TEMPE -- The No. 17/17 Arizona State Softball team continues its preseason tournament schedule at home this weekend as it welcomes five other teams for the annual Mary Littlewood Classic beginning Friday, Feb. 19 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe.
The Sun Devils will open the weekend with a double header on Friday against Michigan State and Memphis beginning at approximately 6 p.m. MT. ASU will follow that with another doubleheader Saturday against Illinois State and Northern Iowa - also starting at 6 p.m. MT - before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday against Montana at 1:30 p.m.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
- The @ASUSoftball pitching staff gave up just 4 HR in 7 games to start the season. It gave up 10 during opening weekend a year ago.
- The Devils have four run rule victories in seven games this year. It took until Game 20 last year to reach that mark.
- The Sun Devils have been ranked in the @NFCAorg Coaches Poll 158 consecutive times dating back to Week 2 of the 2006 season.
- ASU’s pitching staff allowed just four walks on opening weekend compared to 32 strikeouts, an impressive 8:1 ratio.
- The Sun Devils stole 11 bases on opening weekend, a feat that’s borderline incredible after stealing just 12 in the entirety of 2015.
- The Sun Devils return 4 players who earned @Pac12 All-Defensive nods in ‘15 in @cgonzales112, @nikki_girard, @jennsoria5 and Sashel Palacios
- Senior @Nikki_Girard is ranked 15th in ASU history with 31 career doubles, just two out of 14th place.
- Just a junior, @cgonzales112 is currently 20th in the ASU record books with 21 career home runs, one out of 19th.
- As a team, ASU advanced runners on 74-of-119 chances opening weekend (.622), led by @abby_spiel’s 10-of-13 clip.
- ASU’s pitching rotation held the opposition to just 6-of-42 hitting (.143) with runners in scoring position last weekend.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Fans will be able to view or listen to all five games this weekend via one medium or another. Each of the games in the tournament will be streamed live via the Pac-12 Networks Digitial Stream and available at the following link: http://pac-12.com/videos/arizona-state-university-2
Additionally, all seven games will be broadcast live through KASC Blaze Radio with an online stream available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blaze-sports.
ABOUT THE TOURNEY
From the beginning of Sun Devil Softball in 1967 to 1989, the founder and leader of ASU Softball was Mary Littlewood, who was a staple and founder of the majority of the women’s sports at ASU today. Under Mary Littlewood, ASU won two national championships and advanced to the College World Series nine times. Littlewood compiled a record of 551-222-1, with winning seasons each of her 22 years at the helm. The tournament is in its 12th year and is honored after the founder of Sun Devil Softball. Coach Littlewood will throw out the first pitch at ASU’s first game Friday night.
THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
- The Sun Devils have been ranked in the NFCA Coaches Poll 158 consecutive times, a streak that dates back to Week 2 of the 2006 season.
- The Sun Devils entered the top-10 in Week 6 of that season and have since been ranked in the top 10 in 129 of the 158 polls that have taken place since the team entered the rankings in 2006.
- ASU is one of just five programs to lay a claim to being in every poll since early in that 2006 season, joining Michigan, UCLA, Oklahoma and Alabama at the top of the list.
- The Sun Devils inclusion in the Top 25 in this year’s NFCA Preseason Poll marks the 10th consecutive preseason poll the Sun Devils have made an appearance.
- ASU moved up five positions in this week’s NFCA Poll to No. 17 nationally, also the team’s ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.
CHELSEA LATELY
Junior Chelsea Gonzales will be heavily relied upon this season to lead the team not only at the plate, but in the field as well.
- Gonzales overcame a sluggish start at the Kajikawa Classic (2-for-11 with four errors in the first four games) to finish with a flourish. Over the final three games, Gonzales was 6-of-9 with two homers, two doubles and two walks.
- Gonzales is batting .421 on the year with a team-leading 12 RBI.
- Gonzales was 2-for-2 with the bases loaded opening weekend, both base-clearing doubles.
- In her first season as starting shortstop, Gonzales finished with 122 assists and 102 putouts to just 10 errors (.957 fielding percentage). Her .957 fielding percentage was second among Pac-12 shortstops behind only Utah’s Anissa Urtez (.958), who did so in 43 fewer chances.
- She one of 25 semifinalists for the National Freshman of the Year trophy in 2014 while she was also named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team for her efforts. She was named to the All-Pac-12 team as well as the Pac-12 All-Defensive squad in 2015.
- With 21 career home runs, the junior is currently 20th in ASU career history in the category.
PUT ME IN, COACH
Senior Jennifer Soria was among ASU’s hottest players to close out the 2015 campaign and looks to carry that into 2016. The recipient of the team’s hardest worker award for two consecutive seasons, Soria perfectly exemplifies the John Fogerty classic at centerfield.
- Despite batting at leadoff, Soria was the most potent offensive member of the Sun Devils as they got off to a 6-1 start on the season with an upset of #8 Tenneesee. Soria finished the opening weekend with a .429 batting average (9-of-21) and led the team with nine runs scored.
- Her 10 RBI on the weekend were second on the team and she is tied for second in the Pac-12 with six walks. Her three steals pace the Pac-12 as well.
- Soria advances runners on 10-of-14 chances (.714), second on the team among those with double-digit chances.
- Against #8 Tennessee, Soria drew the lone walk of the game from UT ace Erin Gabriel with two outs in extra innings. Soria would steal second immediately and move to third on an infield single before sliding in headfirst for the winning run on a passed ball.
- Soria’s defense is good for just about a highlight a game and earned her Pac-12 All-Defensive honors last season.
ABS OF SPIEL
Senior Abby Spiel quietly become a steady contributor to the Sun Devils last season and had the hottest bat to kick off 2016.
- Spiel leads the team this year with a .556 average on 10-of-18 hitting and a .619 on-base percentage. She had three RBI on opening weekend after having just five total in 2015.
- The outfielder stole three bases in the first seven games and is currently tied with her teammate, Soria, for first in the Pac-12.
- Spiel has advanced runners on 10-of-13 chances this season, leading the team;s starters with a .769 average.
- Last season, she finished the season with the team’s second-highest batting average with a .364 clip on 28-of-77 hitting.
BREE IT ON
Breanna Macha established herself as a legitimate pitching option as a true freshman last season and picked up where she left off following a strong finish in 2015.
- The sophomore led the way for ASU in opening weekend, going 3-1 with a win over No. 8 Tennessee - a game where she allowed no earned runs and struck out six in four innings of relief.
- Macha led the team with 14 strikeouts during the opening weekend and had just one walk allowed while posting a 2.21 ERA.
- Macha led the team as a freshman in wins (18), strikeouts (152) and total ERA (3.69) - the fifth-lowest total in the Pac-12 among pitchers with 40 or more appearances - and earned All-Pac-12 and NFCA All-West Region honors while being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team as well.
- Macha (pronounced maw-haw) finished with 152 strikeouts, the fourth highest total in the Pac-12.
- Her 212.1 innings pitched were second most in the conference while she was third in the conference with five saves.
IN THE NIKK OF TIME
Much of ASU’s success last season came from its proficiency in the bottom half of the batting order and leading that charge was Nikki Girard.
- A proven gap-hitter, Girard is 15th in ASU history with 31 career doubles.
- While she didn’t have gaudy numbers opening weekend, she did finish second on the team with a .625 average with runners in scoring position. Five of her six hits at the Kajikawa Classic came with RISP.
- Girard finished with 11 doubles last season and was a menace to strike out, doing so just five times in the regular season in 149 at bats and was ranked as the second-toughest person to strikeout in the Pac-12 and 10th-toughest nationally enetering the postseason.
- She was one of just two players nationally from a power conference school with five or fewer strikeouts with a minimum of two at bats per game.
- Perhaps the most exciting aspect of her game, however, is her ability to post at least one highlight reel defensive play per game at second base as she finished the year with a solid .963 fielding percentage last season and earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Defensive team as a result.
TAYLOR GANG
True freshman Taylor Becerra became the first frosh to earn a starting nod opening weekend and did so at third base. She became the first true freshman to start for the Sun Devils at third since the person she replaced at that position: Haley Steele back in 2012.
- Becerra was one of the pleasant surprises on the weekend, finishing with a .533 batting average that was good for second on the team.
- Becerra was second on the squad with four walks and, all told, her .650 on-base percentage was easily first on the team.
ADIOS, PALACIOS
Junior catcher Sashel Palacios was perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 campaign as she went from a reserve role as a freshman to the starting catcher by the midway point of her sophomore season.
- She finished fifth on the team with a .323 average last season. Her .459 on-base percentage was good for third on the team and she was incredibly proficient at advancing baserunners, doing so 52 times in 93 opportunities, a .559 average that was third among the team’s starters.
- Her 141 putouts were second on the team and she led the team with five runners thrown out attempting to steal base.
- Palacios doesn’t have an error during the regular season, earning Pac-12 All-Defensive team honors while also being named a Third-Team All-West Region selection.
RYNDAK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
Sophomore RHP Dale Ryndak had a solid freshman campaign last season and is looking to build upon that in year two.
- Ryndak opened 2016 with a team-leading 0.64 ERA in two victories. She struck out eight batters in three appearances and walked just one, giving up a single earned run on the weekend.
- Ryndak finished with a 14-8 record last season and was fourth in the Pac-12 with 37 batters struck out looking.
- She finished with 143.1 innings pitched on the season, ninth in the conference, and her 82 total strikeouts were 10th in the Pac-12.
KICKING IT INTO AGUIRRE
Senior catcher Katee Aguirre looks to have a much larger role in 2016 behind the plate in both senses.
- Aguirre bat .353 on opening weekend with four RBI and a home run.
- She led the way with productive outs, advancing runners on five of her outs and knocking two sacrifice flies on the weekend. Two of the notable walk-offs came by way of Aguirre, despite the fact she won’t get credit for them. She hit into a error that plated the game-winner in five innings against San Jose State and then was the recipient of the passed ball on an intentional walk against No. 8 Tennessee that scored Jennifer Soria for the winning run in extra innings.
- Last year, Katee Aguirre and Sashel Palacios combined for 173 recorded putouts and 13 assists with ZERO errors during the regular season for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. The duo’s perfect fielding percentage was notable as there were just seven players in the Pac-12 conference with 50 or more chances during the regular season that did not have a single error.
KEL’S BELLS
Redshirt junior transfer Kelsey Kessler made her Sun Devil debut a memorable one and figures to be a major part of the pitching rotation this season.
- Kessler made her debut in a complete game shutout of San Jose State (8-0) as she scattered eight hits and struck out two.
- Overall on opening weekend, Kessler went 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA and appeared in four games while strikeing out 10 and allowing just two walks.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Without question, one of the biggest turnarounds for the Sun Devils last season came on the defensive end of the ball in being able to turn double plays.
- ASU paced the Pac-12 during opening weekend with four doubles plays, including two outfield-infield DPs.
- ASU turned 35 double plays in 2015, a 0.60 per game average that was good for fourth nationally on the year.
- In 2014, ASU was ranked 203rd out of 289 programs in double plays per game, turning just 13 total on the season for a 0.22 double play per game average.
NOT GOING DOWN SWINGING
In some facets of life, going down swinging is considered a compliment. That’s not the case in softball and there weren’t many better than the Devils at avoiding it last season.
- ASU struck out just 135 times during the regular season, a total that was 34 fewer than any other team in the Pac-12 and the lowest of ANY NCAA team last season from a power conference.
- That was good for 16 fewer than the next closest power-5 conference team (Nebraska, 151).
WALK THIS WAY
In addition to not striking out often, the team did it’s fair share of getting plenty of free bases.
- ASU had 276 walks overall in 2015 --the eighth-highest total nationally- to create nearly a 2:1 walk to strikeout ratio.
- During the regular season, ASU worked the count full 214 times (11 percent of 1,798 total plate appearaces) and on the 113 of those full counts where the ball was not put into play, ASU drew 87 walks on the payoff pitch to just 25 strikeouts, an incredible 3.5 to 1 ratio.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US
ASU lost 64 percent of its extra base hits to graduation following last season and returns just 29 of the 81 home runs the Devils hit on the season (35.8 percent). That said, fans can expect a slightly different offense than they might be accustomed to and part of that sucess is going to come on the base path.
- The Devils stole 11 bases on opening weekend, a notable tally as the squad stole just 12 bases during the entire 2015 campaign.
- ASU’s 11 stolen bases are good for first in the Pac-12 while Abby Spiel and Jennifer Soria are tied for the Pac-12 lead at three each.
- ASU brought on pinch runners 15 times over opening weekend and those pinch runners scored nine times.
TAKE IT FOR A RIDE
While fans shouldn’t be surprised to see a different brand of Sun Devil softball in 2016 that moves away from the all-or-nothing offense ASU had for much of the 2015 campaign, it doesn’t mean ASU plans to abandon the long ball entirely. The team might not hit 80+ round trippers again but that doesn’t necessarily mean the entire emphasis this season will be on “small ball” as this year’s lineup can knock it around the park just fine.
- The Devils hit seven home runs in seven games to open the 2016 campaign.
- Arizona State has developed a reputation for knocking the ball out of the park and did so 81 times last regular season, a total that was second in the Pac-12 and 17th in the nation.
KEEPING IT IN THE PARK
One area the Sun Devil pitching staff will certainly need to improve in is keeping the ball in the park after a terrible year in the category last season.
- The sample size is small but the results look to be there early in 2016 as ASU allowed just four home runs in seven games during the opening weekend. The pitching staff allowed 10 in the season-opening tournament a year ago.
- ASU gave up 81 bombs in 2016 and that ranked as the worst total in the entire nation.
- Of the 266 runs scored against the Devils last season, 130 came as a result of home runs - nearly half of the total runs scored against the Devils on the year.
GRAND SLAMMA JAMMA
The Sun Devils have done their fair share of work with the bases loaded in recent seasons, but have also struggled mightily at times as well.
- While there were no grand slams during opening weekend, ASU was 6-for-14 with the bases loaded (.429) with two base-clearing hits
- The ASU offense knocked six grand slams in 2014, two more than the 2013 season and just two shy of the total from 2012 and 2013 combined (8).
- The Devils hit eight grand slams in 2015 and lived and died by their success with the bases loaded.
- Three of those grand slams resulted in “walk-off” victories, two by the true definition and one forcing a run-rule ending.
- The Devils were just 2-for-30 (.067) with the bases loaded in the team’s 20 losses during the regular season while hitting 33-for-782 (.402) with the bases loaded in the team’s wins.
All eight grand slams came in victories.
DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE
ASU’s losses last season didn’t come from a lack of chances. The Sun Devils struggled at times to get run-plating hits in clutch situations and it hurt them in the win column.
- In ASU’s 20 regular season losses, the Devils were just 2-for-30 (.067) with the bases loaded and an inauspicious 34-of-177 (.192) with two outs on the board, unable to keep innings alive.
- In those games, ASU was just 11-of-30 (.367) in bringing home a runner from third with less than two outs and just 28-of-196 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
- In ASU’s regular season victories, the Devils were 33-for-82 (.402) with the bases loaded and 125-for-326 (.383) with two outs.
- The Devils were 154-of-373 (.413) with runners in scoring position in victories and brought a runner from from third with less than two outs on 76-of-115 (.661) chances.
- The biggest difference, however, was that ASU’s left 184 runners on base (9.2 per game) over the course of 20 losses compared to 239 in 34 wins (7.0 per game).
A LOOK AT THE 2016 SLATE
To be the best, you have to play the best and no teams play as competitive of a schedule as those in perennially elite Pac-12 Conference.
- Six members of the conference were ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll including No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 UCLA, No. 13 Arizona, No. 20 Washington, No. 21 Cal and the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils while Utah was third among the teams receiving votes.
- ASU will have three-game series scheduled against each of those opponents this season, and will get Oregon, Arizona and Washington at home.
- Also on tap for the Sun Devils in 2016 are games against preseason No. 8 Tennessee, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 15 Missouri, No. 16 Baylor, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 19 James Madison.
- In short, the Sun Devils are slated to play 11 of the 24 teams ranked in the preseason poll this season not named Arizona State.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Of ASU’s 58 games last season, 26 were against squads ranked nationally - going 11-15 in those games. ASU went 18-14 in its last 32 games and all but nine of those games came against teams that were ranked.
- The Devils had six victories last season against teams that were ranked in the top-10 at the time of the tilt.
- The Sun Devil schedule was rated as the seventh-toughest Strength of Schedule in the NCAA last regular season with 35 games played against teams in the top 63 final regular season RPI and 20 against teams ranked in the top 25 in those RPI rankings. Eleven of ASU’s losses came against those Top 25 RPI teams.
POSTSEASON SUCCESS
- The Sun Devils made their 27th appearance in NCAA Tournament history in 2015, the sixth-highest tally of the 64 teams in the tournament behind only Fresno St., UCLA, California, Arizona and Florida State.
- It also marked the 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for ASU.
- ASU is 87-53 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is 57-19 since 2006 with two NCAA Championships and seven trips to the WCWS as wel as an incredible 32-5 record at home in the span.
NOTE ON WCWS
- The Sun Devils have advanced the WCWS in seven of the last 10 seasons, more than any other program in the nation in that time frame. Florida is second with six in that span.
- In that 10-year span, ASU has one of the top winning percentages in the country with a 509-136-1 record since 2006. The .788 win percentage in that time is good for sixth nationally.
Winning Percentage Since 2006 (Prior to 2016)
1. Alabama - .826 (533-112)
2. Florida - .820 (552-121)
3. Michigan - .806 (492-118)
4. Oklahoma - .805 (484-117-1)
5. Tennessee - .796 (514-131-1)
6. Arizona State - .788 (509-136-1)
A LOOK BACK - 2016 SEASON
The Sun Devils advanced to the Baton Rouge Regional of the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament and saw their season come to the end in a heartbreaking extra-inning walk-off RBI by the fifth-ranked Tigers. The Sun Devils finished with a 36-22 overall record and were 12-11 in the historically diffuclt Pac-12 Conference - good for a tie for fourth overall in the league. Amber Freeman concluded one of the most illustrious hitting campaigns in Sun Devil history as she wrapped up her time at ASU with a .389 career batting average - third all-time - and 56 career home runs (fourth in ASU lore). Freeman was named a NFCA First Team All-American, an CoSIDA Academic All-American and the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
The Sun Devils saw the emergence of true freshman hurler Breanna Macha as she would go on to post 18 wins in her first season (fourth in the Pac-12) and wrapped the season up with a gutsy effort in the Baton Rouge Regional where she threw 385 pitches over three days and finished with a 1.75 ERA with 15 strikeouts to just four walks and no home runs allowed.