TEMPE, Ariz. -- Fresh off of their lone bye-week of the 2019 season, Arizona State will hit the road for an important three-game series against the Stanford Cardinal, April 26-28. Game one is slated for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch Friday, to be followed by games two and three, Saturday at 5:30, and Sunday at 1:00 PT.
WEEKEND SLATE...
Friday: 7:00 PM // Live Stats // Watch Live
Saturday: 5:30 PM // Live Stats // Watch Live
Sunday: 1:00 PM // Live Stats // Watch Live
LEADING OFF...
• The road trip comes on the heels of a nine-game stretch that saw ASU play three-straight series against teams ranked in the top-10. This weekend's series stands as an important one, as both teams are currently vying for fourth place in the league standings.
• Individually, Kindra Hackbarth has been a driving force for the maroon and gold at the plate. So far this season, the Oakdale, Calif., native has carded an impressive 53 hits on the season, a mark that ranks seventh in the Pac-12. Hitting mainly in the lead-off spot, Kindra has excelled at getting on base in front of a potent power-offense. Kindra has come around to score at a rate of 1.21 times per outing, a mark that ranks fourth nationally, and second in the Pac-12.
• Not to be outdone, Maddi Hackbarth, the twin sister of Kindra, has shown a ton of power at the plate in 2019. The junior has already connected on 17 home runs this season, a tally that checks in at No. 10 in the nation and third in the Pac-12. Her .794 slugging percentage ranks second on the Sun Devil roster, and is good for 35th nationally.
• With just three series left for ASU in the 2019 season, the Sun Devils are in a great position to secure their 24th- consecutive 30-win season. In this week's national RPI rankings, Arizona State checked in at No. 32 and is also in good standing to make their 15th-consecutive postseason appearance.
• Through 42 games played this season, ASU has scored 312 runs, placing the Sun Devils on pace for 7.43 runs per game, the fifth highest mark in the country, and third highest in the Pac-12.
PASSING THE BAT TEST....
The ASU offense has been one of the most prolific squads in all of college softball through the 2019 season. If the season ended today, the team's .317 team batting average would rank as the team's fifth- highest average in program history, checking in just a few points lower than the team-high .340 average set during the 2011 season. Additionally, the team's 312 runs scored marks the 13th- season the Sun Devils have scored 300 or more runs in a season. The team's impressive 67 home runs stands as the 12th season with 60 or more long balls in the program's storied history, and already surpasses the number of long balls hit during the 2018 season that ended in OKC.
LAST TIME WE MET...
Last season Stanford and Arizona State met in the later part of the schedule. The Sun Devils entered the three-game series riding a four-game win streak, and had an opportunity to guarantee themselves a winning record in conference play. After battling their way back from a 2-0 deficit to win game one, ASU went on to pick up a series sweep by way of an 8-0 game two shutout victory, and a closely contested 3-2 win in game three. With the series sweep, ASU improved to 59-25 all-time against the Cardinal.
SUN DEVILS PUSHING THROUGH CHALLENGING 2019 SCHEDULE ...
There is no doubt that ASU's 2019 schedule is right up there with the toughest in the country. Looking at opponent's total win percentage, ASU's opponents check in at No. 16 in the country. In a look at the rankings, ASU has played 18 games against teams either ranked or receiving votes in this week's NFCA poll. That number also includes 14 games against teams ranked in the top-15. Also of note, ASU has played 22 games against teams ranked in the top-50 of the most recent RPI, including 16 games against teams ranked in the top-20.
PAC-12 LEADING THE WAY, AGAIN, IN COLLEGIATE SOFTBALL...
Three Pac-12 softball teams rank in the top-5 of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll with No. 2 UCLA (40-2, 14-1 Pac-12), No. 4 WASHINGTON (39-7, 14-4) and No. 5 ARIZONA (38-7, 15-0) after each team won it's league series last week to earn a top-10 overall record in the country. The three powerhouse teams have preformed on the mound with stellar pitching talents this season as UCLA leads the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.44) followed by Washington at No. 3 (5.37) and Arizona at No. 6 (4.37). Among Conference leaders, a pair of pitchers from the trio of schools composes the top-6 spots in strikeouts per seven innings. Additionally, three teams rank in the top-5 of the ESPN.com/USA softball poll with UCLA, Arizona and Washington at Nos. 2, 4 and 5, respectively. The Wildcats hurdled the Huskies in the national standings after securing their fifth-straight series sweep over then-No. 24 Stanford (7-0, 9-1, 13-2) to maintain a perfect Pac-12 record and extended their win streak to 20 games. The Pac-12 is home to the top scoring offenses in the country with No. 3 UCLA (7.48), No. 4 Arizona (7.47) and No. 5 Arizona State (7.43).
WHAT'S NEXT...
Following the weekend trip to the bay, ASU will return home for their final home-series of the 2019 season against Cal, May 3-5. 'Senior Weekend' will get underway on Friday with game one against the Golden Bears scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch. The series will continue Saturday at 1:00, before closing out the weekend with Senior Day, Sunday at noon. Fans can follow all of the action from the final three weeks of the 2019 regular season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.