CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Since 2010, when Sun Devil Softball game records are immediately available, no Arizona State softball student-athlete drove in more runs in a single game than Jazmine Hill and Katelyn Boyd, who both drove in seven.
That historical fact changed on Saturday, March 28, when Arizona State sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia drove in eight runs during No. 22/25 Sun Devils’ 15-3 win over UNC in five innings. She finished ASU’s two-game Saturday slate with nine total RBI after driving in a fifth-inning run during her team’s 12-3 victory over Marist in five innings.
Mejia’s eight-RBI performance against the Tar Heels started in the top of the third, when she sent a 2-2 pitch over the center field fence for her first career grand slam. The home run pushed Arizona State’s lead out from 6-1 to 10-1 and fueled a seven-run, five-hit frame.
The following inning, Mejia – in her very next at bat – saw just two pitches before she sent a 1-1 pitch over the right field fence for her second grand slam in as many innings.
The two home run performance marked the second time this season – Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 vs. Michigan – that Mejia has hit two home runs in a single game. She also joined Katie Chester (4), who followed her two home run outing against UNC the day before with a fifth-inning blast against Marist, and Kaylee Pond (3), who hit a two-run home run in the top of the second against the Red Foxes before leading off ASU’s game against UNC with a solo home run.
When including Ryan Brown’s home run at NC State on Wednesday evening, the Sun Devil offense combined to hit 11 home runs and be credited with 45 RBI on 46 runs scored over the five-game road trip through North Carolina.
FROM HEAD COACH MEGAN BARTLETT
“(Ashleigh Mejia) is seeing the ball like it’s a beach ball. So, anytime your hitters are doing that, they’re going to have good success. I’m just super happy for her, though, because Ashleigh is one of the most bought in, intentful, committed Sun Devils we have. So, to see her have success, is outstanding.”
FROM SOPHOMORE OUTFIELDER ASHLEIGH MEJIA
“I still feel pretty calm right now, but when people talk about the program single-game RBI record out loud, I’m just grateful for staying in the game. It was so easy to give up after my few couple of at bats and being frustrated with myself, but that’s just not the type of person I am – to give up during a game – so I wanted to keep pushing and cheering on my teammates. I feel like individual success comes when you’re celebrating your teammates’ success.”
GAME NOTES
- Saturday’s 15-3 five-inning win over North Carolina marked the first time in the 2026 season the Tar Heels have lost a game via mercy rule.
- In fact, UNC, prior to Saturday’s result, had not suffered a five-inning mercy-rule loss since Friday, April 4, 2025, when then-No. 22 Duke beat the Tar Heels, 11-3, in Durham.
- Saturday’s loss marked the first time UNC has suffered a mercy-rule five-inning loss in Chapel Hill since Sunday, March 19, 2022, when then-No. 15 Duke beat the Tar Heels, 8-0.
- By leading off the North Carolina game with a home run, Arizona State’s Kaylee Pond has now led off two games – at then-No. 13/11 Arizona on Friday, March 20, 26 – with a solo home run.
- With Ashleigh Mejia’s two grand slams, the 2026 Arizona State offense has hit four grand slams on the season, the most by a Sun Devil squad during a single season since the 2022 squad hit six.
- Arizona State was hit by five pitches against UNC pitching on Saturday afternoon, marking the most times the Sun Devils were hit by a pitch since April 28, 2024, when Cal pitching was credited with five hit ASU batters.
- Saturday, March 28, 2026 marked the second time this season Arizona State has earned two mercy-rule victory in the same day after beating Michigan, 8-0, in six innings, then topping New Mexico State, 9-1, in five innings on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
UP NEXT
Arizona State (28-9, 3-6) will now resume Big 12 Conference play when the Sun Devils travel to Lawrence, Kan., for a three-game conference series against Kansas (24-10, 5-3) that begins at 3 p.m. MST / 5 p.m. CDT on Thursday, April 2.
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