TEMPE, Ariz. -- The seventh-ranked Arizona State softball team will continue Pac-12 play this weekend with a trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon State. The three-game series between to the two teams will kick off on Friday with game two scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. PT. The series will conclude Sunday with a noon first pitch.
**FULL PDF NOTES TO FOLLOW SOON**
LEADING OFF...
• The Sun Devils enter the weekend atop the Pac-12 standings by way of their .833-win percentage. ASU is followed by Washington, UCLA, Arizona and Oregon to round out the top-five.
• Sophomore pitcher, G Juarez, has been absolutely lights out in the circle for the Sun Devils in 2018. On Monday, Juarez was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the fourth-straight week effectively making Juarez the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Month for the month of March.
• As a team, ASU enters the weekend slate batting .309 on the season, including an eye popping 1.20 home runs per game, a mark that ranks 9th- nationally. Six Sun Devils are hitting at or above .300 on the season, including freshman first baseman Danielle Gibson who is hitting at a team-leading .413 clip.
• Danielle Gibson has looked to hit her stride in the Maroon and Gold this season. The Murrieta, Calif., native has gone 38-for-92 at the plate this season, including blasting a team-leading 10 home runs. Her .837 slugging percentage ranks third in the Pac-12 this season and ranks 24th- nationally.
• To this point in the season, ASU has outhit opponents, 280-141, leading to a 209-60 ASU lead in runs scored. Entering the weekend series, ASU's 5.97 runs per game average ranks No. 20 in the country, and fourth in the Pac-12.
• As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have combined to post a 1.18 ERA, the eighth- lowest ERA in the country entering the weekend. Sophomore G Juarez has anchored the staff, posting a 0.70 ERA through the season, a mark that ranks fifth-nationally and second in the Pac-12.
(G)REATNESS ALL MARCH...
Sophomore lefty G Juarez has been a force to be reckoned with all season, but the Glendale, Ariz., native really hit her stride through the month of March. Through her 70-innings pitched, G notched 11 wins while maintaining a pristine 0.10 ERA and chalking up 122 strikeouts. All of this led to Juarez earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in four-consecutive weeks, matching Washington's Danielle Lawrie as the only Pac-12 pitcher to earn the honor in four-straight weeks during the 2010 season. With the latest nod, Juarez became the first ASU pitcher to earn Pac-12 weekly recognition four times in a single season, surpassing Dallas Escobedo (2013) Hillary Bach (2012) and Katie Burkhart (2007 and 2008) as the only pitchers to earn the honor three times in a single season. Katelyn Boyd is the only Sun Devil to join Juarez with four weekly honors, earning Player of the Week recognition four times during the 2012 season.
NO WALK ZONE...
In total, ASU has allowed just 43 walks so far in 2018, while tallying 272 strikeouts. Those numbers translate into an incredible 6.33 strikeout to walk ratio, the third-best in the nation and second-best in the Pac-12. Individually, G Juarez has allowed just 19 walks in her 110-innings pitched, translating to a 9.42 strikeout to walk ratio, a mark that ranks sixth in the nation entering the weekend series.
AIN'T IT GRAND...
In the past two weekends ASU has connected on two grand slams, coming from two of the Sun Devils' unlikely of places. Two weekends ago, during ASU's road trip to California, Skylar McCarty launched a grand-slam in the Arizona State's 4-0 win to complete the series sweep of the Golden Bears. McCarty's effort was followed by a grand-slam this weekend by outfielder Kindra Hackbarth, who unloaded on one in ASU's 10-3 win over BYU. In both instances, the home run was the first career-long ball for each player.
SUN DEVILS FACE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE IN 2018...
To be the best you have got to play the best. That is an idea not lost on the coaches at Arizona State who have set out on a 2018 schedule that features 22 games against teams ranked in the preseason top-25. Those games include a three-game series against conference foes Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Utah, who check in at No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 15 respectively. Entering the week, Arizona State's remaining schedule checks in as the 16th- toughest, based on opponent win percentage. Looking at the most recent rankings, ASU has scheduled contests against 12 teams that are currently either ranked or receiving votes. Against that schedule, ASU has carded a .886 win percentage, the sixth best in the nation.
PITCHING POWERING SUN DEVIL SUCCESS...
ASU's pitching has been unbelievably impressive through the first seven weeks of the season. So far in 2018, opposing batters have been held to a miniscule .169 batting average, and have only scored a handful of runs. As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have posted an impressive 1.18 ERA, a mark that ranks ninth- nationally, and third in the Pac-12.
FORD CLAIMS WIN NO. 200...
With the Sun Devils' 3-1 win over No. 20 California earlier this season, head coach Trisha Ford claimed her 200th- career victory. Entering the weekend, Ford has amassed a 205-99-1 career-record that includes a 60-28 record at ASU.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
The Beavers enter the weekend series fresh off a hard-fought loss to Oregon in the 2018 Civil War Series. Oregon State started the 2018 season hot, winning four of their first five contests of the year, including marquee wins over then No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 19 BYU and Missouri who was receiving votes. Since then, the Beavers have fallen on hard times, suffering four one-run losses to ranked opponents. Oregon State brings a potent offense into the weekend slate, that has amassed 147 runs against the nation's second toughest schedule.
ON DECK...
Following the weekend series at Oregon State, ASU will return home to host No. 5 Oregon and No. 9 Arizona in back-to-back three game series at Farrington Stadium, April 16-18 and 23-25.
**FULL PDF NOTES TO FOLLOW SOON**
LEADING OFF...
• The Sun Devils enter the weekend atop the Pac-12 standings by way of their .833-win percentage. ASU is followed by Washington, UCLA, Arizona and Oregon to round out the top-five.
• Sophomore pitcher, G Juarez, has been absolutely lights out in the circle for the Sun Devils in 2018. On Monday, Juarez was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the fourth-straight week effectively making Juarez the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Month for the month of March.
• As a team, ASU enters the weekend slate batting .309 on the season, including an eye popping 1.20 home runs per game, a mark that ranks 9th- nationally. Six Sun Devils are hitting at or above .300 on the season, including freshman first baseman Danielle Gibson who is hitting at a team-leading .413 clip.
• Danielle Gibson has looked to hit her stride in the Maroon and Gold this season. The Murrieta, Calif., native has gone 38-for-92 at the plate this season, including blasting a team-leading 10 home runs. Her .837 slugging percentage ranks third in the Pac-12 this season and ranks 24th- nationally.
• To this point in the season, ASU has outhit opponents, 280-141, leading to a 209-60 ASU lead in runs scored. Entering the weekend series, ASU's 5.97 runs per game average ranks No. 20 in the country, and fourth in the Pac-12.
• As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have combined to post a 1.18 ERA, the eighth- lowest ERA in the country entering the weekend. Sophomore G Juarez has anchored the staff, posting a 0.70 ERA through the season, a mark that ranks fifth-nationally and second in the Pac-12.
(G)REATNESS ALL MARCH...
Sophomore lefty G Juarez has been a force to be reckoned with all season, but the Glendale, Ariz., native really hit her stride through the month of March. Through her 70-innings pitched, G notched 11 wins while maintaining a pristine 0.10 ERA and chalking up 122 strikeouts. All of this led to Juarez earning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in four-consecutive weeks, matching Washington's Danielle Lawrie as the only Pac-12 pitcher to earn the honor in four-straight weeks during the 2010 season. With the latest nod, Juarez became the first ASU pitcher to earn Pac-12 weekly recognition four times in a single season, surpassing Dallas Escobedo (2013) Hillary Bach (2012) and Katie Burkhart (2007 and 2008) as the only pitchers to earn the honor three times in a single season. Katelyn Boyd is the only Sun Devil to join Juarez with four weekly honors, earning Player of the Week recognition four times during the 2012 season.
NO WALK ZONE...
In total, ASU has allowed just 43 walks so far in 2018, while tallying 272 strikeouts. Those numbers translate into an incredible 6.33 strikeout to walk ratio, the third-best in the nation and second-best in the Pac-12. Individually, G Juarez has allowed just 19 walks in her 110-innings pitched, translating to a 9.42 strikeout to walk ratio, a mark that ranks sixth in the nation entering the weekend series.
AIN'T IT GRAND...
In the past two weekends ASU has connected on two grand slams, coming from two of the Sun Devils' unlikely of places. Two weekends ago, during ASU's road trip to California, Skylar McCarty launched a grand-slam in the Arizona State's 4-0 win to complete the series sweep of the Golden Bears. McCarty's effort was followed by a grand-slam this weekend by outfielder Kindra Hackbarth, who unloaded on one in ASU's 10-3 win over BYU. In both instances, the home run was the first career-long ball for each player.
SUN DEVILS FACE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE IN 2018...
To be the best you have got to play the best. That is an idea not lost on the coaches at Arizona State who have set out on a 2018 schedule that features 22 games against teams ranked in the preseason top-25. Those games include a three-game series against conference foes Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Utah, who check in at No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 15 respectively. Entering the week, Arizona State's remaining schedule checks in as the 16th- toughest, based on opponent win percentage. Looking at the most recent rankings, ASU has scheduled contests against 12 teams that are currently either ranked or receiving votes. Against that schedule, ASU has carded a .886 win percentage, the sixth best in the nation.
PITCHING POWERING SUN DEVIL SUCCESS...
ASU's pitching has been unbelievably impressive through the first seven weeks of the season. So far in 2018, opposing batters have been held to a miniscule .169 batting average, and have only scored a handful of runs. As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have posted an impressive 1.18 ERA, a mark that ranks ninth- nationally, and third in the Pac-12.
FORD CLAIMS WIN NO. 200...
With the Sun Devils' 3-1 win over No. 20 California earlier this season, head coach Trisha Ford claimed her 200th- career victory. Entering the weekend, Ford has amassed a 205-99-1 career-record that includes a 60-28 record at ASU.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
The Beavers enter the weekend series fresh off a hard-fought loss to Oregon in the 2018 Civil War Series. Oregon State started the 2018 season hot, winning four of their first five contests of the year, including marquee wins over then No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 19 BYU and Missouri who was receiving votes. Since then, the Beavers have fallen on hard times, suffering four one-run losses to ranked opponents. Oregon State brings a potent offense into the weekend slate, that has amassed 147 runs against the nation's second toughest schedule.
ON DECK...
Following the weekend series at Oregon State, ASU will return home to host No. 5 Oregon and No. 9 Arizona in back-to-back three game series at Farrington Stadium, April 16-18 and 23-25.