For the first time this season, Arizona State softball (13-5) won two games in one night. It earned a 7-6 walk-off win over Seattle University (9-8) in extra innings and then cruised to a 9-1 win over Yale (2-6).
The Sun Devils played a hard-fought nine innings at home to take down Seattle in Game 1. After the Redhawks took a commanding 4-0 lead in the third inning, ASU found itself in a hole early on. With the game starting to fall out of reach, sophomore catcher Samantha Swan stepped up to the plate and launched a solo home run to get the Maroon and Gold on the board.
Swan finished the day with five hits in just seven at bats. Her homer provided the first of seven runs across the final six innings.
A competitive offensive battle forced the game to extra innings. Both teams scored in the eighth, which forced a ninth inning. Senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown earned three quick outs to give the ASU bats a chance to win the game in the next frame.
In the bottom half of the inning, junior outfielder Tanya Windle smacked a walk-off double, bringing home senior utility player AJ Murphy from second base. Windle has struggled with staying disciplined at the plate this year, but has also flashed moments of excellence.
“She’s just a really talented hitter, so if she can be more efficient with the pitches she’s swinging at, she’ll have a ton of success,” Bartlett said.
While Windle may have claimed the biggest moment, freshman second baseman Tiare Ho-Ching provided most of the offensive firepower for the Devils. She went 4-5 with three RBIs in Game 1. She added another hit against Yale.
She’s certainly turned into our spark plug,” Bartlett said. “Honestly, the offense kind of goes where she goes, which is special when you’re a freshman.”
Freshman right-handed pitcher Julianne Tipton added to the strong showing from ASU’s freshmen. She stepped into the circle in the third inning after sophomore right-hander Meika Lauppe gave up four runs. Tipton earned one out to finish the inning and dominated the rest of the evening. She only conceded one earned run against Seattle.
“Now, she’s starting to settle in a little bit, believe in herself,” Bartlett said. “As long as Julianne can just continue to paint the corners and keep the ball out of the middle, she’s going to have a really nice career.”
Tipton headed to the bench in extra innings, as senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown came in to close it out for the Sun Devils. Brown gave up no earned runs in two innings.
ASU’s performance mirrored the production of graduate designated player Kelsey Hall. Much like her team, she started out slow. She only had one hit in four at bats before heading to extras in Game 1. In the eighth inning a flip switched. Between the two extra innings and Game 2, Hall went 3-4 and earned player of the game against Yale.
Following in Hall’s footsteps once again, the Sun Devils dominated Yale in the second game of the doubleheader, winning 9-1. They won via mercy rule at the halfway point of the fifth inning.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Cambree Creager helped lead the charge in an emphatic defensive outing. She pitched a shutout until the final inning. Creager gave up one run in the seventh but worked out of a bases-loaded jam to end the game.
She helped fuel ASU’s most complete performance in a doubleheader game to date.
After the two-game set, head coach Megan Bartlett spoke about the team’s improvement.
“I feel like every weekend they get a little bit sharper and a little bit tougher,” Bartlett said. “They’re just finding ways to win ball games.”
ASU has another doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, as the Sun Devils will return to Farrington Stadium to take on UTEP at 4 p.m. MST in day three of the ASU Invitational. They’ll round out the day with a matchup against Utah State at 6:30 p.m. MST.
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