ASU softball (15-6) made it interesting late in Sunday afternoon’s game against Oregon State (9-10) by taking the game into extra innings with a late RBI single from junior outfielder Tanya Windle. However, three Beaver runs in the eighth led squashed Sparky’s comeback push and led to a 6-3 victory for OSU.
Heading into its second game of the weekend against Oregon State, head coach Megan Bartlett’s squad looked to finish the 2025 ASU Invitational without a loss to extend the team’s winning streak to nine games. ASU beat Oregon State earlier in the tournament on Thursday, as the Maroon and Gold defeated the Beavers 9-2.
Yet, Sunday’s contest proved to be much more competitive.
The Devils got on the board in the second inning through a home run over the center field fence from freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia. The long ball marked her fourth homer of the season.
Meanwhile, freshman right-handed pitcher Julianne Tipton started strong in the circle for the Sun Devils. She recorded four strikeouts and allowed no hits in the opening two innings. It looked as though she might carry over her momentum from the day prior, as Tipton pitched five innings in ASU’s 11-4 win against UTEP while tallying a season-high 10 strikeouts.
But her streak came to an end soon after. OSU responded swiftly with a home run into left field from freshman infielder Paige Bambarger.
Three-consecutive walks in the following inning loaded the bases with Beavers. Their patience paid off when sophomore infielder Jaeya Butler flew out to left field, allowing junior catcher Nicole Donahue to score. A single into center field off the bat of Bambarger shortly followed to put OSU up 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth.
Then, ASU responded by loading the bases in the fourth inning. Three straight hits put three Sun Devils on-base and made way for Windle to come home to score off an error from the shortstop.
But ASU failed to take advantage of the loaded bases situation, as the Devils left three stranded with with three-consecutive outs. The Sun Devils ended the game with nine runners left on base.
“We came up with three or four hits that were six inches one way or another,” Bartlett said. “If any of those balls fall, then you have a different ball game.
“We cannot control where the ball goes, sometimes you hit it at people and that’s how it goes.”
Still, ASU battled, especially defensively. Freshman right-handed pitcher Cambree Creager entered the ballgame in the fifth and tossed 3.2 innings. The freshman from Georgetown, Texas struck out two, allowed three hits and conceded two earned runs.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Sun Devils found themselves down 3-2.
With two outs, OSU senior catcher Samantha Gutierrez committed an error to allow freshman catcher Lillian Holtje to advance to first. With the game on the line, Windle singled to right field to tie the game, nabbing her 14th RBI of the season.
“I knew what I was capable of doing,” Windle said. “Going up there for the fourth time, I kind of knew what to expect. I was excited in the moment.”
However, any ASU’s momentum that it took into extra innings quickly vanished. Gutierrez made up for her seventh inning error with a double into right field to record bringing home one run. Shortly after, Butler extended the Beavers’ lead with a 2-run home run to give OSU a 3-run advantage.
The Sun Devils failed to respond, and their eight-game winning streak came to an end.
“Everyone hates to lose. That was the most silent after a loss I’ve had in my three years,” Bartlett said after the game. “It’s just a tough game at the end of a six-game tournament. We are going to be waiting for next week.”
The weekend capped Arizona State’s nonconference schedule with Big 12 play set to begin next week. ASU opens conference play next Thursday against Brigham Young at 6 p.m. MST at Farrington Stadium.
“We’re a really big energy team,” Windle said on upcoming league action. “Containing that energy that we had towards the end [of this game] will keep us stable. It will help us get better.”
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