With back-to-back walks to open the game, Arizona State senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown stumbled out the gate in ASU’s (16-6) Big 12 opener against Brigham Young (14-5).
But three consecutive strikeouts helped Brown escape the jam and served as a precursor to the seniors’ career-high 18 strikeout performance. The starter’s stellar outing helped propel the Sun Devils to a 1-0 win over BYU in a tightly contested game. Freshman infielder Tiare Ho-Ching recorded her third home run of the season in the sixth inning to break the deadlock for the Maroon and Gold.
“I think just staying composed,” Brown said after the game on how she dealt with the difficult start. “I need to do a better job at not getting excited. That’s all it was. Dialing in and doing what I do best.”
BYU tallied 31 runs in its last two games, but Brown kept the Cougars at bay by allowing zero runs and two hits during the win.
The senior recorded 11 strikeouts in her opening four innings.
“I didn’t even know I had that many strikeouts until I was done,” Brown said. “I had full trust in my pitches and Sam (Samantha Swan) behind the plate, but my ball just happened to work for me tonight.”
Like the visitors, ASU started slowly on offense. The Sun Devils had to wait until the third inning to record their first hit, as Ho-Ching singled into right field to break up the no-hitter.
But no runs came from it, as both teams searched for answers to the dominant pitching. ASU seemed to get momentum in the fourth inning with a base hit by junior outfielder Tanya Windle. But the Cougars responded quickly, ending the inning through a double play on first and second base.
Yet in the sixth, the Maroon and Gold found some offense. Ho-Ching broke the tie with a home run to center to give the Devils the lead. The freshman nabbed the first homer off of junior right-handed pitcher Kaysen Korth this season.
Brown’s pitch count reached 131 pitches, as she faced 27 hitters before sealing the first Big 12 victory for ASU. The win is the Sun Devils’ first conference-opener victory since the 2022 season.
“We made nice adjustments as the game went on,” ASU head coach Megan Bartlett said, who is now one win away from 200 career wins. “We had tough at bats, I think we had six different hard-hit balls, and came up with four hits off a pitcher with a 0.27 ERA.”
The Sun Devils will look to secure the series win over the Cougars on Friday night.
“Winning a series is much different than winning a one off game,” Bartlett said. “You have to be a team that not only prepares well but makes adjustments well and doesn’t get sped up if we have to change the plan.
“We’re going to get to the film. No sleep, but we’re used to that from the first four weeks.”
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