Softball Caps Littlewood Classic With 4-3 Win over Utah Valley

TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball used back-to-back home runs from Ashleigh Mejia and Lillian Holtje in the button of the sixth to rally for a 4-3 win over Utah Valley in the final game of the Littlewood Classic on Sunday at Farrington Stadium.

ASU (7-3) had just two hits as they came to bat in the sixth, trailing 3-0. Tiare Ho-Ching started the rally with a single leading off the inning, and Samantha Swan followed by drawing a walk. After two consecutive pop-ups, Mejia stepped in and crushed her first career home run deep to right center to tie the game.

Before the energy in the stadium could die down, Holtje entered as a pinch hitter and drove the ball over the wall in left, and suddenly the Sun Devils held a 4-3 lead.

Utah Valley (2-8) scored three runs in the top of the second and forced Julianne Tipton into action from the ASU bullpen. Tipton took over by holding the Wolverines scoreless in her 4.2 innings of work, allowing one hit and one walk with a pair of strikeouts.

The walk came in the top of the seventh and ended the day for Tipton. She gave way to Meika Lauppe, who got an out on the first pitch she threw, and then Swan threw out a UVU runner trying to steal second to end the game.

Notable

• Tipton earned the first win of her career in her longest outing to date.
• The save from Lauppe is the first of her career.
• Mejia is the fifth different freshman to hit a home run for the Sun Devils this season.
• Holtje's home run is the second pinch-hit, go-ahead home run in the sixth inning this season. She also broke a 4-4 tie with a homer off the bench against Cal on Feb. 9.
• Mejia and Holtje are the first Sun Devils to hit back-to-back home runs since Marissa Schuld and Audrey LeClair versus Cal on April 27, 2024.
• Swan threw out two potential base stealers after only throwing out one in all of 2024 and zero to start this season.
• The win is the fourth comeback win for ASU this season and the second of the Littlewood Classic.

Up Next
ASU will play its first road game of the season on Tuesday when they make the short drive to GCU to face the Lopes. First pitch from the GCU Softball Stadium is at 7 p.m., and they game can be seen on ESPN+.