TEMPE -- The No. 21/21 Arizona State University softball team (21-7) opens Pac-12 play this weekend with a three-game series against in-state rival Arizona (18-8) beginning Friday, March 18 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. A Territorial Cup point will be on the line for the winner of the series.
The two teams will open the series on Friday at 5 p.m. PT. Saturday’s game will take place at 3:30 p.m. before the teams close out the weekend on Sunday at 5 p.m. All three games will be televised by Pac-12 Arizona.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Fans will be able to view or listen to each game this weekend via one medium or another. Each of the games in the series will be broadcast through Pac-12 Arizona. Fans are encouraged to check to local listings for channel availability.
Additionally, each game 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)
- All but 5 members of the ASU roster have already reached career highs in at-bats and Jenn Soria and Abby Spiel are on pace to join them.
- ASU has nine players batting over .300 with at least 30 ABs. It had just five at this time a year ago.
- The Sun Devils have been ranked in the @NFCAorg Coaches Poll 162 consecutive times dating back to Week 2 of the 2006 season.
- When getting batters into a full count this season, @kezlur has struck out 20, walked just 5 and limited opposition to 4-of-35 (.114) hitting.
- ASU’s top three batters this season include freshmen @TaylorBecerra (.457) and @leilua18 (.419) and soph Nichole Chilson (.429).
- The Sun Devils are batting 28-of-60 (.466) with a full count this year with 28 walks compared to just 18 strikeouts among players w/ min ABs
- The Sun Devils have stolen 34 bases this season after stealing just 12 bases in all of 2015.
- Both @ASUSoftball and @UA_Softball enter weekend ranked in top 20 in HR per game and SLG% but both have sub-3.00 team ERAs.
- With one more double, @nikki_girard would move into a tie for ninth in @ASUSoftball history with 38 career doubles.
- ASU is batting .344 (101-of-294) w/ runners in scoring position this season while limiting opponents to 43-of-172 hitting (.250) w/ RISP.
FOR THE FANS
At Saturday’s game, the Sun Devils will honor those that serve our country both home and abroad with the team's annual Military and First Responders Appreciation Day. The team will be available for post-game autographs following Saturday's contest.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Coming in at 18-8, the Wildcats have played a very competitive schedule this season that features eight ranked opponents. Arizona leads the all-time series 99-97-1, dating back to 1971. However, the series is a bit more lopsided since softball became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in 1982 with the UA holding a 90-50-1. The series has evened up a bit in recent years with the Sun Devils winning 11 of the last 14, and has won four of the last five series against the Wildcats. ASU is 10-2 against Arizona in games played in Tempe since 2008.
Like the Sun Devils, Arizona has benefitted from a resurgence in its pitching rotation. The Wildcats have a 2.30 team ERA and are led by SDSU transfer Danielle O’Toole, who has posted a 1.81 ERA and is 10-4 this season with 86 strikeouts to 14 walks. Behind her is freshman standout Taylor McQuillin, who comes in with a 2.56 ERA ad a 7-3 record with 66 strikeouts and 10 walks.
At the plate, the Wildcats have their share of heavy hitters, including the duo of Mo Mercado and Katiyana Mauga. Mercado (.442) has 25 RBI on a team-leading eight doubles, a triple and six home runs while Mauga (.329) has driven in 31 behind her team-leading nine home runs. Mandie Perez (.378) and Alexis Dotson (.360) can also get it done at the plate.
THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
- The Sun Devils have been ranked in the NFCA Coaches Poll 162 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 162 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.
- The Sun Devils dropped two spots to No. 21 in the NFCA Coaches Poll this week and one spot to No. 18 in the ESPN.com rankings after a 3-3 weekend in Fulerton.
IN THE NIKK OF TIME
The Sun Devils aren’t exactly fielding a team of veterans in 2016 and the only multi-year starter in the field coming into the year was senior Nikki Girard. As a result, her leadership will be heavily relied on to help pace ASU this season.
- A proven gap-hitter, Girard is tied for 10th in ASU history with 37 career doubles and needs just one to move into a tie for ninth.
- Girard has been otherworldly with runners in scoring position this season and is 19-for-38 on the year (.500) when she has a chance to bring a runner home. That total is especially impressive when you consider she had just 16 hits with RISP in the entirety of 2015. All but nine of her hits this season have come with a runner in scoring position and she leads the closest Sun Devil by five hits in the category.
- She is tied for the team lead with 25 RBIs this season and leads the squad with eight doubles.
- 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.
- Girard was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after a stellar weekend at the Diamond Devil Invite where she when 10-for-12 with nine RBI and slugging 1.414.
GET ON BASE AND CHIL
Nichole Chilson came in this season under the radar after seeing limited action as a freshman, but the sophomore is quietly putting up some of the best numbers on the team.
- Chilson is secondon the team with a .429 average this season with 20 RBIs - tied for second on the team - and a .500 OBP. She is currently 10th in the Pac-12 in average and eighth in on-base percentage.
- The sophomore has been ASU’s most consistent batter with two outs this year, batting 14-for-24 (.583) on the season when it’s up to her to keep the inning alive. That’s three more hits with two outs than any other Sun Devil and she also leads the team with 12 two-out RI on the year.
TAYLOR GANG
True freshman Taylor Becerra became the first frosh to earn a starting nod this season, doing 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 leads the team with a .457 average (fifth in the Pac-12) and a .542 OBP (seventh in the Pac-12).
- She enters the weekend with a team-leading 12-game active hitting streak - the longest streak of any Sun Devil this season.
- As a leadoff batter, Becerra has been admirable, going 11-of-19 (.579) this season.
- The freshman has been elite when it comes to moving baserunners as she has done so at a team-leading .727 clip this season, advancing runners on 24-of-33 chances.
- Becerra’s speed makes her a threat to reach any time she can get the ball into play and caused several errors this season with fielder’s trying to rush throws to first.
CHELSEA LATELY
Entering the season, there wasn’t much doubt that Chelsea Gonzales would be the top returning bat in the Sun Devil order this year and she has more than lived up to that billing thus far.
- Gonzales leads the Sun Devils leads the Sun Devils with seven home runs and 25 RBIs this season, totals good for fourth and seventh in the conference, respectively.
- Gonzales has 10 two-out RBIs - third on the team and a staple of her career at ASU.
- There have been numerous times this season that opponents have avoided Gonzales in the lineup, demonstrated by her 14 walks this season to just six strikeouts
- 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 25 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 .368 on the season with a team-leading 15 walks - a total tied for third in the Pac-12.
- Her 27 runs scored this year lead the team and fifth in the Pac-12.
- Soria has advanced runners 30 times on 48 chances this season (.625) and has been clutch in bring home a runner from third when there are less than two outs on the board, doing so 7 times on 8 chances.
- With eight doubles this season, Soria has already matched her previous CAREER total of eight entering the season.
- 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 has been true to that consistent form in 2016.
- Spiel is batting .365 this season and is second on the team with 23 runs scored on the season, which is good for eighth in the Pac-12.
- She has knocked nine RBIs this season, which is notable as she had just five in her career entering 2016.
- Spiel is 9-for-10 on stolen bases this season, leading the team in the category and tied for third in the Pac-12.
- A speedy, slap-hitter, Spiel’s forte has been advancing baserunners this year and she leads the team with 31 advancements on 46 opportunities (.674)
- Last season, she finished the season with the team’s second-highest batting average with a .364 clip on 28-of-77 hitting.
K IS FOR STRIKEOUT...OR KESSLER...SAME THING
Redshirt junior transfer Kelsey Kessler has quickly become a staple in the ASU pitching rotation and has been ASU’s most consistent ace to date.
- Kessler is 8-4 on the season with a team-leading two saves.
- It should be noted that two of Kessler’s losses came in extra innings in games where she allowed just one earned run in each (3-2 (8) to Fullerton and 2-1 (8) to #9 James Madison).
- She is fourth in the Pac-12 among pitchers with at least 10 starts with a 2.00 ERA to date and fourth nationally with four shutouts this season.
- The junior leads the way with 86 strikeouts, a total that is nearly three times more than any other pitcher on the squad and currently good for third in the conference and 29th nationally.
- Her 452 career strikeouts (including her time at Kansas) current rank eighth among all the junior pitchers in the nation.
- She has allowed just 10 walks this season for a 8.6:1 strikeout to walk ratio while her 0.87 walks allowed per seven innings total is leads the Pac-12 and is 19th nationally.
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 solid 2.88 ERA and is the only undefeated pitcher on the roster at 7-0.
- The sophomore has struck out 30 batters this season and allowed just seven walks in 51.0 IP, a total that is tied for sixth nationally among pitchers with over 50 innings pitched.
- The sophomore has been near impossible to get a hit off of when she has runners in scoring position as the opposition is 8-for-54 (.148) against her when she gets in a jam this year.
- She’s also efficiently closed out innings as opponents are just 3-of-26 (.115) against her when they have runners in scoring position 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.
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 currently 6-3 this season with 27 strikeouts while allowing a team-low five home runs. She had given up 11 through pre-tournament play last year.
- 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 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.
FA LEI-BOOM-A
Freshman first baseman Fa Leilua has been ASU’s most active player of the bench this season and sure to become a fan favorite with her awesome name and penchant for hitting the ball out of the park
- Leilua is currently tied for second on the team with four home runs this season.
- She’s added three doubles and as a result, seven of her 18 total hits on the year have gone for extra bases.
- Her .767 slugging percentage is nearly 100 points higher than any other Sun Devil with at least 30 at bats.
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 is one of ASU’s most consistent hitters and currently holds the team’s second long hitting streak on the season at 10 games.
- Palacios is batting .305 on the year with two homers and 17 RBIs and is 8-for-10 this season with a runner on third and less than two outs - leading the Devils in the category.
- 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.
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, third on the team with five doubles this season while posting a .339 overall average. She has thrived with being the first person to get on base for ASU with 13 hits on 26 chances (.526) this season with the bases empty - the highest average of anyone on the team.
- With five doubles this season, Aguirre has crushed her previous career total of one in the category.
- Her 14 RBIs are sixth on the team and notable as she had just 13 total RBIs in all of 2015. Her four home runs are tied for second on the team.
- 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.
FULL COUNT ON ME
ASU put up exceptional numbers last season and had an uncanny way of finding success with a full count and little has changed this year.
- Of the Devils with the minimum number of at-bats this year, ASU is batting 28-of-60 (.466) when facing a full count.
- The Sun Devils have drawn a walk 28 times to 18 strikeouts with a full count, led by six walks from Jennifer Soria and five from Taylor Becerra.
- On the flip side, RHP Kelsey Kessler has absolutely thrived when she gets hitters in a full-count situation. Facing 57 full couts this season, Kessler has struck out 20, walked just five and allowed batters to go just 4-for-35 (.114) when they put the ball into play.
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 100 walks this season, a total that is ranked in the top 15 nationally.
- On the flip side, the ASU pitching staff has allowed just 35 walks this season and ranks third in the Pac-12 in fewest walks allowed to date.
- ASU had 276 walks overall in 2015 --the eighth-highest total nationally- to create nearly a 2:1 walk to strikeout 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 year (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 have stolen 32 bases through pre-conference action, a very notable tally as ASU had just 12 TOTAL steals in the 2015 campaign. The total is currently third in the Pac-12 and in the top 50 nationally out of over 200 teams after finishing as one of the 10 worst clubs in the category in 2015.
- Abby Spiel’s nine stolen bases this season are tied for third in the Pac-12.
- On the flip side, ASU has thrown out six runners attempting to steal a base this season - good for second in the Pac-12.
- ASU has used pinch runners 48 times in 28 games thus far and brought those pinch runners home on 26 occasions (.542).
- ASU has already laid down 11 sacrifice bunts already this season compared to having five TOTAL in 2015.
TAKE IT FOR A RIDE
The storyline around the Sun Devils entering the season was that the squad would need to utilize small ball to win games. While the sample size is still small, ASU is winning games in all manner of ways and the extra base hits are certainly a part of that.
- The Devils have hit 31 home runs in 2016, ranked in the top-20 nationally and fourth in the Pac-12 and just six shy of the 2015 total at this point in the year
- ASU has hit 44 doubles to date (fourth in the conference), four more than it had in the pre-conference schedule last season while the team’s two triples are one more than it had at this point last year.
- As a team, ASU is batting .349 heading into conference play, nearly 50 points higher than it was batting last year at this time.
THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
The Sun Devils lost five all-conference caliber players after last season and returned just one multi-year starter in Nikki Girard. Needing a large number of players to step up this season in that absence, ASU has gone above and beyond what might have been expected.
- The top three hitters for the Sun Devils this season include two freshmen in Taylor Becerra (.457) and Fa Leilua (.419) and a player that saw two at-bats last season in Nichole Chilson (.429).
- Despite being a three-year starter, Girard was just a .259 career hitter coming into 2016. This season she’s already surpassed her RBI total from 2014 and 2015 (25 compared to 24 and 23) and is batting an incredible .373.
- If you were to include freshmen, entering Pac-12 play there are just five Sun Devils on the roster that do not already have a career high in at-bats. Abby Spiel (74) needs just four to pass her 2015 career high while Jennifer Soria (76) is well on pace to surpass her previous high of 109.
- Only Nikki Girard, Sashel Palacios and Chelsea Gonzales have a possibility of NOT passing career highs for at-bats this season.
KEEPING IT IN THE PARK
One area the Sun Devil pitching staff has certainly improved 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 19 home runs in pre-conference play. Through pre-conference play last year, ASU had given up 27 homers.
- ASU gave up 81 bombs in 2015 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.
SCORE MORE TO WIN MORE
Much of ASU’s success this season has been made while capitalizing on having runners in scoring position while limiting the opposition in those circumstances.
- ASU is batting .344 as a team (101-of-294) with runners in scoring position this season while limiting opponents to just 43-of-172 hitting (.250) with RISP.
- Nikki Girard has paved that attack with 19 hits on 38 at bats with runners in scoring position while Jennifer Soria, Abby Spiel and Nichole Chilson all have double-digit hits this season with RISP.