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Sweet Sixteen: Brown sets season high in strikeouts during No. 25/RV Softball’s win at No. 19/24 GCU

Kenzie Brown becomes first ASU pitcher to strikeout 10-or-more GCU batters in a game

Sweet Sixteen: Brown sets season high in strikeouts during No. 25/RV Softball’s win at No. 19/24 GCUSweet Sixteen: Brown sets season high in strikeouts during No. 25/RV Softball’s win at No. 19/24 GCU

Kenzie Brown reacts to a strikeout during ASU's 5-1 win at GCU on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

by Chris Brown
Box Score

PHOENIX – Less than 12 hours after being named the Big 12 Conference’s Pitcher of the Week, Kenzie Brown began her march toward a second consecutive weekly league honor as the Arizona State senior right-hander fanned a season-high 16 opposing batters during Sun Devil Softball’s 5-1 win at No. 19/24 Grand Canyon.

Brown’s 16 strikeouts on Tuesday night were the most strikeouts by the Lopes in any single game over Grand Canyon’s 13-year Division I history, surpassing Sierra Hyland’s 14-strikeout outing in Cal Poly’s seven-inning 1-0 win at GCU on March 10, 2017.

Brown’s strikeout total was nearly double as many as the previous single-game high for any Arizona State pitcher in a game against Grand Canyon as Allison Royalty set the previous mark (9) in five innings of work during the Sun Devils’ 21-0 win in ASU’s first-ever matchup against the Lopes on April 6, 2021.

Having struck out multiple batters in 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) of her innings pitched last week, Brown wasted no time picking up where she left off by recording all three outs in the bottom of the first via strikeouts. She followed with two more to begin the bottom of the second, before Kaylee Pond’s home run-robbing catch at the centerfield wall snapped the streak of five consecutive outs coming via strikeouts.

Brown went on to add two more punchouts in the bottom of the third to push her three-inning strikeout total to seven.

By keeping the 41-win GCU offense at bay through three innings, Brown gave her offense an opportunity to seize the moment and take advantage of the momentum to put runs on the scoreboard.

That objective was completed in the top of the fourth, when Emily Schepp broke the 0-0 with a two-out solo home run that was followed by a bases-clearing double off the bat of Tiare Ho-Ching to push the Sun Devils ahead 4-0.

Even after surrendering a leadoff solo home run to Addison Shifflett to begin the bottom of the fifth, Brown bounced back like only she does by recording all three outs in the frame via strikeout. She struck out two more in the sixth, before pushing her game total to a season-high 16 after recording her third three-strikeout inning during the bottom of the seventh.

From head coach Megan Bartlett
“(GCU) is a very good hitting ball club and they’re No. 19 in the country. They are a very dangerous team with a lot of power hitters with great speed at the top and bottom of the lineup. But Kenzie (Brown) was dealing tonight. Man, she was doing First Team All-American things. (GCU head coach Shanon) Hays, after the game, told me, ‘I’m so happy (Kenzie) is a senior, because I never want to see her in the pitching circle, again,’ which I get. I’m certainly happy she’s a Sun Devil.”

From senior pitcher Kenzie Brown
“My change-up was really working well tonight, thank goodness. My change-up was working really well, so I was able to keep (Grand Canyon) off balance pretty well. But I guess what really set the tone was Kaylee (Pond) robbing that home run. I mean, that was just so awesome.”        

From sophomore infielder Tiare Ho-Ching
“Of course, I feel happy after any win, but this one – especially – has me feeling grateful that my coaches trusted me to come up in the big moments that occurred tonight. I’m also proud of myself for coming back from a not-so-strong weekend and turning the page to be able to help my team get a win tonight.”

Game notes

  • Tanya Windle’s first-inning stolen base was the first stolen base by an ASU base runner since Ryan Brown stole second base in the top of the fourth inning against Marist in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2026.
    • It was Windle’s first stolen base since Saturday, Feb. 27, 2026, when she stole second in the second inning of ASU’s 9-2 win over UNLV.
  • Kenzie Brown’s 16 strikeouts were the most by Grand Canyon this season.
    • The previous high was 10 in 10 innings pitched by Wisconsin’s Shelby Jacobson in GCU’s 2-1 win over the Badgers on March 5, 2026.
  • With her 16 strikeouts on the evening, it marked the third consecutive start for Kenzie Brown for 10-or-more strikeouts.
    • It’s the first time Brown has struck out 10-or-more batters in three consecutive starts since May 8, 2025, vs. Oklahoma State (13), May 16, 2025, vs. San Diego State (13) and May 17, 2025, vs. UC Santa Barbara (11).
  • Tiare Ho-Ching matched her single-game career high with four RBI, set on February 6, 2026, against Maryland.
  • Tuesday’s win for Arizona State marked its first-ever win over Grand Canyon in three all-time games at GCU Softball Stadium

Up next
Arizona State (32-13, 5-10) will look to continue cementing a résumé for postseason action when the Sun Devils travel to the Lone Star State for a three-game Big 12 series at Houston (20-15, 3-15) that begins at 6 p.m. CDT / 4 p.m. MST on Friday, April 17.

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