TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball begins play in the Big 12 this week by hosting a three-game series against BYU at Farrington Stadium. The teams will play at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday before closing the series with a matinee at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The series is the first of eight conference sets the teams will play through May 4. The Big 12 Tournament will begin on May 7 at OGE Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Weekend Promotions
This Weekend is Alumni and World Series Weekend, with ASU celebrating all former Sun Devil Softball players, along with the 2008 and 2011 WCWS Championship teams. The first 250 fans to arrive on both Friday and Saturday will receive a commemorative championship pennant. In addition, the ASU freshmen will sign autographs after the game on Friday. Saturday is Farrington Funday with Kids Run the Bases after the game and $1 popcorn at the concession stand.
How to Follow
All three games will be live on ESPN+ with Alex Coil (play-by-play) and Gavin Schall (analyst) calling the action. Live scoring will be available for every game of the series.
Updates – including any weather-related changes – will be provided on social media via X (@asusoftball) and Instagram (@sundevilsb).
Sun Devil Notes
Arizona State moves into Big 12 play with a 15-6 overall record and winners in eight of their last nine games. The Sun Devils are 15-5 at Farrington Stadium entering the BYU series.
ASU begins conference play second in the Big 12 and 30th in the NCAA with a .334 batting average. They also rank 33rd in the country in slugging at .540 and 35th with a .413 on base percentage. The team scores 5.90 runs per game, and they have hit 26 home runs to place 22nd nationally.
ASU maintains a 3.06 ERA in the circle while ranking 36th in the NCAA with a 1.21 WHIP. Sun Devil pitchers average 7.05 strikeouts per seven innings which has them 27th in the country.
Looking Back
The Sun Devils completed the ASU Invitational with a 5-1 record, winning the first five games to reach eight straight wins overall. This run included a 9-inning comeback win over Seattle U and a run-rule defeat of Yale on Feb. 28.
ASU also won two games on March 1, defeating UTEP 11-4 and Utah State 4-1. They split two games against Oregon State, winning 9-2 on Feb. 27 before falling 6-3 on March 2.
About BYU
BYU will visit Tempe to begin Big 12 play with a 14-4 overall record and winners of five straight and seven of eight. The Cougars are 2-0 in road games, winning at UC San Diego and Sacramento State.
As a team, the Cougars are batting .302 with a .893 OPS and scoring 5.89 runs per game. Ilove'a Brittingham is leading the team with a .397 batting average, 23 hits, five home runs, and 22 RBIs. Lindy Milkowski and Hailey Morrow have added 17 hits apiece. Morrow has added four homers and 13 RBIs.
BYU has been strong in the circle with a Big 12-leading 1.82 ERA. They have a 1.12 WHIP and average 6.18 strikeouts per seven innings. Kaysen Korth is second in the nation with a 0.27 ERA and 17th with her 0.78 WHIP.
Strike First, Finish Strong
ASU has been jumping on teams early in games this season, outscoring the opposition 19-6 in the first inning. They are 6-1 when scoring in the first inning and 8-3 when scoring first overall. In a weird twist, the Sun Devils are also 3-0 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
And while scoring in the first has been key, ASU has put teams away late. The Sun Devils have outscored their opponents 24-6 in the fifth and 16-6 in the sixth. That 40-12 advantage in the later innings has helped the team go 8-1 when leading after five and 10-0 when leading after six.
Long Ball
ASU has used the long ball to its advantage, with 26 home runs on the year. The team ranks second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally in total homers while hitting 1.24 home runs per game, ranking third in the Big 12 and 28th nationally.
The Sun Devils have homered in 15 games with multiple home runs in a game nine times. They have gone 12-3 in games they hit a homer and 8-1 when hitting multiple.
Youth Movement
One of the youngest teams in the country, ASU has had eight freshmen make at least one appearance so far this season. Those freshmen have combined to make 81 starts, accounting for 43 percent of all starts for the year.
The group has combined to hit 13 home runs – half of the team's total – and drive in 50 while also going 4-3 with 45 strikeouts in the circle.
Milestones in Reach
ASU will take the field on Thursday just six wins shy of 1,900 in the program's history. One of the most successful programs in the country, the team currently holds a record of 1,894-960-2 (.664).
Head Coach Megan Bartlett enters the series needing two wins to reach 200 for her career. Now in her eighth season as a collegiate head coach and third at ASU, Bartlett has a career record of 198-171 (.537).
Hall Pass
Kelsey Hall opened the season in the starting lineup just 277 days after tearing her ACL. Having started all 21 games, Hall leads the team with a .443 batting average, 27 hits, five home runs, and 20 RBIs. She has recorded a hit in 17 games and is on a career-long tying 10-game hitting streak.
This is her sixth season of collegiate softball, Hall is 15th among active players with 136 runs scored, 20th with 303217 total bases, 24th with 132 RBIs and 25th with 35 home runs.
Tanya Time
Tanya Windle has taken over as the starter in center field and is second on the team lead with 26 hits while batting .371. She enters Big 12 play on a six-game hitting streak during which she is 11-for-19 with five multi-hit games. She also has an RBI in five straight contests.
Windle ranks 15th among active NCAA players with 10 triples in her career. Her .398 career batting average is seventh among active players with at least 350 career at-bats.
Brown is Back
After sitting out last season with an injury, Kenzie Brown has been solid in her return to the circle. The senior struck out the first five batters she faced this season and now has 70 strikeouts in 43innings pitched.
Brown went 3-0 with 29 strikeouts during the ASU Invitational, and she became the first Sun Devil since 2020 to post double-digit strikeouts in a game multiple times in the same season. She is 17th in the NCAA in total strikeouts and fifth by averaging 11.4 strikeouts per seven innings. Brown is fourth in the Big 12 with her 0.98 ERA and third with a 0.79 WHIP.
Around the Horn
Tiare Ho-Ching is batting .344 with 22 hits and 15 RBIs while settling in as the team's leadoff hitter. The freshman has the only 4-hit game of the season by a Sun Devil while adding five multi-RBI games.
Samantha Swan has started every game behind the plate and is third on the team with her .356 batting average. She has six multi-hit games and tallied an RBI in four of the six games last week.
AJ Murphy returned to the lineup at GCU after missing the prior six games with an injury. Murphy is batting .316 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. She enters the weekend with five hits in the last three games.
Lillian Holtje has taken over at first base and is tied for the team lead with five home runs in just 39 at-bats.
Meika Lauppe leads the team with 10 starts in the circle and 43.1 innings pitched. She has posted a 4-2 record with a 2.26 ERA.
Looking Ahead
ASU takes its first road trip of the season next week with five games in Florida. After a midweek doubleheader at Stetson on March 12, the Sun Devils will play a three-game Big 12 series at UCF on March 14-16.
The series is the first of eight conference sets the teams will play through May 4. The Big 12 Tournament will begin on May 7 at OGE Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Weekend Promotions
This Weekend is Alumni and World Series Weekend, with ASU celebrating all former Sun Devil Softball players, along with the 2008 and 2011 WCWS Championship teams. The first 250 fans to arrive on both Friday and Saturday will receive a commemorative championship pennant. In addition, the ASU freshmen will sign autographs after the game on Friday. Saturday is Farrington Funday with Kids Run the Bases after the game and $1 popcorn at the concession stand.
How to Follow
All three games will be live on ESPN+ with Alex Coil (play-by-play) and Gavin Schall (analyst) calling the action. Live scoring will be available for every game of the series.
Updates – including any weather-related changes – will be provided on social media via X (@asusoftball) and Instagram (@sundevilsb).
Sun Devil Notes
Arizona State moves into Big 12 play with a 15-6 overall record and winners in eight of their last nine games. The Sun Devils are 15-5 at Farrington Stadium entering the BYU series.
ASU begins conference play second in the Big 12 and 30th in the NCAA with a .334 batting average. They also rank 33rd in the country in slugging at .540 and 35th with a .413 on base percentage. The team scores 5.90 runs per game, and they have hit 26 home runs to place 22nd nationally.
ASU maintains a 3.06 ERA in the circle while ranking 36th in the NCAA with a 1.21 WHIP. Sun Devil pitchers average 7.05 strikeouts per seven innings which has them 27th in the country.
Looking Back
The Sun Devils completed the ASU Invitational with a 5-1 record, winning the first five games to reach eight straight wins overall. This run included a 9-inning comeback win over Seattle U and a run-rule defeat of Yale on Feb. 28.
ASU also won two games on March 1, defeating UTEP 11-4 and Utah State 4-1. They split two games against Oregon State, winning 9-2 on Feb. 27 before falling 6-3 on March 2.
About BYU
BYU will visit Tempe to begin Big 12 play with a 14-4 overall record and winners of five straight and seven of eight. The Cougars are 2-0 in road games, winning at UC San Diego and Sacramento State.
As a team, the Cougars are batting .302 with a .893 OPS and scoring 5.89 runs per game. Ilove'a Brittingham is leading the team with a .397 batting average, 23 hits, five home runs, and 22 RBIs. Lindy Milkowski and Hailey Morrow have added 17 hits apiece. Morrow has added four homers and 13 RBIs.
BYU has been strong in the circle with a Big 12-leading 1.82 ERA. They have a 1.12 WHIP and average 6.18 strikeouts per seven innings. Kaysen Korth is second in the nation with a 0.27 ERA and 17th with her 0.78 WHIP.
Strike First, Finish Strong
ASU has been jumping on teams early in games this season, outscoring the opposition 19-6 in the first inning. They are 6-1 when scoring in the first inning and 8-3 when scoring first overall. In a weird twist, the Sun Devils are also 3-0 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
And while scoring in the first has been key, ASU has put teams away late. The Sun Devils have outscored their opponents 24-6 in the fifth and 16-6 in the sixth. That 40-12 advantage in the later innings has helped the team go 8-1 when leading after five and 10-0 when leading after six.
Long Ball
ASU has used the long ball to its advantage, with 26 home runs on the year. The team ranks second in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally in total homers while hitting 1.24 home runs per game, ranking third in the Big 12 and 28th nationally.
The Sun Devils have homered in 15 games with multiple home runs in a game nine times. They have gone 12-3 in games they hit a homer and 8-1 when hitting multiple.
Youth Movement
One of the youngest teams in the country, ASU has had eight freshmen make at least one appearance so far this season. Those freshmen have combined to make 81 starts, accounting for 43 percent of all starts for the year.
The group has combined to hit 13 home runs – half of the team's total – and drive in 50 while also going 4-3 with 45 strikeouts in the circle.
Milestones in Reach
ASU will take the field on Thursday just six wins shy of 1,900 in the program's history. One of the most successful programs in the country, the team currently holds a record of 1,894-960-2 (.664).
Head Coach Megan Bartlett enters the series needing two wins to reach 200 for her career. Now in her eighth season as a collegiate head coach and third at ASU, Bartlett has a career record of 198-171 (.537).
Hall Pass
Kelsey Hall opened the season in the starting lineup just 277 days after tearing her ACL. Having started all 21 games, Hall leads the team with a .443 batting average, 27 hits, five home runs, and 20 RBIs. She has recorded a hit in 17 games and is on a career-long tying 10-game hitting streak.
This is her sixth season of collegiate softball, Hall is 15th among active players with 136 runs scored, 20th with 303217 total bases, 24th with 132 RBIs and 25th with 35 home runs.
Tanya Time
Tanya Windle has taken over as the starter in center field and is second on the team lead with 26 hits while batting .371. She enters Big 12 play on a six-game hitting streak during which she is 11-for-19 with five multi-hit games. She also has an RBI in five straight contests.
Windle ranks 15th among active NCAA players with 10 triples in her career. Her .398 career batting average is seventh among active players with at least 350 career at-bats.
Brown is Back
After sitting out last season with an injury, Kenzie Brown has been solid in her return to the circle. The senior struck out the first five batters she faced this season and now has 70 strikeouts in 43innings pitched.
Brown went 3-0 with 29 strikeouts during the ASU Invitational, and she became the first Sun Devil since 2020 to post double-digit strikeouts in a game multiple times in the same season. She is 17th in the NCAA in total strikeouts and fifth by averaging 11.4 strikeouts per seven innings. Brown is fourth in the Big 12 with her 0.98 ERA and third with a 0.79 WHIP.
Around the Horn
Tiare Ho-Ching is batting .344 with 22 hits and 15 RBIs while settling in as the team's leadoff hitter. The freshman has the only 4-hit game of the season by a Sun Devil while adding five multi-RBI games.
Samantha Swan has started every game behind the plate and is third on the team with her .356 batting average. She has six multi-hit games and tallied an RBI in four of the six games last week.
AJ Murphy returned to the lineup at GCU after missing the prior six games with an injury. Murphy is batting .316 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. She enters the weekend with five hits in the last three games.
Lillian Holtje has taken over at first base and is tied for the team lead with five home runs in just 39 at-bats.
Meika Lauppe leads the team with 10 starts in the circle and 43.1 innings pitched. She has posted a 4-2 record with a 2.26 ERA.
Looking Ahead
ASU takes its first road trip of the season next week with five games in Florida. After a midweek doubleheader at Stetson on March 12, the Sun Devils will play a three-game Big 12 series at UCF on March 14-16.