Arizona State Softball Rallies After Rabbit Interrupts Game

The Arizona State Sun Devils had some help from a furry friend in the nightcap of their Thursday doubleheader at Farrington Stadium.

With the game beginning to slip away from the Sun Devils, the team took the field for the bottom of the fifth to reset, when a lucky charm made its appearance. A loose rabbit dashed from left field into the left field corner, back down the left field foul line towards home plate, before sprinting across the infield and into a hole underneath the gate along the right field foul line.

In a scoreless battle against Indiana, the Hoosiers got hold of ace Kenzie Brown in the fourth inning when Ellie Goins ripped a two-out two-run single. The lead continued to flourish in the fifth inning when Aly VanBrandt scored from third on a groundout by Avery Parker.

Hello, Rally Rabbit 👋#ForksUp /// @ContextSoftball pic.twitter.com/sbA6XeqgMj
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 13, 2026

The game completely changed from there.

Indiana pitcher Taylor Hess ended up hitting Yazzy Avila with the second pitch of the inning, and then proceeded to walk Emily Schepp. The two runners were able to advance on a passed ball, which allowed Avila to score on a ground ball from Katie Chester.

With two outs and runners on the corners, Kaylee Pond stepped up to the plate and sent a 1-2 pitch flying over the left field wall for a three-run homer, giving Arizona State its first lead of the game.

You know what rhymes with Rally Rabbit?

A four-run fifth to take the lead. 😎 #ForksUp /// #BeElite https://t.co/SxuS0YVzIV pic.twitter.com/XNNWwQBIs5
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 13, 2026

“I have to give credit to the coaching staff,” Pond said postgame. “They really calmed me down. I have a tendency to get in my head a little bit, and they just said to trust your athletic abilities and try to find the inside seam, so that’s what I did.”

The rally didn’t stop there either.

Indiana ended up grabbing the lead once again when Goins hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth, and fans were calling to bring the rabbit back out. But clearly, the rabbit’s magic was still in the air. Shepp came through with a two-out three-run homer to take back the lead.

THANK YOU TO WHOEVER HAS THE SECOND RABBIT! https://t.co/TdQW9nnpxu
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 13, 2026

Another Indiana homer occurred in the top of the seventh, but Brown dug deep to strike out the last two batters. The win became her third straight home start with 10 or more strikeouts.

Now with two wins on the week, the Sun Devils have another game under the lights on Friday against Nevada at Farrington Stadium. Will the rally rabbit reappear for some more late-night magic?

Recommended Links