The Arizona State Softball team wrapped up an eventful alumni weekend Sunday afternoon with their second annual Golden Fork Awards Banquet.
The weekend festivities kicked off Friday evening, and carried through Saturday's alumni game, that also served as a celebration of the 2008 NCAA Championship team. The program also celebrated the success of the 2018 season on Sunday, and officially turned the page, and their sites, towards the 2019 season.
About the 2018 Season:
In their 38th- season of NCAA competition, the Arizona State softball team continued to grow under 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Trisha Ford. In just her second season at ASU, Ford guided the Sun Devils to a third place finish in Pac-12 play, and to the 12th- trip to the NCAA Women's College World Series in program history.
The Sun Devils finished the year with a 48-13 record, that included a 16-8 mark in Pac-12 play. The 48 wins on the year marked the team's 23rd- straight 30-win season, and 24th- straight winning season for the program. The 48 wins was the most in a single season for ASU since winning 50 games in 2013.
In Pac-12 play, the 2018 season marked the Sun Devils' best record since 2013. The 16 conference wins paced ASU to a third-place finish, the 29th- top-five finish in league play in program history.
Following a successful regular season that saw the Sun Devils fight their way to a 43-11 record, the Sun Devils earned a No. 8 seed in the 2018 NCAA Postseason. By way of earning the eight-seed, ASU earned the opportunity to host Regionals and Super Regionals in Tempe, the first postseason action hosted at Farrington Stadium since the 2014 season.
The Sun Devils lifted the lid on 2018 postseason play with a 2-0 win over New Mexico State, a win that set up a rematch with 2017 postseason foe Ole Miss. The Sun Devils made quick work of the Rebels in their second game of postseason play, getting past Ole Miss 7-0 in game one, and a 9-0 run-rule victory in Sunday's elimination game to move onto Super Regional play for the first time since 2013.
ASU continued to roll in the Super Regionals, sweeping the red-hot South Carolina Gamecocks with back-to-back 5-2 victories to punch their ticket to the 2018 Women's College World Series, marking ASU's 12th- WCWS appearances in program history.
Arizona State started their WCWS chase with a heartbreaking loss to top-seeded Oregon, setting up an elimination match against defending National Champion, Oklahoma. In what would go down as one of the best pitching duels of the season, ASU came up just short, ending their 2018 season just shy of their third NCAA Championship in program history.
2018 Award Winners:
Senior pitcher Breanna Macha was honored as the recipient of the Mary Littlewood award. The senior, who earned Pitcher of the Year honors following the 2017 season, was instrumental in the Sun Devils' success in 2018. The righty appeared in 31 games for ASU, finishing the season with a 16-6 record, and an impressive 2.17 ERA on the year, the second lowest ERA for Macha in a single season during her time as a Sun Devil.
The Mesa, Ariz., native ended her ASU career with 54 wins while striking out 384 batters. The 54 wins moved Macha ahead of Carrie Breedlove (1995-98) for 11th- in ASU career-wins, while her 387 strikeouts rank 10th in Sun Devil softball history.
2018 Sophomore pitcher, G Juarez, was honored with Team MVP and Pitcher of the year honors following a season where she led the Sun Devils in the circle with a 26-6 record and a stellar 1.22 ERA.
Her 305 strikeouts stand as the ninth- highest in a single season, checking in just five strikeouts behind Escobedo who struck out 310 batters in 2014. Juarez's 26 wins in 2018 also rank ninth in a single season for ASU.
Following the 2018 campaign, Juarez became ASU's 25th NFCA First-Team All-American honoree in ASU softball history, and first pitcher to earn All-America honors since Dallas Escobedo was named a first-team honoree in 2014.
Offensively, Kindra Hackbarth was named the 2018 Offensive Player of the Year. Hackbarth was instrumental in the team's offensive success, completing her sophomore campaign with a team-high .368 in batting average, while also leading the squad in hits (74) and triples (5).
The lefty finished the season with 74 hits in her 170 at bats, marking the most hits for an ASU player in a season since Amber Freeman recorded 79 in 2015. Equally as impressive, Hackbarth recoded multi-hit games in six straight outings during the year, batting an incredible .522 average during that time.
Shortstop Jade Gortarez and catcher Maddi Hackbarth earned co-Defensive MVP recognition. Gortarez, an incredibly rangy shortstop, ended the year with a .947 fielding percentage, following a season where she recorded or assisted in 179 putouts.
Behind the plate, M. Hackbarth was the unsung hero in the Sun Devils pitching success. She anchored a battery that struck out an incredible 455 batters, while throwing out five runners on the base-path, limiting opposing teams to a miniscule 20 stolen base attempts all season.
First baseman Danielle Gibson was honored as the 2018 Newcomer of the year, following a season that saw the towering first baseman bat at a .343 clip and lead the team with 12 doubles and 12 home runs. Defensively, Gibson was just as solid, finishing the year with a .971 fielding percentage on the year.
Senior infielder Marisa Stankiewicz was honored with the Bill Kajikawa Sun Devil Award, an award new to the lineup in 2018. The award, named in honor of Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, is given to someone who showed incredible growth during last season. Stankiewicz did just that in 2018, finishing her final season in the Maroon and Gold with career-highs in runs (35), hits (31), home runs (10), slugging percentage (.484) and walks (34).
Outfielder Morgan Howe was named the 2018 recipient of the Pitchfork Award following a season that saw her post a .361 batting average, a mark that ranked second on the team. The junior slugger laced 20 extra base hits that included three homers en route to a .555 slugging percentage on the season.
Howe's contributions carried over off the field as well as she was also honored with the Richard Berger Exceptional Community Service Award. Howe dedicated her time and energy off the field to building the Tempe community. The junior contributed over 20 hours of service at events like The Tempe Healing Flags, A New Leaf Book Donations, and the Sun Devil Food Drive.
In the classroom, freshman Rylee Maston collected the Scholar Athlete Award after leading the way for the Sun Devils academically, finishing her first year of collegiate softball with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Maston also earned NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors for her academic excellence following the 2018 season.
Rounding out the awards for the Sun Devils were senior Brynley Steele and DeNae Chatman, who were honored with the Sparky Award for their contributions to the team's energy during the 2018 season. Steele provided a spark on the base-path for the Sun Devils, finishing the season with three runs scored and a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
Chatman came on strong towards the end of the season for ASU, with a .663 slugging percentage with 15 extra base hits, including six home runs on the year.
With the conclusion of the 2018 Golden Fork Award Banquet, the Sun Devils will now officially turn their sites towards the 2019 season, and the chase for a 13th appearance in the NCAA WCWS, and third NCAA National Championship.
Fans can follow all of the action from the fall campaign by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
Complete List of Honorees:
Mary Littlewood All-Encompassing Award
Breanna Macha
Newcomer of the Year Award
Danielle Gibson
Scholar Athlete Award
Rylee Maston
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Kindra Hackbarth
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Maddi Hackbarth and Jade Gortarez
Team MVP
G Juarez
Richard Berger Exceptional Community Service Award
Morgan Howe
Pitcher of the Year
G Juarez
The Pitchfork Award
Morgan Howe
Sparky Award
DeNae Chatman and Brynley Steele
The weekend festivities kicked off Friday evening, and carried through Saturday's alumni game, that also served as a celebration of the 2008 NCAA Championship team. The program also celebrated the success of the 2018 season on Sunday, and officially turned the page, and their sites, towards the 2019 season.
About the 2018 Season:
In their 38th- season of NCAA competition, the Arizona State softball team continued to grow under 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Trisha Ford. In just her second season at ASU, Ford guided the Sun Devils to a third place finish in Pac-12 play, and to the 12th- trip to the NCAA Women's College World Series in program history.
The Sun Devils finished the year with a 48-13 record, that included a 16-8 mark in Pac-12 play. The 48 wins on the year marked the team's 23rd- straight 30-win season, and 24th- straight winning season for the program. The 48 wins was the most in a single season for ASU since winning 50 games in 2013.
In Pac-12 play, the 2018 season marked the Sun Devils' best record since 2013. The 16 conference wins paced ASU to a third-place finish, the 29th- top-five finish in league play in program history.
Following a successful regular season that saw the Sun Devils fight their way to a 43-11 record, the Sun Devils earned a No. 8 seed in the 2018 NCAA Postseason. By way of earning the eight-seed, ASU earned the opportunity to host Regionals and Super Regionals in Tempe, the first postseason action hosted at Farrington Stadium since the 2014 season.
The Sun Devils lifted the lid on 2018 postseason play with a 2-0 win over New Mexico State, a win that set up a rematch with 2017 postseason foe Ole Miss. The Sun Devils made quick work of the Rebels in their second game of postseason play, getting past Ole Miss 7-0 in game one, and a 9-0 run-rule victory in Sunday's elimination game to move onto Super Regional play for the first time since 2013.
ASU continued to roll in the Super Regionals, sweeping the red-hot South Carolina Gamecocks with back-to-back 5-2 victories to punch their ticket to the 2018 Women's College World Series, marking ASU's 12th- WCWS appearances in program history.
Arizona State started their WCWS chase with a heartbreaking loss to top-seeded Oregon, setting up an elimination match against defending National Champion, Oklahoma. In what would go down as one of the best pitching duels of the season, ASU came up just short, ending their 2018 season just shy of their third NCAA Championship in program history.
2018 Award Winners:
Senior pitcher Breanna Macha was honored as the recipient of the Mary Littlewood award. The senior, who earned Pitcher of the Year honors following the 2017 season, was instrumental in the Sun Devils' success in 2018. The righty appeared in 31 games for ASU, finishing the season with a 16-6 record, and an impressive 2.17 ERA on the year, the second lowest ERA for Macha in a single season during her time as a Sun Devil.
The Mesa, Ariz., native ended her ASU career with 54 wins while striking out 384 batters. The 54 wins moved Macha ahead of Carrie Breedlove (1995-98) for 11th- in ASU career-wins, while her 387 strikeouts rank 10th in Sun Devil softball history.
2018 Sophomore pitcher, G Juarez, was honored with Team MVP and Pitcher of the year honors following a season where she led the Sun Devils in the circle with a 26-6 record and a stellar 1.22 ERA.
Her 305 strikeouts stand as the ninth- highest in a single season, checking in just five strikeouts behind Escobedo who struck out 310 batters in 2014. Juarez's 26 wins in 2018 also rank ninth in a single season for ASU.
Following the 2018 campaign, Juarez became ASU's 25th NFCA First-Team All-American honoree in ASU softball history, and first pitcher to earn All-America honors since Dallas Escobedo was named a first-team honoree in 2014.
Offensively, Kindra Hackbarth was named the 2018 Offensive Player of the Year. Hackbarth was instrumental in the team's offensive success, completing her sophomore campaign with a team-high .368 in batting average, while also leading the squad in hits (74) and triples (5).
The lefty finished the season with 74 hits in her 170 at bats, marking the most hits for an ASU player in a season since Amber Freeman recorded 79 in 2015. Equally as impressive, Hackbarth recoded multi-hit games in six straight outings during the year, batting an incredible .522 average during that time.
Shortstop Jade Gortarez and catcher Maddi Hackbarth earned co-Defensive MVP recognition. Gortarez, an incredibly rangy shortstop, ended the year with a .947 fielding percentage, following a season where she recorded or assisted in 179 putouts.
Behind the plate, M. Hackbarth was the unsung hero in the Sun Devils pitching success. She anchored a battery that struck out an incredible 455 batters, while throwing out five runners on the base-path, limiting opposing teams to a miniscule 20 stolen base attempts all season.
First baseman Danielle Gibson was honored as the 2018 Newcomer of the year, following a season that saw the towering first baseman bat at a .343 clip and lead the team with 12 doubles and 12 home runs. Defensively, Gibson was just as solid, finishing the year with a .971 fielding percentage on the year.
Senior infielder Marisa Stankiewicz was honored with the Bill Kajikawa Sun Devil Award, an award new to the lineup in 2018. The award, named in honor of Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, is given to someone who showed incredible growth during last season. Stankiewicz did just that in 2018, finishing her final season in the Maroon and Gold with career-highs in runs (35), hits (31), home runs (10), slugging percentage (.484) and walks (34).
Outfielder Morgan Howe was named the 2018 recipient of the Pitchfork Award following a season that saw her post a .361 batting average, a mark that ranked second on the team. The junior slugger laced 20 extra base hits that included three homers en route to a .555 slugging percentage on the season.
Howe's contributions carried over off the field as well as she was also honored with the Richard Berger Exceptional Community Service Award. Howe dedicated her time and energy off the field to building the Tempe community. The junior contributed over 20 hours of service at events like The Tempe Healing Flags, A New Leaf Book Donations, and the Sun Devil Food Drive.
In the classroom, freshman Rylee Maston collected the Scholar Athlete Award after leading the way for the Sun Devils academically, finishing her first year of collegiate softball with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Maston also earned NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors for her academic excellence following the 2018 season.
Rounding out the awards for the Sun Devils were senior Brynley Steele and DeNae Chatman, who were honored with the Sparky Award for their contributions to the team's energy during the 2018 season. Steele provided a spark on the base-path for the Sun Devils, finishing the season with three runs scored and a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
Chatman came on strong towards the end of the season for ASU, with a .663 slugging percentage with 15 extra base hits, including six home runs on the year.
With the conclusion of the 2018 Golden Fork Award Banquet, the Sun Devils will now officially turn their sites towards the 2019 season, and the chase for a 13th appearance in the NCAA WCWS, and third NCAA National Championship.
Fans can follow all of the action from the fall campaign by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
Complete List of Honorees:
Mary Littlewood All-Encompassing Award
Breanna Macha
Newcomer of the Year Award
Danielle Gibson
Scholar Athlete Award
Rylee Maston
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Kindra Hackbarth
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Maddi Hackbarth and Jade Gortarez
Team MVP
G Juarez
Richard Berger Exceptional Community Service Award
Morgan Howe
Pitcher of the Year
G Juarez
The Pitchfork Award
Morgan Howe
Sparky Award
DeNae Chatman and Brynley Steele