TEMPE – After an up-and-down start to the season offensively, No. 22 Arizona State’s bats have found a rhythm at the plate. So much so that the Sun Devils posted nearly 30 runs in a single day.
ASU (9-1) overpowered its opponents in its Saturday doubleheader at the Littlewood Classic, scoring a combined 29 runs against Portland State and Pacific.
The afternoon at Club Farrington began with a dominant 20-2 Sun Devil victory against the Portland State Vikings (3-7), fueled by 14 hits, including home runs from senior left fielder Tanya Windle and senior center fielder Kaylee Pond.
Later, the Maroon and Gold downed Pacific 9-6 behind a sixth-inning avalanche in which it plated seven runs in the frame.
The fireworks came early and often on Saturday, as Arizona State ripped off an 11-run second inning to jump out to an 11-0 lead over Portland State in Game 1.
ASU sophomore right fielder Ashleigh Mejia said the team “runs on energy” and finds itself having a noticeably easier time scoring runs when momentum is on its side.
Nine runs over the next two innings brought Arizona State within one run of tying the program’s all-time single-game scoring record of 21, which has occurred twice. Four different Sun Devils recorded three RBIs in the game.
However, it came up just short of setting a new record, as the run-rule came into effect after the top of the fifth, ending the contest.
Junior right-hand starting pitcher Meika Lauppe’s outing finished after four innings. She allowed four hits and two runs, with her record remaining perfect at 3-0.
“It’s really nice to have a complete staff,” ASU coach Megan Bartlett said. “It’s a luxury to have two lefties, two righties, and they all work at different tempos.”
A few hours later, the Pacific Tigers (1-8) squared up as Sparky’s next opponent, looking to bounce back after a 5-0 loss to Nevada.
The teams held serve until the second inning, when ASU senior shortstop Brooklyn Ulrich struck first with a two-run single. Tigers junior designated player Kaylah Adams responded with a sacrifice fly to pair with a Sun Devils fielding error, leading to Pacific evening the score at 2-2.
Bartlett made sure to address those errors.
“The compounding of physical and mental errors drives me crazy,” Bartlett said. “We need to show up in the morning, respect the game the right way and clean it up on defense.”
Both pitching staffs muzzled each other’s offenses once more until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Sparky tallied seven runs.
The frame, highlighted by a two-run moonshot from junior designated player Katie Chester and a three-run double by Mejia, effectively put the game to rest.
👋🥎#ForksUp /// @KChester_12 pic.twitter.com/FajC4EVaZA
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 15, 2026
Bartlett credited her players for their ability to adapt to different positions as the starting lineup comes together.
“There’s a lot of moving parts on defense,” Bartlett said. “I think we’ve seen every infield combination we could come up with.”
Freshman left-handed pitcher Mary Peyton Hodge tossed five total innings, including four in her start against Pacific. Hodge ended her night with five hits, four runs and three strikeouts.
The last time the Sun Devils began their journey to Oklahoma City, the site of the College World Series, was in 2021, when they also started with a 9-1 record through 10 games, finishing 33-16.
Arizona State will seek to cap an undefeated weekend at the Littlewood Invitational with a rematch versus the Pacific at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium on Sunday at 12:45 p.m. MST.
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