No. 24/25 ASU softball entered the Big 12 Tournament as the 6-seed. A ranked gauntlet of No. 19/20 Arizona, No. 16/15 Oklahoma State and No. 3/4 Texas Tech loomed ahead.
Head coach Megan Bartlett and the Kenzie Brown-led Sun Devils proved they were up to the task.
Running on low sleep and high energy, ASU worked its magic and brought home its first conference title of the Big 12 era.
"We work so hard day in, day out," Brown said following the win via ESPN. "We put in all the extra work for moments like this."
Brown, who was drafted by the Portland Cascade in the AUSL draft on May 4, had two very strong outings, fueling the Sun Devil title push.
Starting May 7 against Arizona, Brown threw 131 pitches in a complete game, giving up just one run on five hits and striking out seven Wildcats. ASU struggled to find offense against Arizona's Jalen Adams, but a solo shot by shortstop Brooklyn Ulrich gave the Sun Devils a 2-1 win over their southern foes.
"They're in their last month in a Sun Devil jersey," Bartlett said via In the Circle SB after the game. "That's how you're going to come up with really big wins in postseason, it's your veterans."
ASU's next test was Oklahoma State, where the veterans stepped up once again. Ulrich went 3/4 with another home run and three RBI's, but the rest of the roster showed up on offense as well, tallying four home runs and 14 hits, confirming the Sun Devils' 11-7 victory.
However, a lightning delay meant the game didn't start until nearly 8 p.m. and ended after 10:30 p.m. This gave ASU a short night with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. the following day.
"They barely slept, so we're just going to carry last night into today," Bartlett said during the game via ESPN.
Reigning Big 12 champions Texas Tech continued its dominance heading into the title game, outscoring opponents 47-0 in its previous five conference tournament wins. This included an 18-0 run rule that knocked out ASU in last year's semifinals.
Saturday's championship game, ASU's first since joining the Big 12, lined up to be a battle in the circle, as three-time conference Pitcher of the Year and reigning D1Softball National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady stood opposing Brown and the Sun Devils. Canady, going into the title game, was 22-4 on the season with an ERA of just 1.25.
However, Canady's dominance only lasted 2 innings, as a solo home run by Peoria native Tanya Windle opened up the scoring. This caused back-to-back Big 12 Coach of the Year Gerry Glasco to pull his star early. Canady would re-enter the game in the fourth after the Sun Devils scored three more on Kaitlyn Terry.
The real star once again proved to be Brown, as the senior only gave up two hits against the electric Red Raiders' offense. Another 125 pitches in a complete game shutout gave ASU the edge 4-0, with both pitchers dominating the later innings.
ASU earned its fourth conference title, first of the Big 12 era and under Megan Bartlett, who took over following ASU's Pac-12 title in 2022. With the conference title confirming their spot in the NCAA Tournament, the Sun Devils now await their tournament fate with the softball tournament selection show set for May 10.
This story is developing and may be updated.
Edited by Alex Swift, Senna James and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at aldeutsc@asu.edu and follow @AlanDeutschend3 on X.
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Alan Deutschendorf is a sports editor in his fourth semester with State Press. He was previously a sports reporter, covering volleyball, softball and a variety of other sports. Alan also works as an Event Assistant in the Edson Events office and is on the Sun Devils Roundnet club team.
