Arizona State’s (11-5) offense exploded in the fifth inning for a 7-run frame to propel the Sun Devils to a 9-2 win on Thursday night over former Pac-12 foe Oregon State (6-9).
After starting flat offensively, junior outfielder Yaya Acuña gave the Devils a much-needed spark off the bench. In the bottom of the fourth, Acuña drilled a pinch-hit 2-run triple into the left-center gap to knot up the score at 2-2.
The clutch base knock came in the junior’s first at-bat since coming back from a season-ending knee injury in 2024. After the game, her emotions ran high, especially considering her long recovery from injury.
“I was crying,” Acuña said. “It was all happy tears.”
In Acuña’s return, she went 2-2 with three RBIs, a stolen base, and a run scored.
Building off of the spark that Acuña created, the Maroon and Gold poured on seven more runs in the fifth inning. Graduate student designated player Kelsey Hall got the scoring started with a loud RBI single to give the Sun Devils their first lead of the night.
Freshman first baseman Lillian Holtje followed up Hall’s RBI single with a moonshot home run over the left field wall to extend the ASU lead. It was Holtje’s fourth homer of the season.
Later in the inning, freshman third baseman Takyla Davis stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position and a chance to build on the growing lead. Davis came through and brought both runners home with a 2-run RBI single to make it 9-2.
The bottom third of the Sun Devils’ lineup finished with four hits and six RBIs. Despite the impressive final line from the bottom of the order, head coach Megan Bartlett explained how she wasn’t surprised by its production on Thursday night.
“The reality is we have some veterans near the bottom of the lineup and we expect them to produce,” Bartlett said.
With a 7-run lead, senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown cruised through the final two innings. However, with the way Brown pitched on Thursday night, a one-run lead could have sufficed.
After relieving sophomore right-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe in the middle of the second inning, Brown faced an early jam. But with two runners on-base, Brown struck out back-to-back Beaver hitters to halt a potential game-breaking inning.
Brown’s first two strikeouts foreshadowed the monstrous performance that ensued. She struck out a career-high 13 Beavers, which stands as the most strikeouts by a Sun Devil since 2020.
For Brown, it’s all about confidence when she steps into the circle.
“I go in with the mindset that I am better than you,” Brown said. “As cocky as that sounds I just do my best to put my best foot forward.”
Against Oregon State, Brown delivered some of her best stuff, as she struck out at least two batters in every inning of work.
On the other side of the coin, former Sun Devil and now Beavers sophomore right fielder Jada Lewis carved out a solid performance back in Tempe. Lewis reached base safely in all four of her plate appearances and scored the game’s first run.
Thursday night’s game kicked off the ASU Invitational and was the first of six games in a busy weekend for the Sun Devils.
With a packed weekend slate, Arizona State has a quick turnaround and will get right back to work on Friday afternoon. The squad is scheduled for a double-header against Seattle University (8-7) at 4 p.m. MST and then a matchup against Yale (2-4) with the first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. MST.
“Every weekend they roll out here they create a little bit more of a sense of belief and build more confidence in themselves,” Bartlett said.
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