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Swan drove in three as No. 20/23 Softball battled Kansas

Samantha Swan’s three RBI ties the Texas native’s single-game career high

Swan drove in three as No. 20/23 Softball battled KansasSwan drove in three as No. 20/23 Softball battled Kansas

Samantha Swan starts to time up a pitch during ASU's series finale at Kansas on Saturday, April 4, 2026.

by Chris Brown
Box Score

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Samantha Swan went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a double and three RBI, but it wasn’t enough to help Sun Devil Softball clinch its second Big 12 series on the season as Kansas withstood late-inning rallies by Arizona State to win Saturday’s series finale, 5-4.

Swan’s third inning double scored Emily Schepp and Katie Chester to erase an early two-run deficit – created by a two-run home run by Ella Boyer in the bottom of the first – for Arizona State. The Jayhawks, though, responded with a three-run bottom of the third to re-take the lead.

Two innings later, Swan, again, cut Arizona State’s deficit as the junior catcher was credited with an infield single to score Schepp. Swan’s base hit was followed by a run-scoring hit by Avery Motroni to draw the Sun Devils to within one. Swan, on Motroni’s hit, went from first to third and represented the game-tying run, but was stranded 60 feet from home when Tiare Ho-Ching fouled out to left field to end the fifth.

Arizona State had a scoring opportunity in the sixth as well after Brooklyn Ulrich drew a four-pitch walk to begin the frame. Corie Shull, who entered the game as a pinch runner for Ulrich, moved to second when Kaylee Pond drew a one-out, five-pitch walk two batters later.

But Ashleigh Mejia and Schepp both flew out to leave the pair of Sun Devils on base.

Swan attempted to spark a seventh inning, come-from-behind effort for Arizona State when she drew a one-out, five-pitch following an eight-pitch at bat by Katie Chester. But five pitches later, Motroni hit into a game-ending double play.

GAME NOTES

  • With two outs in the top of the fifth, Avery Motroni sent the first pitch of her at bat into shallow right field to score Katie Chester from third base.
    • The hit was Motroni’s first since the fourth inning of Arizona State’s 8-0 win over Pacific on Feb. 15, 2026.
  • With two away in the top of the fifth, Katie Chester sent a 3-1 pitch into the left-centerfield gap for her first double on the season.
    • Chester was last credited with a double in the top of the sixth of Missouri’s 4-2 win at Georgia on April 19, 2024.
  • With Ashleigh Mejia’s 36-game on-base streak coming to an end on Saturday afternoon, Kaylee Pond, Samantha Swan and Tanya Windle now have the team’s longest on-base streak at 11.
  • For the sixth time this season, Katie Chester tied her single-game career high in runs scored with two.

UP NEXT

Following a season-high 11 consecutive softball games away from Tempe, Arizona State (29-11, 4-8) will play its next game at Farrington Stadium, where the Sun Devils will take on UTEP (11-23, 3-12) at 1 p.m. MST on Tuesday, April 7.

Following the non-conference mid-week matchup against the Miners, Arizona State will resume Big 12 play on Friday, April 10, when the Sun Devils begin a three-game conference series against UCF (30-10-1, 8-6-1).

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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.