Arizona State softball entered the Austin Super Regional on a nine-game winning streak, but to keep that streak alive it needed to take down the defending national champions. 

No. 2 seed Texas came into the Super Regional after winning the SEC Tournament and scoring 25 runs over three games to cruise through the regional.

Arizona State (45-16, 11-13 Big 12) held Texas (45-11, 16-8 SEC) to just one run en route to a 4-1 victory Friday, May 22, at Red & Charline McCombs Field in Austin, Texas, to extend the Sun Devils’ winning streak to 10.

Senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown delivered a masterpiece against the Longhorns.

After shutting out Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game and guiding ASU to a pair of wins over Texas A&M, Brown continued her dominance against Texas teams.

Brown pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and retiring the final 11 batters she faced. 

Despite Brown’s stellar outing, Texas had opportunities to score against her early. The Longhorns had a runner at third in the second and third innings, but stranded them both times.

Texas got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after freshman designated player Hannah Wells hit a game-tying solo home run.

However, the Sun Devils immediately responded.

After scoring only one run through the first four innings against junior right-hander Teagan Kavan, ASU broke through in the top of the fifth.

Junior catcher Samantha Swan gave the Sun Devils the lead with a two-run single, and sophomore right fielder Ashleigh Mejia added another run with an RBI double to make it 4-1.

Swan’s hit in the fifth proved decisive in a matchup between two All-American pitchers.

Swan, who grew up just outside Austin in Georgetown, Texas, delivered at the plate against her hometown school, going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

Mejia and sophomore second baseman Tiare Ho-Ching also had two-hit performances.

Things are falling into place at the right time for the Sun Devils.

It’s been an up-and-down season for ASU, but with the win, the Sun Devils extended their winning streak to 10 games.

ASU went 27-3 during their non-conference schedule, but finished only 11-13 in Big 12 play, suffering several injuries along the way.

Since being swept at home by Texas Tech in late April, ASU has not lost a single game.

The Sun Devils won the Big 12 Tournament, swept their way through the Bryan-College Station Regional and now sit on the doorstep of a monumental super regional win against the defending national champions.

ASU claimed the Big 12 Tournament title in Oklahoma City, and they are just one win away from heading back there to play in the Women’s College World Series.

The Sun Devils last made the WCWS in 2018.

However, Texas has been in this exact position each of the past six seasons under head coach Mike White.

This marks the seventh straight Super Regional Game 1 loss for White, a streak that dates back to his final season at Oregon in 2018 and includes his entire tenure with the Longhorns. 

Of the previous seven series, White’s teams have come back to advance to the WCWS four times.