TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball is set to host Baylor in the final three home games of the season this weekend at Farrington Stadium. The teams are both in a group of seven teams within four games of each other as they position themselves for the upcoming Big 12 Championship.
Due to Easter on Sunday, this week's series is Thursday through Saturday. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is at 6 p.m. with Saturday's series finale at 1 p.m.
Promotions
Thursday there will be post-game autographs with the Sun Devil Softball seniors. Friday, fans are encouraged to wear black as we Black out the Bears. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a blackout the bears t-shirt. There will also be a post-game decorative egg hunt on the field for kids 12 and under. The first 500 fans in attendance on Sunday will receive a Farrington Stadium 25th Anniversary commemorative pin. The Senior Day ceremony will take place after the game.
How to Follow
All three games will be live on ESPN+ with Braiden Bell, Killian McClatchey, and Gavin Schall calling the action. Live scoring will be available for every game of the series with links on the softball schedule page at TheSunDevils.com.
Updates will be provided on social media via X/Twitter (@asusoftball) and Instagram (@sundevilsb).
Sun Devil Notes
With six games remaining in the regular season, ASU sits at 31-15 overall and winners in seven of their last nine outings. The Sun Devils sit at 11-7 in Big 12 play which has them third entering the weekend. They are 21-11 at home.
The Sun Devils enter the series batting .312 with a .865 OPS. That helps them score 5.15 runs per game. ASU leads the Big 12 with 60 doubles and they are third in the conference with 44 home runs.
Arizona State pitchers have combined to post a 3.07 ERA while ranking fourth in the Big 12 with a 1.31 WHIP. The staff leads the conference – and ranks 10th in the NCAA – with an average of 7.67 strikeouts per seven innings.
Looking Back
ASU completed a 5-0 week on the road last week with a doubleheader sweep at UTEP and the team's first conference series sweep since 2022 with three wins at Utah.
About Baylor
Baylor comes to Tempe at 21-21 overall and sixth in the Big 12 with a 7-8 record in league play. The Bears have won six straight and eight of nine and they have gone 5-6 on the road this season.
As a team, Baylor is batting .264 and scoring 4.40 runs per game. Shaylon Govan is second in the Big 12 with her .400 batting average. She leads the team with six home runs and 22 RBIs. Turiya Coleman is batting .376 with 10 doubles.
Baylor pitchers have a staff ERA of 3.83 while recording 3.60 strikeouts per seven innings. Lillie Walker leads the team with 112.0 innings while posting a 2.50 ERA and 69 strikeouts.
Strike First, Finish Strong
ASU has been jumping on teams early in games this season, outscoring the opposition 83-39 in the first two innings. That includes 50 runs scored in the first inning. They are 16-1 when scoring in the first inning and 22-3 when scoring first overall.
And while scoring in the first has been key, the Sun Devils have also scored late to put teams away. ASU has outscored their opponents 45-26 in the fifth and 29-18 in the sixth. That 74-44 advantage in the later innings has helped the team go 20-1 when leading after five and 23-0 when leading after six.
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 179 starts, accounting for 39 percent of all starts for the year.
The freshman class is batting .287 with a .895 OPS. They have combined to hit 26 of the team's 44 home runs while driving in 93. The two freshman pitchers are 7-5 with 50 strikeouts.
Brown is Back
After sitting out last season with an injury, Kenzie Brown has returned as one of the top pitchers in the country. Entering the weekend, Brown is second in the NCAA with 221 strikeouts and at 11.9 strikeouts per seven innings. She is the only Power 4 pitcher in the country to surpass 200 strikeouts.
Brown had 18 strikeouts against BYU on Mar. 6 to tie the ASU record for strikeouts in a 7-inning game. Her nine games with double-digit strikeouts are the most by a Sun Devil since G Juarez in 2018.
In addition to her strikeout totals, Brown is second in the Big 12 with 16 wins, a 1.18 ERA, and 0.92 WHIP.
Hall Pass
Kelsey Hall opened the season in the starting lineup just 277 days after tearing her ACL. Having started all 46 games, Hall is batting .348 with a .991 OPS. She leads the team with 44 RBIs while adding nine home runs.
In her sixth season of collegiate softball, Hall ranks 24th among players with 151 runs, 25th with 156 RBIs and 358 total bases. She also ranks 32nd with 39 career home runs.
Tanya Time
Tanya Windle had seven hits during the Utah series and she leads the team with 55 hits on the season. Windle has 18 extra-base hits to lead the team, including 12 doubles and three triples. She is batting .374 with a .971 OPS while posting 16 multi-hit games.
Windle ranks 12th among active NCAA players with 12 triples in her career. Her .394 career batting average is 11th among active players – and fourth among juniors – with at least 450 career at-bats.
Freshman Gem Part 1
Tiare Ho-Ching is batting .352 with 50 hits and 24 RBIs on the season. The freshman has one of the two 4-hit games by a Sun Devil this season while adding eight multi-RBI outings. Ho-Ching has a hit in 14 of the last 15 games with five multi-hit games during the run.
Ho-Ching has settled in as the team's leadoff hitter. ASU has gone 21-7 when she bats in the No. 1 spot in the lineup and she reaches 42 percent of the time when leading off an inning.
Freshman Gem Part 2
Ashleigh Mejia leads the club with 12 home runs and she is second with 39 RBIs. Seven of the freshman's homers have tied the game or given ASU the lead. She has recorded a hit in 11 of the past 15 outings with an RBI in seven of the last nine.
In Big 12 games, Mejia is batting .328 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs. She is tied for second in the conference in both home runs and RBIs in conference games.
Around the Horn
Samantha Swan has made 45 starts behind the plate. She is fifth in the team with a .317 batting average and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles.
Meika Lauppe has emerged as the No. 2 pitcher on the staff with a 8-6 record, three saves, and a 2.71 ERA. Her 69 strikeouts are second on the team, and she limits the opposition to a .279 batting average.
Looking Ahead
The Sun Devils close the regular season next week with a trip to Lubbock, Texas, for a three-game series at Texas Tech.
Due to Easter on Sunday, this week's series is Thursday through Saturday. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is at 6 p.m. with Saturday's series finale at 1 p.m.
Promotions
Thursday there will be post-game autographs with the Sun Devil Softball seniors. Friday, fans are encouraged to wear black as we Black out the Bears. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a blackout the bears t-shirt. There will also be a post-game decorative egg hunt on the field for kids 12 and under. The first 500 fans in attendance on Sunday will receive a Farrington Stadium 25th Anniversary commemorative pin. The Senior Day ceremony will take place after the game.
How to Follow
All three games will be live on ESPN+ with Braiden Bell, Killian McClatchey, and Gavin Schall calling the action. Live scoring will be available for every game of the series with links on the softball schedule page at TheSunDevils.com.
Updates will be provided on social media via X/Twitter (@asusoftball) and Instagram (@sundevilsb).
Sun Devil Notes
With six games remaining in the regular season, ASU sits at 31-15 overall and winners in seven of their last nine outings. The Sun Devils sit at 11-7 in Big 12 play which has them third entering the weekend. They are 21-11 at home.
The Sun Devils enter the series batting .312 with a .865 OPS. That helps them score 5.15 runs per game. ASU leads the Big 12 with 60 doubles and they are third in the conference with 44 home runs.
Arizona State pitchers have combined to post a 3.07 ERA while ranking fourth in the Big 12 with a 1.31 WHIP. The staff leads the conference – and ranks 10th in the NCAA – with an average of 7.67 strikeouts per seven innings.
Looking Back
ASU completed a 5-0 week on the road last week with a doubleheader sweep at UTEP and the team's first conference series sweep since 2022 with three wins at Utah.
About Baylor
Baylor comes to Tempe at 21-21 overall and sixth in the Big 12 with a 7-8 record in league play. The Bears have won six straight and eight of nine and they have gone 5-6 on the road this season.
As a team, Baylor is batting .264 and scoring 4.40 runs per game. Shaylon Govan is second in the Big 12 with her .400 batting average. She leads the team with six home runs and 22 RBIs. Turiya Coleman is batting .376 with 10 doubles.
Baylor pitchers have a staff ERA of 3.83 while recording 3.60 strikeouts per seven innings. Lillie Walker leads the team with 112.0 innings while posting a 2.50 ERA and 69 strikeouts.
Strike First, Finish Strong
ASU has been jumping on teams early in games this season, outscoring the opposition 83-39 in the first two innings. That includes 50 runs scored in the first inning. They are 16-1 when scoring in the first inning and 22-3 when scoring first overall.
And while scoring in the first has been key, the Sun Devils have also scored late to put teams away. ASU has outscored their opponents 45-26 in the fifth and 29-18 in the sixth. That 74-44 advantage in the later innings has helped the team go 20-1 when leading after five and 23-0 when leading after six.
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 179 starts, accounting for 39 percent of all starts for the year.
The freshman class is batting .287 with a .895 OPS. They have combined to hit 26 of the team's 44 home runs while driving in 93. The two freshman pitchers are 7-5 with 50 strikeouts.
Brown is Back
After sitting out last season with an injury, Kenzie Brown has returned as one of the top pitchers in the country. Entering the weekend, Brown is second in the NCAA with 221 strikeouts and at 11.9 strikeouts per seven innings. She is the only Power 4 pitcher in the country to surpass 200 strikeouts.
Brown had 18 strikeouts against BYU on Mar. 6 to tie the ASU record for strikeouts in a 7-inning game. Her nine games with double-digit strikeouts are the most by a Sun Devil since G Juarez in 2018.
In addition to her strikeout totals, Brown is second in the Big 12 with 16 wins, a 1.18 ERA, and 0.92 WHIP.
Hall Pass
Kelsey Hall opened the season in the starting lineup just 277 days after tearing her ACL. Having started all 46 games, Hall is batting .348 with a .991 OPS. She leads the team with 44 RBIs while adding nine home runs.
In her sixth season of collegiate softball, Hall ranks 24th among players with 151 runs, 25th with 156 RBIs and 358 total bases. She also ranks 32nd with 39 career home runs.
Tanya Time
Tanya Windle had seven hits during the Utah series and she leads the team with 55 hits on the season. Windle has 18 extra-base hits to lead the team, including 12 doubles and three triples. She is batting .374 with a .971 OPS while posting 16 multi-hit games.
Windle ranks 12th among active NCAA players with 12 triples in her career. Her .394 career batting average is 11th among active players – and fourth among juniors – with at least 450 career at-bats.
Freshman Gem Part 1
Tiare Ho-Ching is batting .352 with 50 hits and 24 RBIs on the season. The freshman has one of the two 4-hit games by a Sun Devil this season while adding eight multi-RBI outings. Ho-Ching has a hit in 14 of the last 15 games with five multi-hit games during the run.
Ho-Ching has settled in as the team's leadoff hitter. ASU has gone 21-7 when she bats in the No. 1 spot in the lineup and she reaches 42 percent of the time when leading off an inning.
Freshman Gem Part 2
Ashleigh Mejia leads the club with 12 home runs and she is second with 39 RBIs. Seven of the freshman's homers have tied the game or given ASU the lead. She has recorded a hit in 11 of the past 15 outings with an RBI in seven of the last nine.
In Big 12 games, Mejia is batting .328 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs. She is tied for second in the conference in both home runs and RBIs in conference games.
Around the Horn
Samantha Swan has made 45 starts behind the plate. She is fifth in the team with a .317 batting average and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles.
Meika Lauppe has emerged as the No. 2 pitcher on the staff with a 8-6 record, three saves, and a 2.71 ERA. Her 69 strikeouts are second on the team, and she limits the opposition to a .279 batting average.
Looking Ahead
The Sun Devils close the regular season next week with a trip to Lubbock, Texas, for a three-game series at Texas Tech.