TEMPE, Ariz. – After a 2025 season that landed her a second-team All-American spot, Arizona State graduate pitcher Kenzie Brown began her 2026 campaign in style, pitching a complete game.

The ASU pitcher tallied 13 strikeouts on Thursday, Feb. 5.  However, despite her effort, the No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) rolled into Tempe and captured a 2-1 win to spoil the party for Brown and the Sun Devils (1-1).

“I thought the girls competed tremendously well,” ASU head coach Megan Bartlett said. “They certainly got a taste of what a super regional final or a world series game looks and feels like. It’s a talented bunch, they’re locked in, they’re hungry and that’s going to make them dangerous.”

Despite losing the game while posting 13, Brown said it wasn’t difficult to wrap her head around her amazing effort. 

“In tight softball games like that, it is going to come down to one pitch or one at bat,” Brown said. “That is just a part of the game and I think no matter what, we learned a lot from this softball game and we are going to take a lot from it.”

However, ASU held an early lead behind its ace’s effort. 

Senior center fielder Kaylee Pond kicked off the scoring with the Sun Devils’ first home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning. 

She later gave insight into what went through her mind during the at-bat.

“All I was trying to do was get on top of the ball and I was in a two-strike approach,” Pond said. “Believe it or not I was trying to have a short A to B swing. I was not trying to do that but sometimes it’s a game of luck and I’d like to think that I just got lucky on that one.”

Pond, a transfer from Cal, went 2-6 through the first two games of the season against Toledo and Oklahoma. Pond said being in Arizona gives her a breath of fresh air that she has been wanting from her college experience.

“I feel rejuvenated,” Pond said. “I’m addicted to this type of environment and this type of feeling is all that I have been wanting. I am just blessed.”

Likewise, Bartlett gave her lead-off hitter high praise, saying she would keep her in Tempe for the next 10 years if possible.

“Who knows, in college athletics, maybe that will happen sometime soon,” said Bartlett. “She just is a ball player, and she has got a really high game IQ, and she can bunt, and she can follow plans. She is certainly our spark plug and you can see the team offensively rallies around her.

Despite striking out 11 batters through 5 ⅓ innings, Brown gave up a two-run home run off the bat of Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells that gave the Sooners a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. 

Bartlett said Wells will be a name to remember, as she expects the freshman’s name to be heard much more throughout her collegiate career.

“Not to toot Patty Gasso’s horn and her players, but you’ll know that name because she is going to be a multi time all-American probably,” Bartlett said. “That is one of the top recruits in that class and in the country and she is tremendous.”

Ranked No. 3 in the country, Oklahoma is regarded as a team capable of competing for a national championship this season. Bartlett said competing against a team like the Sooners instills confidence in her players and coaching staff.

“If they didn’t just figure it out, they hung right in with a team that is going to have the ability to play in a national final,” Bartlett said. “That was my message in post game, you just need to keep your heads up. You have to get yourself up and have a short memory and adjust.”

Even though she racked up double-digit strikeouts against the No. 3-ranked team in the country, Brown said that she was trying to avoid the fact that everybody’s eyes in the stadium were on her.

“I try to avoid it because I know that if I look in the crowd I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a lot of people staring at me’ and I hate being the center of attention,” Brown said.

With Oklahoma in town, Farrington Stadium saw its highest recorded attendance in history with 2,373 fans packing into the stands. Bartlett said it was awesome to have that sort of atmosphere and praised ASU’s home stadium.

“Farrington is one of the most gorgeous places to play in the entire country,” Bartlett said. “We just need them to keep coming back. We’ll keep winning ball games and you all keep showing up. That’s the plan.”