Stepping into the circle Friday night, senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown was just 12 strikeouts shy of the touted 300 in her career. Brown managed that and more in a performance for the ages.

Coming off a mid-week non-conference loss to No. 18 Oklahoma State, the Arizona State softball team (25-13, 7-6 Big 12) bounced back in a crucial weekend series against Kansas (16-16, 3-7 Big 12), stealing the opener 6-1. 

Brown’s historic night got off to a rough start after allowing a lead-off walk, a wild pitch and a two-out base hit for Kansas’ senior utility player Olivia Bruno, a knock that gave the Jayhawks an early first-inning lead. 

Despite having trouble hitting the ball in Wednesday’s contest, ASU’s offense showed out early, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. 

“They certainly flipped the script early tonight,” head coach Megan Bartlett said.

The rally began when graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall singled to center field, scoring freshman second baseman Tiare Ho-Ching from second.

Hall later scored on a wild pitch for the Devils’ second run of the night after advancing to third on a double from sophomore catcher Samantha Swan.

Junior infielder Ayden Allen finished off the bottom of the first with an RBI single to left field, bringing home Swan.

ASU’s early defensive woes continued, as an error, a hit-by-pitch and a two-out walk saw the Jayhawks load the bases with junior outfielder Aynslee Linduff up to bat. Brown never wavered, however, as she punched out Linduff for her sixth strikeout of the night.

Freshman outfielder Ashleigh Mejia produced the biggest blow of the night, sending a towering three-run home run over the left-field wall to boost the​​ Devils’ lead to five.

“I was just looking for a pitch I could drive,” Mejia said. “You know, just committed to doing a job moving the runners over.” 

With a new five-run pad, Brown continued to roll from the circle.

“It’s a huge weight lifted off the shoulder,” Brown said. “I can attack the zone, don’t worry about throwing it down the middle, because at the end of the day, they still have to hit and put up six against me.”

For the final out of the fifth, Brown picked up the 300th strikeout of her collegiate career, a monumental accolade that stemmed from her training in the offseason.  

“I think it just shows how much work I’ve put in to get a lot better,” Brown said. “I think a majority of my strikeouts have come from this year, which is really special because I’ve put the work in.” 

Brown’s dominance paved the way for Arizona State to take the weekend opener in what could be a pivotal weekend for the ASU softball team.

“Just knowing that we’re able to beat them, we can definitely win this series,” Mejia said.

Coach Bartlett and the Devils will now turn their attention to the remaining two games of the series that could have serious conference implications.

“The Big 12 is a great softball conference,” Bartlett said. “We’re trying to keep tabs a little bit, but we’re not really looking much further past the next game.”