Moments earlier, the second baseman took a pitch to the helmet to lead off the fifth inning. Miraculously, she walked off under her own power to a parade of cheers.

“Seeing her go down, it hurt my heart,” junior first baseman Katie Chester said. 

Yet as Ho-Ching left the field, Chester left the ballpark, hitting a two-run home run while pointing toward the sky. 

“I felt like I had to come up in a big moment to help her out,” Chester said. 

Ignited by Chester’s long ball, Arizona State (3-1) rallied off seven of its eight runs to mercy rule Northwestern University (2-2) 8-0 in six innings on Saturday, Feb. 7. Although a late-game offensive surge proved too much for the Wildcats, senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown stole the show with another double-digit strikeout performance in Day 3 of the Kajikawa Classic. 

From the jump, Brown shut down Northwestern, coming a pitch away from an immaculate top of the first and failing to allow a hit until the eventful fifth inning. 

“She’s the hardest-working person I know,” junior catcher Samantha Swan said of her batterymates’ attitude from the first pitch. “She is always ready to compete, always ready to win. Wants the ball, wants the win, she’s just ready to go.” 

The right-hander ended the night with 12 punchouts over six scoreless innings and 26 strikeouts over 13 ⅓ total innings pitched, values head coach Megan Bartlett said she’ll never take for granted.

“We have the luxury and the blessing of seeing her work, and we see that every day,” Bartlett said. 

Bartlett said Brown quickly turned the page from Thursday’s defeat to No. 3 Oklahoma, an outing where she allowed just two runs and struck out 13 over seven innings, but suffered the loss in a 2-1 decision. 

“MacKenzie’s (Brown) just special,” Bartlett said. “She goes about her business, and she’s a very humble kid. She’s a very hard-working kid. She doesn’t get too high, she doesn’t get too low, and she just gets back to work.” 

Unlike Thursday against the Sooners, Brown’s offense came to the rescue — albeit it took a few innings.

After a lackluster first four frames, ASU’s bats came to life following Chester's home run, plating five more across before Swan forced a run rule on a two-run blast to center field.

“I would love for them to put that together earlier in a game,” Bartlett said. “That would please me greatly.” 

Swan said she’d never experienced hitting a “walk off’ that forced a mercy ruling in a college game and only looked to drive a ball into the grass; however, she emphasized the importance of preserving the arm of the Sun Devil’s ace.

“We took an inning off KB’s (Brown) arm, which is very important this early in the season,” Swan said. “We’ve been working hard in the cages, so it’s awesome.”

As the Sun Devils manufactured their runs, Chester said the crowd played a more significant role. 

“Once the crowd gets involved, it hypes us up even more,” Chester said. “We know they’re expecting us to have big moments. It makes us feel like ‘Oh, we’re gonna do this.’’

Although the offense breaking out late made the difference, Swan said the team’s focus on Ho-Ching's health remained the priority, providing extra motivation along the way.   

“We wanted to be there for her, do it for her,” Swan said. “She’s one of the leaders on this team. We really wanted to pick her up.” 

On a similar note, Bartlett voiced her confidence in Ho-Ching’s speedy return to the field. 

“We’ll put a little superglue on her,” Bartlett said. “She’ll be fine. She’s a tough kid.”