovine (@jake11_io) February 14, 2025
“The players’ confidence grows every day,” Bartlett said. “They’re stepping up in big moments and doing things with confidence.”
“This group is fun,” Bartlett said. “They’re going to keep fighting and battling. They won’t be perfect but they don’t give up.”
ASU plays its second and third games of the 2025 Littlewood Classic in a doubleheader clash on Friday evening against North Dakota and Weber State.
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