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Back in the Winner’s Column: No. 24/23 Softball bashes way to 14th win

Arizona State score nine runs on seven hits, four walks and one UCR error

Back in the Winner’s Column: No. 24/23 Softball bashes way to 14th winBack in the Winner’s Column: No. 24/23 Softball bashes way to 14th win

Ashleigh Mejia (24) goes in to hug Kaylee Pond (42) and Ryan Brown (25) following her fifth-inning home run against UC Riverside on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.

by Chris Brown
Box Score

TEMPE – Having to sit with the sourness of Sunday’s loss for over 72 hours, the No. 24/23-ranked Sun Devil Softball program left little doubt throughout its 9-1 win in five innings over UC Riverside on Thursday night to start the weekend’s ASU/GCU Invitational.

Throughout the course of the 1-hour, 49-minute contest, the Arizona State offense combined to fall just a triple shy of the cycle during its five offensive innings at the dish. And it took the Sun Devils just two innings to check off three of the boxes.

During her first-inning plate appearance, Katie Chester collected the single when she sent the first pitch of her at bat down the left field line to score Tanya Windle, who was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the first. Six pitches later, Kaylee Pond checked off the double when she roped a 3-2 pitch into the right-center field gap to score Chester from second.

An inning later, Windle took out her frustrated from getting hit with a pitch during her previous at bat by sending a 2-2 pitch 230 feet for a two-run home run to highlight a three-run bottom of the second.

The 5-0 Sun Devil lead stood until the top of the fourth, when Gabriella Garcia scored from third on a wild pitch from Mary Peyton Hodge (2-1).

But the Arizona State offense had its freshman left-handed pitcher’s back with a four-run bottom of the fifth that featured a solo home run from Ashleigh Mejia and a two-run double by Brooklyn Ulrich before Tiare Ho-Ching ended the contest by scoring Corie Shull from second with a one-out double to left field.

FROM HEAD COACH MEGAN BARTLETT

“I thought the (left-handed pitchers) moved the ball really well and made it tough for (UC Riverside) to get on time with their pitches. Our hitters got off to a hot start, caught some pretty damaging momentum late in the game and got out of there in five innings. I was proud of the effort tonight.”

FROM SENIOR INFIELDER BROOKLYN ULRICH

“Our hitters are amazing. We just have such a strong lineup, one through nine, so no (opposing pitcher) will get a break against us. All throughout the lineup, we just keep throwing punches, and it’s even better when we are very selective of the zone and let bad pitches go, because then we get free bases and runners on.”

 GAME NOTES

  • By scoring on her two-run home run during the three-run bottom of the second, Tanya Windle reached the 20 runs scored plateau in just 17 games to begin her senior season. Windle has scored 24-or-more runs in all four seasons of her collegiate softball career.
  • Kaylee Pond’s sacrifice fly to score Emily Schepp from third base during the second inning marked the 20th RBI on the young season for the first-year Sun Devil. Pond’s single-season career high in RBI is 28 set in 58 games as a Cal Bear during the 2025 season.
  • After not hitting a home run against New Mexico State on Sunday, Feb. 22, Arizona State connected for two home runs against the Highlanders during Thursday night’s game thus continuing a stretch of not going back-to-back games without hitting at least one home run this season.
  • Thursday’s five-inning victory for Arizona State marked the sixth mercy-rule win for the Sun Devils this season, the most in a single season by an ASU squad since having seven throughout the 2023 campaign.
  • Thursday’s contest marked the fourth time this season multiple Sun Devil batters were hit by a pitch during a non-conference game. The four games are already one shy of tying last season’s total against non-conference foes.

UP NEXT

  • With the win on Thursday night, Arizona State (14-3) has now won each game after a loss so far this season and will look to pick up two more victories on Friday, Feb. 27 when the Sun Devils take on Eastern Illinois (3:30 p.m. MST/ESPN+) and UNLV (6:15 p.m. MST/ESPN+) at Farrington Stadium.

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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.