The Arizona State softball team completed a stunning late-season run by knocking off top-seeded Texas Tech, 4-0, in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament Saturday at Oklahoma City.
Coach Megan Bartlett told the ESPN broadcast that her team was relaxed and eager, and "playing with house money" during this Big 12 tourney run.
The Sun Devils became the first team in league history to knock off the top three seeds of the Big 12 Softball Tournament en route to a championship Saturday, May 9.
ASU ran its record to 41-16 while Texas Tech, last season's national runner-up, fell to 52-6.
Tanya Windle hit a solo home run in the third inning to begin the scoring. Later in the inning, former Arizona Wildcat Emily Schepp delivered a two-out, two-run homer and Katie Chester followed with another solo shot to push the advantage to 4-0.
With her home run against Texas Tech, Windle connected for home runs against both Big 12 Conference Co-Pitchers of the Year — Oklahoma State’s Ruby Meylan and Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady — in less than 12 hours.
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Despite striking out nine, Canady was pulled after giving up the run to Windle.
“Yeah, we just wanted to stick to the plan during that top of the third," Schepp said. "Even with the pitching change, we still wanted to continue to look for our pitches. I think I had two strikes at the time, so I was just looking for a pitch I could do something with."
The Sun Devils needed key victories over BYU late in the season just to make the eight-team conference tournament. From there, sixth-seeded ASU beat the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats and No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowgirls before the title-game win.
Staff ace Kenzie Brown, who shut down the Wildcats two days earlier, dominated the Red Raiders with a two-hit shutout and nine strikeouts.
The conference championship win was ASU softball's first, but the university has won nine as a whole since joining the Big 12. The Sun Devils became the first team in league history to knock off the top three seeds of the Big 12 Softball Tournament en route to a championship.
“All of this might sink in tomorrow … some time … maybe … I don’t know," Bartlett said. "I’m just so grateful for this group of young women; so proud of just everything that’s gone into this season by everyone. There were newcomers like Emily Schepp who bought into what we were saying during the summer and how we were building this program over the last four seasons. And then people like Kenzie, who stayed when she could’ve left and believed and trusted us. We did this the right way.”
Arizona State was set to learn its NCAA Tournament destination Sunday, after the Star's deadline.
The tournament begins at 16 regional sites on Friday.
The Arizona Daily Star and Nathan Giese of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal contributed to this story.
