TEMPE, Ari. -- The Arizona State softball team will finish the 2019 regular season with a three-game road series in Eugene Oregon where the team will face off with the 2018 Pac-12 Champion Ducks, May 9-11. The weekend series is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch on both Thursday and Friday, and the regular season finale Saturday at noon.
FOLLOW THE SERIES…
Thursday: Live Stats // Watch Live
Friday: Live Stats // Watch Live
Saturday: Live Stats // Watch Live
LEADING OFF…
• This past weekend, ASU picked up their 30th win on the season with a 10-6 victory over the California Golden Bears. With the win Sunday, ASU has now posted 24 straight 30 win seasons, including the last three under head coach, Trisha Ford.
• By taking two of three games from the visiting Bears last week, the Sun Devils also positioned themselves for a chance to finish the 2019 regular season with a winning record in Pac-12 play. If the Sun Devils can win at least two of the three games this weekend, ASU will have finish with a 12-12 record in conference play, marking the second consecutive season with at least a .500 record in league play, and would mark the 14th season in program history the team finished at or above .500 in Pac-12 play.
• In the series victory over Cal, ASU added three more home runs to their season total, pushing the team to 79 long balls on the year. The 79 homers ranks 8th for an ASU team, and is just three shy of tying the mark of 81 home runs hit by ASU in 2015, currently ranked seventh in program history.
• While hitting home runs is great, hitting them with bases loaded is even better. This season, ASU has combined to hit eight grand slams, a total that leads the nation. So far, three players have hit two grand slams this season: Maddi Hackbarth, Morgan Howe and Bella Loomis.
• After being held to a handful of runs in a very tough stretch of games in the heart of Pac-12 play, it is safe to say the slump has been busted. Through their last six games, ASU has combined to score 47 runs, and are hitting at a .327 clip. More impressive in that stretch of games, ASU has had five players card a slugging percentage of .550 or above, including senior Morgan Howe (1.100) and sophomore DeNae Chatman (1.294)
KEEPING IT 100...
A hand full of Sun Devils enter the week looking to track down, or having recently eclipsed the century mark in a few statistical categories. For example...
• Junior infielder Jade Gortarez has carded 95 hits in her two years in the maroon and gold, leaving her just five hits shy of reaching 100 as a Sun Devil.
• Junior Outfielder Kindra Hackbarth has crossed the plate 98 times in her two years in Tempe, leaving her with just two-runs shy of reaching 100.
+ Head coach Trisha Ford has picked up her 100th win as the head coach of ASU with the team's 18-2 run-rule victory over Oregon State.
+ Senior outfielder Morgan Howe picked up her 100th- hit this past weekend in ASU's win over South Dakota.
+ Junior outfielder Kindra Hackbarth picked up her 100th- hit in ASU's loss to Wisconsin.
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 .319 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 359 runs scored marks the 13th- season the Sun Devils have scored 300 or more runs in a season. The team's impressive 79 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 the Sun Devils were stymied by the then third-ranked Oregon Ducks in a back-and-forth series in Tempe. The Ducks took game one of the series, 5-0, before claiming game two, 9-1. The series finale would see the Sun Devil battle back to an impressive 4-0 win, improving the seventh ranked Sun Devils to a 34-7 record on the season. This season, the Sun Devils will head to Eugene looking to end the season on a high note. The series history does not favor the visiting Devils, as the team has not won a game against the Ducks in Eugene since the 2014 season, and has not claimed a series over the Ducks on the road since 2012.
SUN DEVILS PUSHING THROUGH CHALLENGING 2019 SCHEDULE ...
There is no doubt that ASU's 2019 schedule is up there with the toughest in the country. Looking at opponent's total win percentage, ASU's opponents check-in at No. 11 in the country. In a look at the rankings, ASU has played 21 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 25 games against teams ranked in the top-50 of the most recent RPI, including 16 games against teams ranked in the top-20.
ON DECK…
Following this weekend's road-series, ASU will await their fate in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The field of 64 teams will be announced Sunday evening on ESPN2 at 6:00 p.m. PT. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 postseason by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.
FOLLOW THE SERIES…
Thursday: Live Stats // Watch Live
Friday: Live Stats // Watch Live
Saturday: Live Stats // Watch Live
LEADING OFF…
• This past weekend, ASU picked up their 30th win on the season with a 10-6 victory over the California Golden Bears. With the win Sunday, ASU has now posted 24 straight 30 win seasons, including the last three under head coach, Trisha Ford.
• By taking two of three games from the visiting Bears last week, the Sun Devils also positioned themselves for a chance to finish the 2019 regular season with a winning record in Pac-12 play. If the Sun Devils can win at least two of the three games this weekend, ASU will have finish with a 12-12 record in conference play, marking the second consecutive season with at least a .500 record in league play, and would mark the 14th season in program history the team finished at or above .500 in Pac-12 play.
• In the series victory over Cal, ASU added three more home runs to their season total, pushing the team to 79 long balls on the year. The 79 homers ranks 8th for an ASU team, and is just three shy of tying the mark of 81 home runs hit by ASU in 2015, currently ranked seventh in program history.
• While hitting home runs is great, hitting them with bases loaded is even better. This season, ASU has combined to hit eight grand slams, a total that leads the nation. So far, three players have hit two grand slams this season: Maddi Hackbarth, Morgan Howe and Bella Loomis.
• After being held to a handful of runs in a very tough stretch of games in the heart of Pac-12 play, it is safe to say the slump has been busted. Through their last six games, ASU has combined to score 47 runs, and are hitting at a .327 clip. More impressive in that stretch of games, ASU has had five players card a slugging percentage of .550 or above, including senior Morgan Howe (1.100) and sophomore DeNae Chatman (1.294)
KEEPING IT 100...
A hand full of Sun Devils enter the week looking to track down, or having recently eclipsed the century mark in a few statistical categories. For example...
• Junior infielder Jade Gortarez has carded 95 hits in her two years in the maroon and gold, leaving her just five hits shy of reaching 100 as a Sun Devil.
• Junior Outfielder Kindra Hackbarth has crossed the plate 98 times in her two years in Tempe, leaving her with just two-runs shy of reaching 100.
+ Head coach Trisha Ford has picked up her 100th win as the head coach of ASU with the team's 18-2 run-rule victory over Oregon State.
+ Senior outfielder Morgan Howe picked up her 100th- hit this past weekend in ASU's win over South Dakota.
+ Junior outfielder Kindra Hackbarth picked up her 100th- hit in ASU's loss to Wisconsin.
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 .319 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 359 runs scored marks the 13th- season the Sun Devils have scored 300 or more runs in a season. The team's impressive 79 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 the Sun Devils were stymied by the then third-ranked Oregon Ducks in a back-and-forth series in Tempe. The Ducks took game one of the series, 5-0, before claiming game two, 9-1. The series finale would see the Sun Devil battle back to an impressive 4-0 win, improving the seventh ranked Sun Devils to a 34-7 record on the season. This season, the Sun Devils will head to Eugene looking to end the season on a high note. The series history does not favor the visiting Devils, as the team has not won a game against the Ducks in Eugene since the 2014 season, and has not claimed a series over the Ducks on the road since 2012.
SUN DEVILS PUSHING THROUGH CHALLENGING 2019 SCHEDULE ...
There is no doubt that ASU's 2019 schedule is up there with the toughest in the country. Looking at opponent's total win percentage, ASU's opponents check-in at No. 11 in the country. In a look at the rankings, ASU has played 21 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 25 games against teams ranked in the top-50 of the most recent RPI, including 16 games against teams ranked in the top-20.
ON DECK…
Following this weekend's road-series, ASU will await their fate in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The field of 64 teams will be announced Sunday evening on ESPN2 at 6:00 p.m. PT. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2019 postseason by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter.