TEMPE, Ariz.- The saying goes that everything can change from one day to the next, and that couldn't be more true for Arizona State softball.

After they found themselves victorious Saturday night over New Mexico State, they had to face a quick turnaround against them again the following afternoon.

In their game Saturday evening, the Sun Devils’ bats were on full display as they mercy-ruled the Aggies in five innings, 9-1. The next game between them was vastly different.

On Sunday, Feb. 22, Arizona State (13-3) and New Mexico State (6-11) faced off again. After seven long, gritty innings, the Aggies came out on top 6-5 to shock the Sun Devils in the final game of the Sun Devil Classic.

“We dug ourselves into a hole,” head coach Megan Bartlett said, “Tried to work out of it. Didn't make adjustments quite quickly enough at the plate.”

From the first pitch to the last out, fans were on the edge of their seats awaiting the winner of this one.

New Mexico State came out of the gate hot in the first inning, attacking junior left-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe with three straight singles to get the scoring started. Up 1-0 already, the Aggies continued to swing away and scored two more to finish their half inning up 3-0.

To keep up with New Mexico State, the Sun Devils put on two runners of their own and came around to score in a single from sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia, who took second on an outfield error. After a couple of errand pitches, she slid into home and tied the game at three.

After a rough opening frame, Lauppe was pulled for freshman left-handed pitcher Mary Peyton Hodge, who picked up the slack in the second inning. Despite a new pitcher, the Aggies continued to put runners on and loaded the bases. Senior catcher Kendal Lunar stepped up and hit a ball just fair down the third base line for a single to score two and retake the lead.

“(When) she (Hodge) figures out how to stop giving away free bases, that little nugget is going to be tough,” Bartlett said. “The change-up keeps getting better and better. The curve looked really good today, but again, we are back to the free bases just getting ourselves in trouble.” 

Trailing 5-3, ASU was ready to pick up its struggling pitchers, but couldn't as both teams settled in for the next couple of innings. 

The score remained locked at 5-3 until senior outfielder Devin Elam hit a home run on the first pitch she saw to start the sixth inning. Down 6-3, the Sun Devils were running out of opportunities to come back. 

Mejia opened the bottom of the inning with another base hit, and it stretched into a double. Senior outfielder Yannixa Acuna was put in to pinch run as ASU needed a spark. After an error trying to get freshman utility player JazMarie Roberts out, Acuna came home to score and cut the deficit to 6-4.

With the deficit back to two runs, the Sun Devils had one more chance to claw back in the seventh. Sophomore infielder Tiare Ho-Ching got things started with a single, followed by another single from senior outfielder Tanya Windle that set up first and third for junior catcher Emily Schepp. 

Schepp hit a sacrifice fly that brought Ho-Ching home, cutting the lead to one. Up to the plate came Mejia with two outs and a chance to keep the game alive. The outfielder hit a ground ball to first and was just late after a lengthy review from the umpires, which ended the game at 6-5.

Despite leaving 10 runners on base and accumulating four errors, New Mexico State found a way to tough it out and pull off the upset. Inversely, while ASU only left five runners on and committed no errors, it still couldn't come out on top.

On the pitching side, two-way sophomore Faith Aragon provided a big boost for her side as she pitched a complete game in the circle, as well as providing a hit and a run in the batter's box.

“Faith Aragon is a very good pitcher,” Bartlett said. “She's a tough left-handed arm, and we knew heading into this matchup and just didn't adjust quick enough.” 

The Sun Devils used three of their four pitchers, surrendering six runs and giving out five walks.

“I think the adjustments are small,” Bartlett said. “We're not far off, but certainly they know what's at stake, and I think that loss probably sent the message about commit to plans quicker.”

This is ASU’s third loss of the season, dropping them to 13-3 to close out the Sun Devil Classic, while the Aggies improve to 6-11. 

“We have really capable hitters one to nine,” Bartlett said. “I just need them to hit good pitches, execute the plan, pass the bat truly, we don't need heroes.”