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Windle in the Wind: Windle sets career highs as No. 22/21 ASU splits two games

Tanya Windle registers 200th career hit during Friday’s Sun Devil Classic action

Windle in the Wind: Windle sets career highs as No. 22/21 ASU splits two gamesWindle in the Wind: Windle sets career highs as No. 22/21 ASU splits two games

Tanya Windle hits a career-high two home runs against Michigan during the Sun Devil Classic on Friday, Feb. 20.

by Chris Brown

 

TEMPE – A part of every standout offense is someone in the leadoff spot who brings the spark to ignite the rest of the batting lineup to create a running engine.

Tanya Windle was that someone on Friday as the Arizona State senior outfielder combined to go 5-for-5 with six runs scored, five runs batted in, two home runs, two walks, a double and a hit by pitch as the Sun Devil offense combined to score 19 runs throughout its contests against Michigan – a 9-8 loss – and Southern Utah – an 11-10 victory – on the first day of the Sun Devil Classic.

Windle’s two-run home run in the bottom of the third against the Wolverines not only cut Michigan’s four-run deficit in half but also marked the senior’s 200th career collegiate hit between her time at Utah Tech (2023) and Arizona State (2024-26). Two innings later, she connected on a 1-1 pitch for a second two-run home run that occurred during a five-run bottom of the fifth to give the Sun Devils an 8-6 advantage in the run column.

But it was a lead Arizona State couldn’t hold onto to as Michigan scored three times over the game’s final two frames to escaped Club Farrington with a one-run victory.

While she kept the softball in the park against Southern Utah during Friday’s night gap, Windle managed to score a single-game career high four runs after successfully reaching base in each of her trips to dish.

Windle getting hit by a 1-1 pitch in the bottom of the second not only scored a run but also lit the fuse on a five-run inning for Arizona State that tied the game at six runs apiece. She, again, touched home plate two innings later on a Katie Chester three-run home run that pushed the Sun Devils ahead, 9-8, at the time.

And then, fittingly, Windle provided to be the eventual game-winning run for Arizona State when she scored from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kaylee Pond during the bottom of the sixth, when the Sun Devils re-took the lead for good at 11-10.  

FROM HEAD COACH MEGAN BARTLETT

“Certainty pleased with the offensive effort tonight; I don’t know if you can ask much more from the hitters. We were just trying to piece things together with a little bit of sickness and the pitching staff and made things hard for ourselves a little bit on defense, which we're going to have to clean up. But I was pleased with the resiliency and the fight and the maturity from our hitters. That's something we haven't seen at Club Farrington in a while.”

FROM SENIOR OUTFIELDER TANYA WINDLE

“I didn't know in the moment. Before the game I knew that I was close to 200 hits, but I didn't know exactly where I was at. People were telling me, I don't really look at my stats too often. But when I hit, I came in the dugout and they were like ‘Congrats on 200,’ and I was like, ‘No way, I did that, that's crazy.’ Yeah, it was a great feeling.”

GAME NOTES

  • Arizona State fourth-year senior outfielder Tanya Windle and sophomore Sun Devil Ashleigh Mejia both turned in their first career multi-home runs as the duo connected for a pair of home runs against Michigan starting pitcher Erin Hoehn, who allowed eight runs over five innings of work.
  • Against Michigan, Tanya Windle matched her career high with four runs batted in, marking the fourth career time the Peoria, Ariz., native reached the plateau in a single game and first since March 12, 2024 against GCU.
  • Additionally, Ashliegh Mejia matched her single game career best with four RBI, marking the second time the sophomore outfielder has driven in four runs in a single game and first since March 28, 2025 at Iowa State.
  • Friday afternoon’s game against Michigan marked the first time an Arizona State offense hit four-or-more home runs in a single game since connecting for four against Boise State on March 4, 2023.
  • During the bottom of the second against Southern Utah, first-year Sun Devil Emily Schepp sent a 2-2 pitch 239 feet for the first career grand slam of her three seasons of collegiate softball.
  • Arizona State’s 19 runs scored throughout both games Friday marked the second-most runs scored on a single day by the Sun Devils after totaling 29 against Portland State (20) and Pacific (9) on Saturday, Feb. 14.
  • Arizona State’s freshman left-handed pitcher Mary Peyton Hodge earned her first career collegiate softball win after throwing the final four frames in the Sun Devils’ one-run win over Southern Utah to close out the day.

UP NEXT

  • Following Friday’s two games, Arizona State (11-2) will return to Farrington Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Sun Devils will square off against Michigan (3:30 p.m. MST/ESPN+) and New Mexico State (6:15 p.m. MST/ESPN+) during the second day of the three-day Sun Devil Classic.

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