TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball rallied in the seventh to force extra innings but eventually fell to Oregon State 6-3 in eight innings on Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium. The result wrapped up a 5-1 showing by Arizona State during the ASU Invitational.
ASU (15-6) trailed 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when they battled to tie the game. Kelsey Hall singled, and Lillian Holtje reached on an error in front of Tanya Windle who smoked a run-scoring single to tie the game. With the winning run on third, Ashleigh Mejia grounded out on a hard-hit ball to second.
Oregon State (9-10) used a double and a home run to score three runs in the top of the eighth and salvage a split of the two games between the teams this weekend.
Mejia had given ASU the lead with a solo home run in the second inning. The Beavers countered with a run in the third and two more in the fourth. The Sun Devils loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth but only came away with one run on a ground out from Samantha Swan.
Julianne Tipton held OSU to three runs on four hits during her four innings in the circle. Windle and Mejia each had two hits and one RBI, while Hall and Yannixa Acuña added two-hit games.
Notable
Head Coach Megan Bartlett
On the loss
"Trying to keep it in perspective. I think everybody in that clubhouse hates to lose. That's the most silent clubhouse I've had here after a loss in three years. It makes sense. It's a very talented, very invested group of kids. That's just a tough game at the end of six. So we get back to work next week."
On the team's 5-1 performance this weekend
"I'm really pleased with the last four days. We got some good wins and got the two freshmen pitchers going. I felt like yesterday we finally did a good job of holding people down on the mound, and then we got to work with the lead, which was certainly fun for the defense and definitely fun for the hitters. While the resiliency is great, and we battled back well from behind, it's certainly much more fun to win ball games with the lead. I think they're showing us a lot of different facets and different ways to win and what they're capable of. So all in all, I was happy with the weekend."
Junior outfielder Tanya Windle
On her overall thoughts on the weekend:
"I thought it was a great tournament for all of us. We all came together this weekend and battled through it. Nothing wrong with today. I think we competed pretty well, and we're going to move on. Now we're into conference play. Have to battle."
Big 12 Play Starts Thursday
The Sun Devils open Big 12 play on Thursday, March 6, when they host BYU. Game times are 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, with a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
ASU (15-6) trailed 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when they battled to tie the game. Kelsey Hall singled, and Lillian Holtje reached on an error in front of Tanya Windle who smoked a run-scoring single to tie the game. With the winning run on third, Ashleigh Mejia grounded out on a hard-hit ball to second.
Oregon State (9-10) used a double and a home run to score three runs in the top of the eighth and salvage a split of the two games between the teams this weekend.
Mejia had given ASU the lead with a solo home run in the second inning. The Beavers countered with a run in the third and two more in the fourth. The Sun Devils loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth but only came away with one run on a ground out from Samantha Swan.
Julianne Tipton held OSU to three runs on four hits during her four innings in the circle. Windle and Mejia each had two hits and one RBI, while Hall and Yannixa Acuña added two-hit games.
Notable
- The loss snapped the Sun Devils eight-game winning streak, which was the longest since also winning eight during the 2023 season.
- ASU is now 2-2 in games that go extra innings.
Head Coach Megan Bartlett
On the loss
"Trying to keep it in perspective. I think everybody in that clubhouse hates to lose. That's the most silent clubhouse I've had here after a loss in three years. It makes sense. It's a very talented, very invested group of kids. That's just a tough game at the end of six. So we get back to work next week."
On the team's 5-1 performance this weekend
"I'm really pleased with the last four days. We got some good wins and got the two freshmen pitchers going. I felt like yesterday we finally did a good job of holding people down on the mound, and then we got to work with the lead, which was certainly fun for the defense and definitely fun for the hitters. While the resiliency is great, and we battled back well from behind, it's certainly much more fun to win ball games with the lead. I think they're showing us a lot of different facets and different ways to win and what they're capable of. So all in all, I was happy with the weekend."
Junior outfielder Tanya Windle
On her overall thoughts on the weekend:
"I thought it was a great tournament for all of us. We all came together this weekend and battled through it. Nothing wrong with today. I think we competed pretty well, and we're going to move on. Now we're into conference play. Have to battle."
Big 12 Play Starts Thursday
The Sun Devils open Big 12 play on Thursday, March 6, when they host BYU. Game times are 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, with a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.