TEMPE, Ariz — The theme early on in the Arizona State softball season has been come-from-behind wins, and it looked like the Sun Devils were about to pull another rabbit out of the hat at Farrington Stadium on Friday, Feb. 20.

However, this time ASU (10-2) rallied to take the lead only to see it vanish as a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the seventh by senior first baseman Madi Ramey propelled Michigan (10-2) to a 9-8 victory as the Sun Devils pitchers struggled to keep the Wolverines offense at bay.

Facing a potent Michigan offense, which had the fourth-most home runs in the nation entering the day, ASU gave the ball to its ace, senior right-hander Kenzie Brown, to begin the Sun Devil Classic. In her previous start, Brown struck out 10 batters and allowed only two hits in a complete game shutout against Pacific.

However, Brown struggled. The star pitcher gave up a solo home run in the top of the second to junior left fielder Ella Stephenson before allowing three runs in the third to put the Sun Devils in an early 4-0 hole.

Head coach Megan Bartlett took her All-American out of the game after the third.

In relief of Brown, freshman left-hander Mary Peyton Hodge also struggled in the circle, allowing four runs on five hits in 2 ⅓ innings.

After ASU rallied to take the lead, senior lefty Aissa Silva surrendered three runs in the final two innings.

The bottom of the Wolverines order made the difference in this game; the ninth hitter, senior second baseman Janelle Ilacqua, went 4-for-4 at the plate, while Ramey, the eighth hitter, went 3-for-4 with the game-winning single. 

Whenever the Sun Devils pitching staff has had an off game this season, the offense is right there to pick them up, and that happened again today.

ASU's offensive production helped it claw out of a 6-2 hole.

Sophomore right fielder Ashleigh Mejia, the Sun Devils home run leader last season, hit her first two homers of the season today, including a three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth, which gave ASU an 8-6 lead.

In addition, senior left fielder Tanya Windle hit two home runs of her own and went 3-for-4 overall. 

One of Windle’s home runs came in the fifth inning immediately before Mejia’s go-ahead shot.

The Sun Devils offense hit the ball well against Michigan junior right-hander Erin Hoehn. However, junior righty Gabby Ellis shut down the ASU lineup, pitching two scoreless innings in relief to seal the win.

The lineup once again showed an ability to play from behind, and they even took the lead, but this time they finished on the wrong side of a back-and-forth contest, in a game that featured a significant Wolverines crowd at Farrington Stadium. 

With the win, Michigan is now 2-0 in the Sun Devil Classic after a 5-3 win against New Mexico State earlier today, while ASU has another game tonight against Southern Utah.

The tournament will continue Saturday, Feb. 21, and will feature another meeting between the Sun Devils and Wolverines.