Arizona State softball found itself four outs away from a trip to the Women’s College World Series on Saturday. Yet down 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning, No. 2 seed Texas sent junior Victoria Hunter to the plate as a pinch hitter with its title defense on the line.

Facing senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown, who struck out 10 Longhorns on Friday, Hunter saved Texas’ season with a two-run home run to left field against the All-American.

The Longhorns forced a winner-take-all Game 3 in the Austin Super Regional with a 4-3 win at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, May 23. Hunter provided the spark they needed, and senior right-hander Citlaly Gutierrez pitched five brilliant innings in relief to ensure the defending national champions would see another day.

Hunter, Texas’ go-to pinch-hitter, homered for just the second time this season to give the Longhorns their first lead of the series.

The homer also marked only the second game this postseason where the Sun Devils fell behind at any point.

Brown entered in the fifth inning with the Sun Devils up 2-0, trying to get the final nine outs to send the Sun Devils to the WCWS.

However, unlike in Game 1, Texas frustrated Brown, who allowed five hits over three innings.

Of the five hits, two of them came from the Longhorns’ most dangerous hitters in the top of the fifth.

Junior first baseman Katie Stewart, the SEC Player of the Year, hit an RBI double to cut the lead in half before senior catcher Reese Atwood tied the game with an RBI single

After junior catcher Samantha Swan restored ASU’s lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, Brown surrendered the decisive two-run homer to Hunter in the top of the sixth.

While Texas came up with the clutch hits at the plate, Gutierrez dominated in the circle.

The right-hander entered in the third inning after junior right-hander Teagan Kavan allowed two early runs.

Gutierrez recorded six strikeouts over five innings and allowed only one run.

For the Sun Devils, junior right-hander Meika Lauppe started the game and only allowed one unearned run over four innings before Brown entered.

Despite struggling offensively for much of the series, the Longhorns thrived with their backs against the wall, just as they have many times during head coach Mike White’s tenure.

Since White took over in 2019, Texas has dropped the first game in all seven of his Super Regional appearances, including this year. The Longhorns came back to win three of White’s previous six Super Regionals after losing Game 1.

Game 2 Super Regional comebacks are nothing new for the Longhorns either, especially in recent seasons.

In 2024, Texas Lost Game 1 of the Super Regional against in-state rival Texas A&M and found itself trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning of Game 2. The Longhorns then came back to win 9-8 in nine innings and took Game 3 the next day.

Last season, Texas once again trailed late in the Super Regional with its season on the line. 

The Longhorns were losing 4-3 in the fifth inning of Game 2 against Clemson with their season on the line, but won 7-5 in 10 innings and later won the national championship.

ASU has another chance on Sunday to avoid being the victim of Texas’ latest Super Regional comeback and book a trip to the WCWS in Oklahoma City.