Houston infielder Leilani Garcia reaching back to first base, avoiding elimination during the top of the fourth inning of an NCAA softball game against Arizona State, on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Houston, Texas. | Luis Diego Gonzalez/The Cougar
Answers could not be found for Houston, as they were swept by No. 25 Arizona State in a three-game series from April 17-19 at Schroeder Park.
Coming into the series, Houston had been swept by BYU in Provo, UT and looked for its first conference win since beating Baylor on April 4. Arizona State came into the series sitting at 32-13, yet just five of those wins were in-conference.
Opening game: Seventh inning Sun Devil rally puts down the Cougars
A three-spot in the final inning allowed the Sun Devils to beat Houston 5-2 in the opening game.
Redshirt senior outfielder Kaylee Pond’s eventual game-winning sacrifice fly broke the 2-2 tie in the seventh before junior catchers Samantha Swan and Emily Schepp added two more runs.
Senior infielder Kylei Griffin was responsible for both Cougar runs in the contest, as she sent a solo shot to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Later, she hit a single that brought home junior infielder Makenna Mitchell on a fielding error to tie the game at two.
Griffin led Houston in hits with two and RBI with a single home run. The rest of the team found just three hits.
The loss was given to sophomore pitcher London Park, who allowed three earned runs off three hits in 2.1 innings.
Swan, junior utility hitter Yazzy Avila and senior outfielder Tanya Windle recorded two hits for the Sun Devils. Schepp led Arizona State with two RBI off a solo shot and RBI groundout in the final inning.
Middle game: High-scoring affair sees Arizona State clinch series victory
Fireworks were in the air in the second game of the series, though Arizona State had more gunpowder than Houston, as the Cougars lost 16-8.
Seven unanswered runs in the final two frames sealed the series loss for the Cougars.
Three Cougars had multiple hits as sophomore infielder Maddie Hartley went 3-for-3 and belted a home run in the first inning. She matched her single-game career high with three hits.
Mitchell led the Cougars with three RBI, coming off a sacrifice fly and her two-run shot.
The loss was given to sophomore pitcher Nevaeh Brown after she allowed four earned runs and struck out no batters in a third of an inning.
The rest of the pitching staff did not fare much better, as three other pitchers allowed three or more runs and no pitcher pitched more than 2.2 innings.
Arizona State’s bats caught fire early, as they smacked two homers in the first frame off Brown before she found a second out.
The final nails in Houston’s coffin were junior infielder Katie Chester’s three-RBI single and Avila’s RBI single to give the Sun Devils their final eight-run advantage.
Series finale: Cougars blanked to give Arizona State series sweep
In the series finale, Houston’s bats were dry as they could muster only one hit on a Redmond bunt against the Sun Devils, as they lost 10-0.
The loss was given to starting senior pitcher Paris Lehman after she allowed three earned runs off three hits in her single inning.
The Sun Devils took hold in the first inning, putting up three runs off a Schepp RBI single and Chester’s two-run shot.
After senior infielder Brooklyn Ulrich and senior utility hitter Sydney Saenz sent shots over, Chester and Ulrich tacked on another couple of runs in the fourth to pave the way to an early end.
Houston’s pitching staff had no answer for Chester’s bat, as she went 3-for-3 at the plate and led the team with four RBI and a home run. Ulrich and Swan both finished with two hits.
Next, Houston will take on the Sam Houston Bearkats at home on April 21 before traveling to Tucson, Arizona to take on the Arizona Wildcats for a three-game series from April 24-26.
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