Sun Devil Athletics
HomeHome
Loading

Sun Devil Softball Lifts Lid on Postseason in Baton Rouge

Sun Devil Softball Lifts Lid on Postseason in Baton RougeSun Devil Softball Lifts Lid on Postseason in Baton Rouge
Sun Devil Athletics

BATON ROUGE -- The Arizona State University softball team will make its 12th consecutive appearance in the postsason (and 28th overall) beginning this weekend as the squad heads to the Bayou to take part in the Baton Rouge Regional of the 2016 NCAA Women's Softball Tournament.  

The Baton Rouge Regional - hosted by the national No. 10 seed LSU - will take place from May 20-22 with the Sun Devils opening action as the regional's three-seed against second-seeded McNeese State on Friday at 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. local. The game will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com.

The host LSU and LIU Brooklyn will face off after the Sun Devils and the Cowgirls at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. local time. The winners of each game will face each other on Saturday while the losers of the first games will battle to stave off double elimination and continue competing for a chance to advance to the Super Regional.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

  • After starting year with 27 errors in 1st 23 games (1.2 per game), ASU defense has buckled down with just 16 errors in last 31 games (.52 pg)
  • The Sun Devils led the @Pac12 with a .980 fielding percentage in league games with just 12 errors. 
  • Nikki Girard's .969 fielding percentage was the highest among @Pac12 second basemen and she hasn't had an error in 23 games. 
  • Taylor Becerra is the second-best fielding third baseman in the @Pac12 by percentage w/ her .971 clip - 2nd at ASU in at least 25 years.  
  • Jennifer Soria has a hit in 13 straight games - the longest hitting streak for ASU this year - and she has multiple hits in 7 of those.
  • The Sun Devils are making their 12th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and the 28th appearance in program history. 
  • Should ASU play LSU, it would be the 8th time since 2000 that the two teams have seen each other in postseason. 
  • After struggling in the field early (13 errors in 21 games), shortstop @cgonzales112 has just three errors in her last 33 games.
  • Sashel Palacios has a hit in 13 of her last 15 games and has posted multiple hits in seven of those games and was 2nd on the team in Pac-12 batting AVG.  
  • ASU's 62 home runs are good for 19th in the nation and notable as the team returned just 29 of the home runs it hit last year. 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

Each game of the regional will be streamed live online through the SEC Network+ on WatchESPN.com. Yvette Girouard and Lyn Rollins will be calling the action throughout the duration of the tournament.

Fans are encouraged to check with their local cable or internet providers to confirm access to the SEC Network tier of channels.

POSTSEASON SUCCESS

  • The Sun Devils are making their 28th 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. 
  • This season also marks the 12th 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 well as an incredible 32-5 record at home in the span.

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS

McNeese is coming off a weekend that saw the Cowgirls win a school record 41 games on its way to claiming the Southland Conference Tournament title for the fourth time in program history and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA.  McNeese will enter the regional tournament with a 42-12 overall record. 

Sophomore Erika Piancastelli was named the Southland Player and Hitter of the Year for the second consecutive season as well as the SLC Tournament MVP. Piancastelli is second in the nation in slugging percent (.993) and home runs (21), third in walks and on base percentage, fifth in home runs per game and eighth in runs per game.

In the circle, McNeese is led by a pair of seniors in Emily Vincent and Jamie Allred - a pair that has helped lead the Cowgirls to the nation's 11th-best team ERA (2.10). Vincent is 16-3 on the year and leads the team with a 1.60 ERA and 148.2 innings pitched and 147 strikeouts. Allred has put up a 1.71 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 126.2 innings pitched. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

With a win, the Devils could get a shot at the host Tigers of LSU. Ranked in the top five for much of the season, the Tigers advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship, falling to Auburn. Should that come about, it would be the eighth postseason that the two teams have seen each other. ASU is 10-6 all-time against the Tigers, with two of those losses coming on a single day last year as LSU eliminated the Devils from the postseason in the "if necessary" game of last year's regional. Turnabout was fair play as ASU has eliminated LSU from the postseason in five other postseasons since 2002.

The Tiger roster this season is nearly identical to the one they fielded last year. Bianka Bell remains the team's top hitter, batting .395 on the year with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. Sahvanna Jaquish has also posted 12 homers with a team leading 65 RBIs.  

Like last year, however, pitching is the bread and butter of the Tigers with the nation's seventh lowest team ERA of 1.90. Freshman Sydney Smith has a minischule 0.80 ERA and a 12-3 record while Carly Hoover has earned the lion's share of the innings, leading the team with 159.2 innings pitched en route to a 2.37 ERA, an 18-7 record and 194 strikeouts.  

SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS

ASU is 6-0 all-time against the Blackbirds, last having faced off in the opening game of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, a 9-0 Sun Devil victory.  

LIU Brooklyn is paced offensively by Celinna Cosio, who leads the team with 39 RBIs and eight home runs with a .342 average. Erynn Sobieski has pitched 213.2 innings for the Blackbirds, leading the team with a 3.05 ERA and a 19-17 record.  

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. 

  • A career .247 hitter prior to 2016, Soria is batting .363 on the season (second on the team) and leads the team with 14 home runs after having just eight total in her career prior to this year.
  • Her 52 runs scored this year are 16 more than any other Devil and fourth in the Pac-12. She's also slugging at a .708 clip this year, good for eighth in the league.
  • Is second on the team with 18 hits with runners in scoring position (.360 average w/ RISP). 
  • With 12 doubles this season, Soria leads the team and has surpassed her career total of eight entering the season and is currently fifth in the Pac-12.
  • Soria is an absolutely deadly hitter when she gets ahead in the count as she's 27-of-53 (.509) when she puts the ball in play with more balls than strikes. She's worked the count full 23 times this season, good for third on the team, and is 5-for-12 on the payoff pitch with a team-leading nine walks to just two Ks for a .667 OBP. 
  • Soria leads the team in batting at a .527 clip as a leadoff hitter (29-of-55).
  • Soria's defense is good for just about a highlight a game and earned her Pac-12 All-Defensive honors last season. She's accounted for 92 putouts in center field this season, 26 more than any other pure centerfielder in the conference and 30 more than any Sun Devil player in at least a decade. 
  • The senior brings a team-leading 13-game hitting streak into the tournament (the longest streak by any Devil this year) and has multiple hits in seven of those, leading the team with 19 multi-hit games overall. 
  • Soria was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after the Cal series after she went 7-for-13 on the weekend with a whopping four home runs, slugging an otherworldly 1.462 over the course of three games. She knocked a team-leading six RBIs and scored seven runs in the series, four more than any other player on the roster and nearly a third of the total 22 runs scored by the Sun Devils overall.
  • Soria is a First Team All-Pac-12 Selection and was also named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team. As if all that weren't enough, Soria was selected to the CoSIDA District VIII All-Academic Team as well.

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 has been heavily relied on to help pace ASU this season. 

  • A career .259 hitter entering the year, Girard is batting .319 in 2016 and has spent the majority of the season in the cleanup spot.  
  • A proven gap-hitter, Girard is tied for eighth in ASU history with 39 career doubles and is second on the Sun Devils with 10 this season.
  • Girard has been otherworldly with runners in scoring position this season and is 30-for-62 on the year (.483) 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. 
  • Girard leads the team with 57 instances of advancing a runner on 89 chances (.640).
  • 30 of her 51 hits this season (59 percent) have come with a runner in scoring position and she leads the closest Sun Devil by 12 hits in the category.
  • She is second on the squad with 46 RBIs - just outside the top 10 in the conference and already 15 more than her previous career best.
  • 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 continues to field at a high-clip at one of the toughest positions on the field at second base with her .969 fielding percentage this year good for the highest mark among all Pac-12 second basemen. Girard had just one single error in Pac-12 games this season and that came in the very first league game of the year against Arizona as she fielding at a .988 clip in conference games. She has gone 25 straight games without an error.
  • 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.
  • She finished her junior year with a solid .963 fielding percentage last season and earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Defensive team as a result. 

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's continued to be one of ASU's most consistent players day-to-day this season.

  • Palacios is one of ASU's most consistent hitters and currently holds the team's third-longest hitting streak on the season at 10 games.
  • After an 11-game stretch prior to the Washington series where she managed just two hits, Palacios has since had a hit in 13 of the last 16 games and has multiple hits in seven of those. 
  • Once at the bottom of the team's starters in batting average earlier this season, Palacios climbed 40 points in Pac-12 action and enters the weekend fifth on the team with a .336 average and was second on the squad with a .375 average in Pac-12 competition. She has six home runs - tied for fourth on the team - and 25 RBIs.
  • Among ASU's starters, Palacios is one of just three that did not have a single error during Pac-12 games.
  • 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 didn'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. 

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 is second on the team with 12 home runs and leads the squad with 47 RBIs this season (a career high), totals good for 10th and ninth in the conference, respectively. 
  • After struggling in the field early this season wtih 13 errors in the first 21 games of action, Gonzales has been exceptional with just three errors in her last 33 games. Her .956 fielding percentage in Pac-12 games was the highest among all conference shortstops. 
  • Gonzales has 18 two-out RBIs - leading the team and a staple of her career at ASU. She leads the team with 14 multi-RBI games and is second with 14 multi-hit games as well. She has a hit in 10 of the last 15 games and multiple hits in five of those. 
  • Gonzales has 54 instances of advancing a runner on 92 chances (.587) and leads the team with 24 instances of advancing a runner despite an out, including a Pac-12-leading five sacrifice flies.
  • 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. 
  • Gonzales continues her climb up the ASU record books, now 14th all-time with 31 home runs and 14th with 130 RBI.  

KICKING IT INTO AGUIRRE
Senior catcher Katee Aguirre looks to have a much larger role in 2016 behind the plate in both senses. 

  • Aguirre was one of ASU's most consistent players in Pac-12 action, logging a hit in all but six conference games. She enters the weekend with hits in nine of her last 11 games.
  • A sub-.300 career hitter entering the year, Aguirre is batting .319 this season with 29 RBIs and eight homers - good for third on the team.
  • With eight doubles this season, Aguirre has crushed her previous career total of one in the category.
  • Her 29 RBIs are fourth on the team and notable as she had just 13 total RBIs in all of 2015. 
  • Aguirre has the team's second-longest hitting streak this season at 10 games.
  • Aguirre leads the Pac-12 with two runners picked off this year and the Sun Devils are fourth in the league in catching eight runners stealing this season thanks in large part to Aguirre. 
  • 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. 

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 third on the team with a .343 average this season with 26 RBIs - fifth on the team - and a .418 OBP. 
  • The sophomore has been ASU's most consistent batter with two outs this year, batting 19-for-48 (.396) on the season when it's up to her to keep the inning alive, the highest average on the team and the most hits in that situation.  She's third on the team with 13 two-out RBIs this season.
  • Chilson is third on the team with 16 hits with runners in scoring position
  • Four times this season has Chilson logged three or more RBIs in a single game, third team lead in the category while her four games with three or more hits are tied for the team lead.
  • The sophomore is one of just six players with 40 or more defensive chances without having a single error in the Pac-12 this season.

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.

  • One of the more underrated aspects of Becerra's game is her defense. The freshman is fielding at a .972 clip at third base this season. That's the second highest fielding percentage among all Pac-12 third baseman and the second highest fielding percentage for a Sun Devil at third base in at least the last 25 years behind only All-American Krista Donnenwirth's 2011 .988 fielding percentage. Becerra has the highest fielding percentage for a freshman playing third base at ASU in at least 25 years. 
  • Becerra was the only Pac-12 third baseman to not have a defensive error in league games this season.
  • Becerra has been a pleasant surprise at the plate as well and is third on the team with a .350 average and with a .428 OBP.
  • She had her 12-game hitting streak snapped against Arizona but that streak remains the second-longest by any Sun Devil this season. She added an eight game-streak later in the season as well
  • As a leadoff batter, Becerra has been admirable, reaching on 19-of-41 (.463) chances this season.
  • The freshman has been elite when it comes to moving baserunners as she is among the team leaders with a .606 clip this season, advancing runners on 43-of-71 chances.

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 .320 this season and is second on the team with 36 runs scored.
  • She has knocked nine RBIs this season, which is notable as she had just five in her career entering 2016. 
  • Spiel is 13-for-14 on stolen bases this season, second in the Pac-12 in the category.
  • A speedy slap-hitter, Spiel's forte has been advancing baserunners this year and she is one of the best at advancing runners at a .597 clip (46-of-77) while her .342 average with runners in scoring position is third on the team.
  • Spiel holds ASU's longest reach base streak this season with her 14-straight games doing so early this year.
  • 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 15-11 on the season with two saves. Her 15 wins are ninth
  • It should be noted that four of Kessler's losses have come in games where she has allowed one or fewer earned runs and in all three of those games, the eventually winning run was unearned (two international tiebreakers runs in extra innings against Fullerton and No. 9 James Madison, two unearned seventh inning runs following an infield error against Arizona and one earned run in a 1-0 loss to Oregon State). 
  • She is fourth in the Pac-12 among pitchers with over 150 innings pitched with a 3.04 ERA to date, pitching 179.2 total innings - second in the league
  • The junior leads the way with 175 strikeouts, a total that is over three times more than any other pitcher on the squad and currently good for fourth in the conference.
  • Her 541 career strikeouts (including her time at Kansas) currently rank 10th among all the NCAA Division I junior pitchers in the nation and 29th among all active pitchers in their careers.
  • Kessler has been exceptional at getting ahead of the count, throwing first pitch strikes 64 percent of the time this season and throwing a strike on 58 percent of her 0-1 counts.

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 a respectable 4.23 ERA - down almost an entire run from last season - and has posted an 8-5 record with one save. 
  • The sophomore has struck out 43 batters this season and allowed just 21 walks in 89.1 IP, a total that is tied for ninth nationally among pitchers with over 80 innings pitched in fewest walks allowed.
  • 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.

  • 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 off 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 currently leads the team with a .395 average - good for ninth in the Pac-12 - while her .495 on-base percentage is fifth in the league. 
  • The freshman has been ASU's best hitter in Pac-12 games, batting at a .395 clip with a .511 on-base percentage. 
  • Leilua is one of just two ASU players who have maintained over a .350 average in a all of ASU's wins as well as in all of the team's losses.

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 44-of-107 (.407) when facing a full count and putting the ball into play.
  • The Sun Devils have drawn a walk 50 times to 17 strikeouts with a full count, led by nine walks from Jennifer Soria and six from Taylor Becerra and Fa Leilua. With the 50 walks included, ASU has a .598 on-base percentage with a full count.
  • On the flip side, RHP Kelsey Kessler has absolutely thrived when she gets hitters in a full-count situation. Facing 148 full counts this season, Kessler has allowed batters to hit just 10-for-82 (.122) when putting the ball into play with 41 strikeouts.

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 have 171 walks this season, a total that is ranked 30th among power conference teams nationally.
  • On the flip side, the ASU pitching staff has allowed just 107 walks this season, ranked third in Pac-12 in fewest walks allowed to date and ninth-fewest among all Power Five programs.
  • ASU had 276 walks overall in 2015 --the eighth-highest total nationally- to create nearly a 2:1 walk to strikeout ratio. 

KEEP IT CLEAN
The Sun Devils have always prided themselves on being exceptional both at the plate and in the field and ASU has done a solid job of cleaning up its defense in recent weeks. 

  • In the first 23 games of the year, ASU had 27 errors (1.2 per game) and was fielding at just a .956 clip.
  • Since then, ASU has just 16 errors in its last 31 games (.52 per game) while fielding .982.
  • Chelsea Gonzales has returned to her Pac-12 All-Defensive self to lead the charge. After struggling in the field early this season wtih 13 errors in the first 21 games of action, Gonzales has had just three errors in her last 31 games.
  • ASU's .980 fielding percentage in Pac-12 games to date led conference by over 10 percentage points while the team's 12 errors in league play were seven fewer than any other team.

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 expected a slightly different offense than they might be accustomed to and part of that success is coming on the base path.

  • The Devils have stolen 49 bases to date, 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 35th nationally among Power Five teams after finishing as one of the 10 worst clubs overall in the nation in the category in 2015.
  • Abby Spiel's 13 stolen bases this season are tied for second in the conference.
  • On the flip side, ASU has thrown out eight runners attempting to steal a base this season - good for fourth in the Pac-12.
  • ASU has used pinch runners 104 times thus far and brought those pinch runners home on 42 occasions (.403).
  • ASU has laid down 29 sacrifice bunts this season (fourth in the Pac-12) 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. But, behind Robert Wagner's offensive coaching prowess, the storyline has been anything but that so far this season. 

  • The Devils have hit 62 home runs in 2016, tied for 18th nationally and third in the Pac-12. The total is notable as those returning to the team this season combined for a total of just 29 of the home runs hit last year after the graduation of five power-hitting seniors. 
  • ASU has hit 61 doubles to date and Jenn Soria and Nikki Girard are both ranked in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in the category with 12 and 10, respectively. 
  • As a team, ASU is batting .322 heading into the weekend, 20 points higher than it was batting at this point last season, and the 29th-highest batting average in the nation this season. 
  • Nine Sun Devils with the minimum number of at-bats this season are batting over .300, compared to just six last season.

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 four hitters for the Sun Devils this season include two true freshmen in Taylor Becerra (.350) and Fa Leilua (.395), a player that saw two at-bats last season in Nichole Chilson (.343) and a senior that had a career .244 average coming into the year in Jennifer Soria (.363).
  • Despite being a three-year starter, Nikki Girard was just a .259 career hitter coming into 2016. This season she's already set a new single season RBI mark with 46, a new home run high at six and is batting at a .319 clip to boot.
  • If you were to include freshmen, entering the weekend there are just TWO Sun Devils on the roster that do not already have a career high in at-bats. Sashel Palacios has 119 at-bats this year and should pass her previous career high of 124 this weekend.
  • The only member of the roster that might not reach a career high in at-bats this season is Chelsea Gonzales. 

UNDONE BY THE LONG BALL

The long ball has been the bane of the ASU pitching staff for the second consecutive season.

  • ASU has allowed 58 home runs to date. Through this point last year, ASU had given up 81 homers. Unfortunately, home runs have been the bane of the team this year as well. 106 of the 219 runs given up by ASU this year (49 percent) have been by way of homer.
  • 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. 
  • ASU has done its part to limit extra base hits this year, however, allowing just 39 doubles as a pitching staff (and due to an incredibly speedy outfield), the 17th-lowest total in the NCAA.

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 .310 as a team (157-of-507) with runners in scoring position this season while limiting opponents to just 104 hits with RISP.
  • Nikki Girard has paved that attack with 30 hits on 62 at bats with runners in scoring position while nine different Sun Devils have double-digit hits with runners in scoring position. 

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 had one of the top winning percentages in the country with a 509-136-1 record since 2006. The .788 win percentage coming into 2016 was 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)