TEMPE -- The No. 19/17 Arizona State Softball team will be back in Farrington Stadium this weekend as it continues it hosting duties for a myriad of pre-conference tournaments with the 2016 Diamond Devil Invitational, beginning Firday. Feb. 26 in Tempe.
The 2016 tournament will kick off with a bang as the Sun Devils take on No. 21/22 Minnesota to open things up on Friday at 4:30 p.m. MT. ASU will follow that Top 25 matchup with a contest against Houston at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, ASU will complete another doubleheader against St. Francis and Mount St. Mary’s beginning at 5:30 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday against St. Francis for a second time at 1 p.m.
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 five games will be broadcast live through KASC Blaze Radio with an online stream available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blaze-sports.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
- The @ASUSoftball pitching staff has given up just 7 HR in 11 games to start the season. It gave up 16 in the first two weekends last year.
- The Devils have five run rule victories in 11 games this year. It took until Game 21 last year to reach that mark.
- The Sun Devils have been ranked in the @NFCAorg Coaches Poll 159 consecutive times dating back to Week 2 of the 2006 season.
- ASU’s pitching staff has allowed just eight walks this season compared to 63 strikeouts, good for nearly an 8:1 ratio.
- The Sun Devils stole 17 bases this season, good for 26th nationally after having just 12 total steals in the entirety of 2015.
- With two saves this season, @kezlur is ranked second nationally while also sitting at 3-0 overal with 33 strikeouts to her credit.
- Pitcher @dale_hope has held her opposition to 0-for-18 hitting with runners in scoring position.
- After a slow start @cgonzales112 13-for-21 (.619) in her last seven games with a .714 OBP and a 1.286 slugging percentage.
- Senior @abby_spiel’s already has seven RBI this season, a notable number as she had just five in the entirety of the 2015 season.
- ASU’s pitching rotation has held the opposition to just 9-of-63 hitting (.143) with runners in scoring position so far this season.
THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
The Sun Devils have been ranked in the NFCA Coaches Poll 159 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 159 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’s loss to a then-higher ranked Kentucky last Monday confoundingly dropped ASU two spots to No. 19 in this week’s NFCA poll, despite a 5-0 record this past weekend.
CHELSEA LATELY
It took a couple games to get going, but Chelsea Gonzales has been the hottest bat in the Sun Devil order in the last couple games.
- After going 2-for-10 in the first four game with one walk, no home runs and a .273 OBP, Gonzales has since gone 13-for-21 (.619) with four home runs, 11 RBI, seven walks and a gaudy .714 OBP alongside her 1.286 slugging percentage.
- Gonzales is now batting .484 overall on the season, good for third among the team’s starters and 10th in the Pac-12.
- Gonzales has advanced runners a team high 15 times on 24 chances (.625) and leads the team with seven two-out RBI.
- In her first season as starting shortstop last year, 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.
- With 23 career home runs, the junior is currently 19th 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.
- Soria is batting .364 on the season with a team-leading nine walks. Her nine walks are good for first in the Pac-12 while she has scored a team-leading 14 runs - second in the conference.
- 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.
- 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 is second on the team this year with a .485 average with a double and a triple this season.
- She has knocked seven RBI this season, which is notable as she had just five in her career entering 2016.
- Spiel is a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen bases this season, leading the team in the category.
- Spiel has advanced runners on 15-of-22 chances this season, a .682 average that is second among the team’s starters.
- More impressively, Spiel has been ASU’s best batter with runners in scoring position with a team leading 10 hits on 14 chances for an incredible .714 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 is tied for the team lead with four victories this year and has a save to boot while posting an impressive 1.56 ERA - a notable improvement through the first two weekends of action as she was 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA at this point of the year last season.
- 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
The Sun Devils aren’t exactly fielding a true team of veterans in 2016 and the only multi-year starter in the field coming into the season is season Nikki Girard. As a result, her leadership will be heavily relied on to help pace ASU this season.
- A proven gap-hitter, Girard is 15th in ASU history with 31 career doubles.
- While she didn’t have gaudy numbers this season, she has come through in the clutch as she is second on the team with a .571 average with runners in scoring position on 8-of-14 hitting and second on the squad with five two-out RBI this season.
- 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 has been a pleasant surprise early this season and finds herself leading the team with a monstrous .520 batting average on 13-of-25 hitting. Her .613 on-base percentage also paces the team and she is third with five walks this year.
- Becerra’s speed makes her a threat to reach any time she can get the ball into play and caused two errors against Montana that helped ASU open the game up in a 9-2 victory.
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.
- Palacios didn’t necessary get off to a hot start this year but things began to come around for her in the second weekend where she came off the bench to knock a pinch-hit, two-out, two-run homer against Illinois State and finished the weekend batting .400 with a team-leading five RBI.
- 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 has opened 2016 with a team leading 0.68 ERA and is a perfect 4-0 on the year with 13 strikeouts while allowing just one walk.
- The sophomore has literally been impossible to get a hit off of when she has runners in scoring position as the opposition is 0-for-18 against her when she gets in a jam this year.
- She’s also efficiently closed out innings as opponents are just 1-of-14 (1-for-14) against her when they have runners on base and two outs.
- 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.
- Katee Aguirre has been solid early for the Sun Devils, leading the team with four doubles this season while posting a .345 overall average. She has thrived with being the first person to get on base for ASU with a team leading seven hits with the bases empty.
- Her nine RBI are third on the team while also posting a team-leading two sacrifice flies while productive outs have been her MO thus far as she leads the team with six runners advanced this season despite an out.
- 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 threw an absolute gem in a complete game, 6-0 shutout of Illinois State. The redshirt junior struck out 12, walked none and was dominant in the effort.
- Kessler is 3-0 on the season with a team-leading two saves, which is good for second nationally.
- The junior leads the way with 33 strikeouts, a total that is 16 more than any other pitcher on the squad and currently good for fouth in the conference.
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 is currently tied for second in the Pac-12 with five double plats this season.
- 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.
WALK THIS WAY
While ASU’s strikeout numbers may be up a bit compared to last season, the team is still exceptional on getting on base without having to swing the bat
- The Devils are currently second in the Pac-12 with 47 walks this season, a total that is good for 15th nationally.
- 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 success is going to come on the base path.
- The Devils stole 17 bases through the first two weekends of action, a very notable tally as ASU had just 12 TOTAL steals in the 2015 campaign. The total is currently tied for 26th nationally after finishing with the ninth worst total last season.
- Abby Spiel’s four stolen bases this season are tied for second in the Pac-12.
- ASU has used pinch runners 20 times in 12 games thus far and brought those pinch runners home on 12 occasions (.600).
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 have hit 12 home runs in 2016, good for fourth in the Pac-12 and a 1.00 home runs per game average that still sits 34th nationally.
- 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 seven home runs in 12 thus far. Through 12 games last season, ASU allowed 16 home runs and have more than halved that total this season.
- 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 have been no grand slams this season, ASU is 10-for-22 (.455) with the bases loaded while holding the opposition hitless in their two opportunities.
- 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.
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.