TEMPE, Ariz. -- The sixth-ranked Arizona State softball team will close out the 2018 regular season with a trip to top-ranked UCLA this weekend. The three-game series will get started Thursday night at 7 p.m. PT, followed by game two on Friday at the same time. The series will conclude Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon.
FOLLOW THE SERIES...
Thursday: 7 p.m. / Pac-12 Network / Live Stats
Friday: 7 p.m. / Pac-12 Network / Live Stats
Saturday: Noon / Pac-12 Network / Live Stats
LEADING OFF...
• Arizona State enters the weekend looking to stay hot following a three-game sweep of the Stanford Cardinal this past weekend. With the three wins, ASU has now won their last seven games, including winning eight of their last ten matchups.
• ASU enters the weekend with 42 wins on the season, marking the team's 16th 40-win season in program history, and the most wins for the Sun Devils since winning 46 games in 2014. The Sun Devils have also won 15 conference games, the most Pac-12 wins for ASU since winning 16 in 2013.
• The Sun Devil sweep of the Cardinal this past weekend marked ASU's third Pac-12 series sweep of the season. With the weekend sweep, the Sun Devils head to Westwood sitting in third place in the Pac-12 standings.
• As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have combined to post a 1.42 ERA, the eighth-lowest ERA in the country entering the weekend series. If the season ended today the 1.42 ERA would mark the lowest season ERA for an ASU squad since the 2006 season that saw the Sun Devils post a program-best 1.18 team ERA.
• Freshman first baseman Danielle Gibson has continued to excel in her first season of collegiate softball. Entering the weekend, Gibson has carded an incredible .372 batting average, a mark that ranks just a hair behind the 20th-best single season batting average for a Sun Devil set by Alix Johnson who hit at a .395 clip during the 2014 season.
• ASU checked in at No. 6 in this week's rankings, marking the eighth-straight week for the Sun Devils to rank inside the top-10 in the NFCA Coaches' Poll. The sixth-place ranking marks the highest for the Sun Devils' this season.
WE ALL DIG THE LONG BALL...
So far this season, ASU has connected on 57 home runs, including three grand slams. Sophomore catcher Maddie Hackbarth launched the first grand-slam of the season against Purdue on just the second day of the 2018 season. During ASU's road trip to face then No. 20 Cal, 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 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. With the 57 home runs on the year, ASU is launching 1.12 home runs per game, a mark that ranks 13th-nationally and third in the Pac-12.
SUN DEVILS FACE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE IN 2018...
Since the Start of the 2018 season, the Sun Devils have challenged themselves by playing some of the top teams in the country. Entering this week's series against top-ranked UCLA, ASU has already played 16 games against teams currently ranked in the top-25, including 11 games against teams ranked in the top-10. ASU has found a comfort in playing in top-25 matchups, taking a huge 2-1 series win over then No. 1 Washington earlier this season.
PITCHING POWERING SUN DEVIL SUCCESS...
While the Sun Devil offense has been able to score with some of the nation's premier teams, pitching has been just as impressive through the 2018 season. So far this year, opposing batters have been held to a miniscule .186 batting average, and have only scored a handful of runs. As a staff, the Sun Devil pitchers have posted an impressive 1.44 ERA, a mark that ranks eighth-nationally, and third in the Pac-12.
(G)REATNESS IN THE CIRCLE...
Sophomore lefty G Juarez has been a force to be reckoned with all season, but the Glendale, Ariz., native really got things rolling 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 other Sun Devil to join Juarez with four weekly honors, earning Player of the Week recognition four times during the 2012 season.
RANKING UP....
Arizona State has been featured in the NCAA Softball rankings every week so far this season after debuting at No. 23 to start the season, ASU has steadily climbed in the rankings, including checking in at 10 or higher the last eight straight-weeks. This week, the Sun Devils check in at No. 6 in both the NFCA and ESPN polls.
NEW FACES, BIG IMPACT...
In the second year of the Trisha Ford era, things are starting to come together, and the future looks incredibly bright for the ASU softball program. This season, the Sun Devils welcomed 10 newcomers who have made an instant impact on the 2018 team. Danielle Gibson, Kindra Hackbarth, Morgan Howe and Jade Gortarez have been leaders for ASU this season, combining to post 134 runs on 225 hits, including 30 homers on the year.
MACHA MAKING MOVES...
Senior right hander, Breanna Macha, has been a steady force in the Sun Devil pitching rotation since she first arrived on campus. In her four years as a Sun Devil, Macha has amassed 52 career-wins while striking out 354 batters. The 52 wins places her in 11th-place all-time for an ASU pitcher, moving her past Carrie Bedlove's 50 wins (1995-98) which is 12th in ASU history.
ON DECK...
Following the weekend road series, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe to learn their postseason fate with the NCAA Selection Show scheduled to be aired on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. PT on ESPN2. During the show, 16 teams will be selected as host sites for NCAA Regional Play, with the top 8 teams earning the opportunity to host Super Regionals the following week.