TEMPE – Opening night of the Littlewood Classic saw Sun Devil softball respond to an early deficit and then finish off BYU 10-6 on Thursday night at Farrington Stadium.
ASU (3-2) scored six times in the first two innings – including a grand slam from Sara Kinch – on the way to a double-digit scoring night. Mac Osborne held BYU (5-1) to only one run in five innings of relief to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Tanya Windle delivered three hits and was joined by Alesia Denby and Kelsey Hall with multi-hit games. Denby hit her third home run of the season to cap the scoring and provide her third multi-RBI game.
How it Happened
Sun Devil Softball continues the Littlewood Classic with a doubleheader against No. 21 Virginia Tech and Illinois State on Friday. The first pitch is slated to start at approximately 4:30 p.m. MST against the Hokies. Coverage can be seen on ASU Live Stream and the Sun Devil Softball social media platforms all weekend long.
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Megan Bartlett:
On the energy of the team after the grand slam in the first frame
"I thought the girls did a beautiful job. They fought the entire time, and they certainly could have started feeling sorry for themselves or packed it in when those first two runs hit the board. But Sara's (Kinch) grand slam was such a big deal that they answered back.
On the turnaround from last week to tonight
"I certainly think after last weekend, we all went back to the drawing board, and certainly, a lot of the kids did a lot of self-reflection this week. They did a great job and answered and showed that this is certainly what they're capable of."
On Alesia Denby's production
"Lele (Alesia) is exceptional, and it's on both sides of the ball. She makes us drastically better. Her power at the plate is wonderful, but I think my favorite thing Lele did today was turning the double play. She gave up the run and instead gave us two outs in the 6th inning. She just understood where we were at in the game and how valuable outs are at that point.
Arizona State Catcher Sara Kinch
On how the energy shifted going into the bottom of the first inning
"I think it changed in a good direction. We had good energy going into that inning, and even the runners getting on base before me, they had to be there for me to be able to do that (first-inning grand slam). So then staying up with two outs and just keeping energy and really help to get any hits."
On the team's resilience and fighting back
"I just think we've worked a lot on mental training and making sure that we can stay calm in those moments and not freak out. That has helped us."
Arizona State Outfielder Tanya Windle
On how this game will help the team's confidence going forward
"This game was a game changer for sure. Just the energy we had in the dugout compared to the field, like everything was so good. Our momentum was there the entire game, and we kept going strong."
On the message going into facing Virginia Tech
"Against Virginia Tech is just keeping that same energy, and I think that we needed this game more mentally than anything."
ASU (3-2) scored six times in the first two innings – including a grand slam from Sara Kinch – on the way to a double-digit scoring night. Mac Osborne held BYU (5-1) to only one run in five innings of relief to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Tanya Windle delivered three hits and was joined by Alesia Denby and Kelsey Hall with multi-hit games. Denby hit her third home run of the season to cap the scoring and provide her third multi-RBI game.
How it Happened
- BYU put two runs on the board in the opening inning.
- The Sun Devils answered back with four runs in the bottom of the first, using a Denby double and two walks to set up the grand slam from Kinch.
- The Cougars tied the game in the second inning with a two-run blast of their own.
- ASU took the lead for good when Windle singled home Libby Walsh after she walked to open the bottom of the second inning and was sacrificed to second.
- Kelsey Hall made it 6-4 with a single up the middle that scored Windle.
- Another BYU home run cut the Sun Devil lead to 6-5 and brought Osborne into the circle. She then proceeded to retire the first nine batters she faced.
- While Osborne was holding down the Cougar offense, ASU added two more runs, including the first career hit and RBI from Walsh in the third inning.
- BYU threatened in the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out, but Osborn induced a double-play and a groundout to escape the frame with just one run allowed.
- A two-out single from Windle preceded the Denby home run in the sixth inning that provided the final scoring.
- Osborne orchestrated a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to close out the victory.
- The top three in the Sun Devil lineup finished a combined 7-for-11 with a double, home runs, and four RBIs.
- Denby two hits extended her hitting streak to six straight games dating back to last season.
- The grand slam by Kinch was the second of her career with the first coming for Minnesota on April 8, 2022, against Iowa.
- Windle notched her first three-hit game as a Sun Devil, and the fifth occurrence of her collegiate career after having four at Utah State her freshman season.
- It's also the 26th multi-hit game of her collegiate career, with her teams going 21-5 in those contests.
- Hall notched her first multi-hit game as a Sun Devil and the 26th of her collegiate career.
Sun Devil Softball continues the Littlewood Classic with a doubleheader against No. 21 Virginia Tech and Illinois State on Friday. The first pitch is slated to start at approximately 4:30 p.m. MST against the Hokies. Coverage can be seen on ASU Live Stream and the Sun Devil Softball social media platforms all weekend long.
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Megan Bartlett:
On the energy of the team after the grand slam in the first frame
"I thought the girls did a beautiful job. They fought the entire time, and they certainly could have started feeling sorry for themselves or packed it in when those first two runs hit the board. But Sara's (Kinch) grand slam was such a big deal that they answered back.
On the turnaround from last week to tonight
"I certainly think after last weekend, we all went back to the drawing board, and certainly, a lot of the kids did a lot of self-reflection this week. They did a great job and answered and showed that this is certainly what they're capable of."
On Alesia Denby's production
"Lele (Alesia) is exceptional, and it's on both sides of the ball. She makes us drastically better. Her power at the plate is wonderful, but I think my favorite thing Lele did today was turning the double play. She gave up the run and instead gave us two outs in the 6th inning. She just understood where we were at in the game and how valuable outs are at that point.
Arizona State Catcher Sara Kinch
On how the energy shifted going into the bottom of the first inning
"I think it changed in a good direction. We had good energy going into that inning, and even the runners getting on base before me, they had to be there for me to be able to do that (first-inning grand slam). So then staying up with two outs and just keeping energy and really help to get any hits."
On the team's resilience and fighting back
"I just think we've worked a lot on mental training and making sure that we can stay calm in those moments and not freak out. That has helped us."
Arizona State Outfielder Tanya Windle
On how this game will help the team's confidence going forward
"This game was a game changer for sure. Just the energy we had in the dugout compared to the field, like everything was so good. Our momentum was there the entire game, and we kept going strong."
On the message going into facing Virginia Tech
"Against Virginia Tech is just keeping that same energy, and I think that we needed this game more mentally than anything."