(Houstin, AZ) After moving the original start time of Saturday’s contest up by four hours to beat potential inclement weather later in the afternoon, Sun Devil Softball did its best to help the cause as Arizona State used a season-best nine walks and 17 hits to claim the weekend conference series over Houston with a 16-8 win in six innings.
Of the six offensive innings, Arizona State scored four-or-more runs in three, while adding two runs in the fifth and a single run in the second. Every Sun Devil starter successfully reached base at least one with eight ASU student-athletes being credited with at least one base hit throughout the contest as well. Of those eight with a base knock, six had multi-hit contests.
Samantha Swan (5) and Katie Chester (5) combined to drive in 10 Sun Devil runs, while Kaylee Pond (2) and Brooklyn Ulrich(2) both had multi-RBI performances.
Arizona State used home runs from Swan and Chester to take a four-run lead after the top of the first.
Houston struck back with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, before Swan had a second run-scoring hit in the top of the second to answer the long ball.
The Cougars answered back with three runs in the second and third, before ASU struck back for four in the top of the fourth.
After withstanding a four-run bottom of the fourth by Houston, the Arizona State offense answered back with seven unanswered runs over the fifth and sixth innings, frame that were highlighted by solo home runs off the bats of Pond and Ulrich.
By the end of the 2-hour, 39-minute game, the Arizona State offense finished just five hits shy of tying the program’s single-game record (22) set against Utah State on Feb. 22, 2004.
GAME NOTES
With Samantha Swan’s first-inning home run, Arizona State has three student-athletes with 10-or-more home runs – Katie Chester (16), Kaylee Pond (13), Swan (10) – for the first time since 2023, when Jordyn VanHook (19), Yannira Acuna (10) and Jazmyn Rollin (10) all hit double-digit home runs.
With Emily Schepp’s leadoff double to start the top of the third, Arizona State was credited with its 80th double on the season, marking the first time the Sun Devils have hit 80-or-more doubles in a single season since 2022 (85).
Arizona State’s 16 runs scored on the afternoon marked the first time the Sun Devils have scored 10-or-more runs in a Big 12 game since Friday, March 20, 2026, when ASU scored 16 at Arizona.
By drawing a one-out walk in the top of the sixth, Kaylee Pond drew her third walk on the game, marking just the second career three-walk contest and first since facing Washington on April 20, 2024.
Arizona State’s nine walks throughout Saturday’s contest marked the most walks by the Sun Devils in a single game since drawing 10 at Washington on May 13, 2022.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday’s win, Arizona State (34-13, 7-10) will look for its first three-game Big 12 road series sweep since April 2025, when the Sun Devils swept Utah (7-2, 3-2, 7-1) in Salt Lake City over a three-day stretch (April 11 – 13).
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Chris Brown
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