TEMPE – Following the conclusion of an eventual final weekend of conference action, Sun Devil Softball has earned the sixth seed for the upcoming week’s Big 12 Softball Tournament presented by Allstate at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. Arizona State will close out day one of the three-day tournament by squaring off against in-state foe and third-seed Arizona at 5:30 p.m. MST / 7:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN+.
Thursday’s game will mark the first time Arizona State and Arizona have ever met in the Big 12 Softball Tournament. It’ll also be the first time the Sun Devils and Wildcats have played in a conference tournament since Wednesday, May 10, 2023, when UA beat ASU, 13-4, in five innings – despite a first-inning grand slam by ASU’s Jazmine Hill – of the first-ever game of the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament
“We look forward to beginning a promising postseason run in Oklahoma City this week,” said Arizona State head coach Megan Bartlett. “We’re certainly trending in the right direction. It’s a great time for the bats to be hot!”
Arizona State (38-16, 11-13) and Arizona (35-15, 16-8) will meet on a softball diamond for the fourth time this season after the Wildcats rallied to take the final two games of a three-game conference series in late March. The Sun Devils began the series by taking the series opener, 16-5, in five innings on Friday, March 20. The 16 runs scored by ASU marked the most runs in a softball game against Arizona since 1973. The 16-run outing was fueled by Emily Schepp’s 4-for-4, 2-home run, 4-RBI performance.
The Wildcats bounced back by taking the March 21st matchup with a game-ending, infield single with two away in the bottom of the seventh to leave Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium with a 9-8 win. Sunday’s series finale was – again – decided by one pitch as Sydney Stewart hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to break a 4-4 tie after a one-out, run-scoring hit by Ryan Brown was ruled a game-tying, two-run double rather than a go-ahead three-run home run despite hitting the stadium’s batter’s eye outside the centerfield wall.
Fifth-seeded Kansas (34-18, 14-10) and fourth-seeded UCF (38-15-1, 14-9-1) will kick off the conference’s postseason tournament at 9 a.m. MST / 11 a.m. CDT on Thursday, May 7, before eighth-seeded Baylor (29-25, 10-14) and top-seed and regular-season champion Texas Tech (50-5, 21-3) square off at 11:30 a.m. MST / 1:30 p.m. CDT. Seventh-seeded Utah (35-19-1, 10-13-1) and second-seeded Oklahoma State (37-14, 16-8) will proceed the Territorial Cup matchup with a 3 p.m. MST / 5 p.m. CDT first pitch.
All quarterfinal and semifinal games can be seen on ESPN+, before the tournament’s championship game will be broadcast on ESPN at 9 a.m. MST / 11 a.m. CDT on Saturday, May 9.
Schedule (Times listed in MST/CDT)
Quarterfinals / Thursday, May 7 – ESPN+
Game 1 – No. 4 UCF vs. No. 5 Kansas – 9 a.m. / 11 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 1 Texas Tech vs. No. 8 Baylor – 11:30 a.m. / 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Utah – 3 p.m. / 5 p.m.
Game 4 – No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 6 Arizona State – 5:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals / Friday, May 8 – ESPN+
Game 5 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 1 p.m. / 3 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 5 p.m. / 7 p.m.
Championship / Saturday, May 9 – ESPN
Game 7 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 – 9 a.m. / 11 a.m.
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