TEMPE, Ariz. — No. 23 Arizona State found itself in a shocking position Friday, Feb. 27, trailing Eastern Illinois 5-0 in the third inning of its ASU/GCU Invitational matchup.

However, a six-run flurry in the bottom of the fifth turned the tide, as the Sun Devils (15-3) defeated the Panthers (5-13) 9-5 at Farrington Stadium. ASU notched its fifth comeback of the season with the win, with senior left fielder Tanya Windle shining at the plate.

The left fielder went 3-for-4, including a clutch two-run infield single that gave the Sun Devils the lead in the bottom of the fifth.

The second run scored thanks to heads-up baserunning by senior shortstop Brooklyn Ulrich, who never stopped running after the throw to first and scored the go-ahead run from second.

While Ulrich made the play of the day on the basepaths, she also posted a great performance at the plate, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Junior catcher Samantha Swan was also prolific at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three singles.

ASU batted around in the fifth, sending a total of 11 batters to the plate in the six-run frame.

Four of the Sun Devils’ runs came against senior right-handed pitcher Bryanna French, who struggled in relief of sophomore right-hander Rylan Gick.

On the other side, ASU junior right-handed pitcher Meika Lauppe silenced the Eastern Illinois bats, pitching five scoreless innings in relief. 

In her previous appearance, Lauppe surrendered three runs in just one inning. 

Before Lauppe entered, freshman left-handed pitcher Mary Peyton Hodge struggled in her second collegiate start, giving up five runs in two innings and putting the Sun Devils in an early hole.

In ASU’s last game against UC Riverside, it was a different story for Hodge, who pitched three solid innings of relief and only allowed one run on three hits.

However, despite the early deficit, the Sun Devils dug themselves out of a hole like they’ve done a number of times this season.

This was the second straight game where ASU’s bats exploded in the fifth inning. The Sun Devils also scored four in the fifth on Thursday, Feb. 26, to run-rule UC Riverside.

In addition to the fifth inning, ASU scored two unearned runs in the third after Eastern Illinois senior catcher Lexie Griffin dropped a routine pop-up.

The Sun Devils also added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI double by Ulrich.

Junior left fielder Alisha Frederick led the way for the Panthers at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with one RBI.

Freshman right fielder Brooklyn Groppel also had a great night, going 2-for-3 for Eastern Illinois with a double.

This was Eastern Illinois’ second game of the day, with the Panthers beating the Highlanders 2-0 earlier on Friday. Eastern Illinois is now 1-1 in the ASU/GCU Invitational after the loss.

Despite a valiant effort early, the Panthers fell to eight games under .500 a year after winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and making the NCAA Tournament. 

ASU rallied late once again, but with Big 12 play looming, time will tell whether the Sun Devils can get the offense going consistently.