TEMPE, Ariz. – As the sun began to set at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium on Friday, April 24, the seats inside the 26-year-old stadium began to fill to a capacity only comparable to opening night.
2,051 fans flocked to Farrington on Friday, the second sellout of 2026 and the most fans in attendance for Arizona State softball in Tempe since its 2-1 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma to open the season.
With the postseason closing in, Sun Devils head coach Megan Bartlett praised the crowd for giving ASU a playoff atmosphere on Friday.
“For our kids who have not played in a Super Regional yet, that is what a Super Regional looks and feels like,” Bartlett said. “So just that experience is certainly going to pay dividends.”
Despite the increased turnout, the Sun Devils (35-14, 8-11 Big 12) failed to bring a single run home, suffering a 6-0 loss against No. 5 Texas Tech (45-4, 17-2 Big 12) on a clear Friday evening in Tempe.
Two home runs in the middle innings followed by some seventh-inning insurance vaulted the Red Raiders to a victory. Meanwhile, ASU tallied two hits on the night in a limp offensive showing.
In her 25th appearance of 2026 and 91st game as a Sun Devil, senior right-hander Kenzie Brown’s stat line doesn’t stand out to the casual eye, allowing four runs in six innings of work.
Even then, Bartlett felt that Brown, who struck out 10 Texas Tech batters on Friday, performed like the Golden Ticket ace she is.
“I thought she threw beautifully and got out of some really tight spots,” Bartlett said. “And we've got to give her more red sport than that. That's just what it came down to.”
Friday gave Brown her 11th game with 10-plus strikeouts, reaching the mark for the fourth time in her last five outings.
Despite her effort, the ASU bats stayed cold all night against Red Raiders junior left-hander Kaitlyn Terry. Only three Sun Devils reached base the entire game, keeping a rowdy ASU home crowd at a low volume for all seven innings.
Similarly to the Sun Devils’ last home series against UCF, some at-bats for Bartlett’s squad fell victim to bad luck.
“Welcome to softball,” Bartlett said. “You're gonna have nights like that, and I hate that it was on a Friday when Kenzie threw so well.”
The slow day at the plate for ASU came after a weekend where it did nothing but score at Houston, but the jump from the Big 12-worst Cougars to top-ranked Texas Tech brought the Sun Devils’ offense back to Earth in a big way.
ASU is back at it on Saturday, April 25, looking to even the series against the Red Raiders at 2 p.m. MST.
As the Sun Devils drop to 8-11 in conference play, a finish of .500 or better in Big 12 play hinges on ASU getting at least one game off of Texas Tech this weekend.
Even in a tight spot, Bartlett still believes the Sun Devils will find a way to get a signature win over the Red Raiders.
“They want a top 10 win,” Bartlett said. “I know I do, too, so we're going to keep chasing.”