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K for Kenzie: Brown strikes out 13 as No. 23/RV Softball routes No. 25/22 UCF

Kenzie Brown registers 20th career double-digit strikeout performance

K for Kenzie: Brown strikes out 13 as No. 23/RV Softball routes No. 25/22 UCFK for Kenzie: Brown strikes out 13 as No. 23/RV Softball routes No. 25/22 UCF

Kenzie Brown (center) fires a pitch towards a UCF batter during ASU's 7-1 win over the Knights on Friday, April 10, 2026.

by Chris Brown
Box Score

TEMPE – If there was an early indication of how Kenzie Brown’s night would go during Sun Devil Softball’s 7-1 win over No. 25/22 UCF on Friday night, it occurred at 6:10 p.m. MST.

After falling behind to UCF’s leadoff batter Coco Jaimes with two straight balls to begin the series-opening contest, Brown battled back to force a full count, before getting Jaimes to swing and miss at a riseball on the sixth pitch of the at bat.

It was the first strikeout in what would become one of the best pitching performances for the Sun Devils’ right-hander during her senior campaign. By the conclusion of the 1-hour, 59-minute conference matchup, Brown (9-4) had struck out 13 of the 27 (48.1 percent) Knight batters she faced on the evening.

Brown’s 13 strikeouts were the most by any opposing Big 12 pitcher against UCF since the Knights joined the league prior to the 2024 season. Additionally, her strikeout total marked the most by any Sun Devil pitcher against UCF throughout the now seven-game series. Brown held the previous mark at 10 set during ASU’s 3-0 win at UCF on Friday, March 14, 2025.

Brown, who recorded her 20th career double-digit strikeout performance on Friday night, fanned at least one UCF batter in every inning; at least two in five frames; and struck out all three opposing batters in a single inning during the fifth. It was Brown's first double-digit strikeout outing since fanning 10 Arizona Wildcats in five innings of work on Friday, March 20, 2026. 

Friday marked Brown's seventh double-digit strikeout pitching appearance this season, while her 13 strikeouts were one shy of tying her season high (14), which she set against Indiana on Feb. 12 and matched on Mar. 13 against Oklahoma State.

After issuing a two-out walk to Jaimes following an eight-pitch battle in the top of the second, Brown did not allow another UCF batter to reach base until Beth Damon blooped a single between a diving Tiare Ho-Ching and outstretched Ashleigh Mejia in shallow right field with one out in the top of the seventh. The base hit – just the third on the night for the Knights – snapped a streak of 14 consecutive batters retired by Brown.

Brown’s confidence in the pitching circle only intensified following a four-run bottom of the first that was highlighted by a two-out, three-run home run off the bat of Emily Schepp, which came three pitches after a run-scoring single by Samantha Swan.  

FROM HEAD COACH MEGAN BARTLETT

“Kenzie Brown was certainly working tonight. She's getting healthy and it's exciting. When she's on, it's so fun to watch her pitch; just so many tricks. She can go up; she can go down. Changeup was working tonight, too. She did a great job all night. (Emily) Schepp came up with that big home run in the first, which gave us some breathing room for the rest of the game, then (JazMarie Roberts) laying down a squeeze, causing some chaos. Tiare (Ho-Ching) with a sacrifice fly, so it was good. It was nice to see us just manufacture some runs and not just have to rely on the long ball.”

FROM SENIOR PITCHER KENZIE BROWN

“I mean, pitching with the lead is always much easier; I can play more freely. I had a rocky second inning but got right back into it and started pounding the (strike) zone. Sometimes I forget how good my stuff is and I try to be a little bit too perfect, so I just said, ‘Well, this obviously isn't working,’ and I just started throwing it, pounding the zone and that ended up working out in my favor.”

GAME NOTES

  • As a result of Kaylee Pond and Katie Chester both being hit by pitches during the bottom of the first, the Sun Devils have been hit by 44 pitches this season, tying the 1997 and 2008 teams for the second most hit by pitches in a single season.
    • The 2022 Arizona State team set the program’s single season record with 70.
  • By being hit with a pitch in the bottom of the first inning, Kaylee Pond has now been hit with a pitch 10 times this season, marking the eighth time in the last nine completed seasons – excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign – ˜that at least one Arizona State batter has been hit with 10-or-more pitches during a single season.
  • The Arizona State offense accounted for six earned runs against UCF starting pitcher Isabella Vega, the most earned runs surrendered in any of Vega’s 60 career pitching appearances.
  • Samantha Swan recorded her sixth consecutive two-hit game with 2-for-3 performance against the Knights on Friday night.
    • Swan is the only Sun Devil to have a streak of six consecutive two-hit games.
  • Friday evening’s win over UCF marked the 10th victory for Arizona State against an opponent either ranked or receiving votes in either the NFCA/GoRout or ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 at the time of its game against the Sun Devils.

UP NEXT

Arizona State (31-11, 5-8) will now for its second Big 12 series win at home this season when the Sun Devils return to the diamond at Farrington Stadium at 4 p.m. MST on Saturday, April 11 for the second game of its three-game tilt against UCF (30-11-1, 8-7-1) this weekend.

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