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No Complaints: No. 22/21 Softball bounces back in huge fashion

Arizona State beats Michigan in a regular-season softball game in Tempe for first time since 1994

No Complaints: No. 22/21 Softball bounces back in huge fashionNo Complaints: No. 22/21 Softball bounces back in huge fashion

Brooklyn Ulrich hits her first home run as a Sun Devil during ASU's 8-0 win over Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.

by Chris Brown

TEMPE – In response to Michigan snapping Sun Devil Softball’s nine-game winning streak on Friday, Arizona State bounced back with a convincing 8-0 win over the Wolverines in six innings and then paired it with a 9-1 victory against New Mexico State in five innings less than two hours later.

And both contests began the exact same way: with a Sun Devil hitting a home run in the bottom of the first inning.

After Kenzie Brown (4-1) tossed the first of her six shutout frames against Michigan (11-3), Kaylee Pond sent a 1-2 pitch 232 feet for a two-out, three-run home run to push the Sun Devils in front 3-0. As Brown willed her way through the middle innings, Katie Chester added a solo home run in the fourth to extend ASU’s lead out to four runs. Two frames later, Brooklyn Ulrich, Tanya Windle and Yannixa Acuña all had run-scoring hits during a four-run, five-hit bottom of the sixth that marked the second mercy-rule win over a Big 10 program for the Sun Devils this season.

In the night cap, Emily Schepp sent the third pitch of Arizona State’s game against New Mexico State over the left field fence for a two-run home run that sparked a four-run, four-hit first for the Sun Devils. A five-run, three-hit second followed for ASU and allowed fourth-year head coach Megan Bartlett an opportunity to rest everyday starters as Aissa Silva (5-1) held the Aggie offense at bay until a two-out double in the top of the fifth plated NMSU’s only run of the contest.

FROM HEAD COACH MEGAN BARTLETT

“That was a big win for us early against Michigan, for sure. And the bats were hot all day, so that was good to see as well. We got Kenzie (Brown) back out in the circle and she threw a gem, so no complaints out of the coaching staff tonight.”

FROM SENIOR OUTFIELDER KAYLEE POND

“These were both great team wins today; both run rules with a shutout against Michigan, then an almost shutout in the second game against New Mexico State. I wanted to get that dive catching for Aissa (Silva). She had a great performance in the circle, so I wanted to help her so badly. But there were so many great performances at the plate and on defense, so just shoutout to the whole team. We must lock back in now, though. It is a little bit of momentum, but the game isn’t loyal and we have to keep doing what we are doing.”

GAME NOTES

  • Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 marked the first time the Arizona State softball program earned two mercy-rule victories in the same day since Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, when the Sun Devils beat Illinois State, 11-3, and DePaul, 8-0, in five innings, respectively.
  • Aissa Silva’s nine strikeouts against New Mexico State during Saturday’s night cap were tied for the most in a single game by the first-year Sun Devil. She had nine strikeouts at Oregon State on March 9, 2024.
  • Additionally, by going the duration of Arizona State’s five-inning win over the Aggies, Aissa Silva was credited with her first complete game as a Sun Devil and her first complete game outright since March 9, 2024, when she tossed all seven frames during a 6-0 win as a member of the Arizona softball program.
  • Kaylee Pond’s one-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the second inning against New Mexico State marked not only the third career triple for Pond, but also her first since Feb. 20, 2022, when she was credited with two in a six-inning game at Howard while a member of the Iowa State softball program.
  • With its eight-run win over Michigan to begin its Saturday’s slate, Arizona State earned its first outright victory over the Wolverines since May 17, 2014, when the Sun Devils won during the NCAA Regional. Overall, it was the first ASU win over UM in Tempe during the regular season since Feb. 22, 1994.

UP NEXT

  • Arizona State (13-2) will look for its 14th win at Farrington Stadium in 16 games so far this season when the Sun Devils take the field at 11:45 a.m. MST on Sunday, Feb. 22 against New Mexico State (5-11) to conclude the three-day Sun Devil Classic.

FOLLOW US

  • For the latest information on the team, follow @SunDevilSoftball on X, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @TheSunDevils on X, Instagram and Facebook.