TEMPE, Ariz. -- The 13th-ranked Arizona State softball team will hit the road for the first time in 2019 this weekend, traveling to compete in the 2019 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., Thursday through Sunday afternoon.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE...
THURSDAY: vs. Oklahoma State (11 a.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
vs. Texas Tech (2 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
FRIDAY: vs. Nebraska (11 .m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
vs. Texas A&M (6:30 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
SATURDAY: vs. Bethune-Cookman (9 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
SUNDAY: vs. Cal Poly (3 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
Leading Off...
• The Sun Devils will look to extend their three-game win streak this weekend, but will be challenged to do so with games against four teams either ranked or receiving votes in this week's polls.
• The Sun Devils will embark on the road trip with a ton of confidence at the plate. Through last week's Littlewood Classic, the Sun Devils out-scored their opponents, 41-20, due in large part to a 45-34 advantage in hits. As a team, ASU also showed a lot of power, posting a .592 slugging percentage with eight home runs.
• In the circle, the Sun Devils combined to post a 3.82 team ERA last weekend, holding opposing hitters to just a .262 batting average.
• Following the second week of the season, ASU has shown a ton of offensive fire power. Entering the third week of the 2019 season, the Sun Devils rank 11th in batting average (.369), third in slugging percentage (. 659) and third in scoring (9.20 runs per game). Individually, reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week, Kindra Hackbarth, checks in at No. 25 in total hits with 15.
• The Sun Devils enter the 2019 season picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. The fourth-place ranking in the coaches' poll is the highest since 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Trisha Ford arrived in Tempe. Last season, the Sun Devils fought their way to a 16-8 record in conference play, finishing third in the league standings. The Sun Devils were picked to finish sixth in the 2018 Coaches poll.
• With their No. 13 and No. 15 rankings in this week's polls, ASU has secured a spot in the national rankings each of the last 30 times either the NFCA Coaches or USA Today/ESPN Polls have been released. The last time the Sun Devils were not ranked was in the preseason poll prior to the 2017 season, but the squad was receiving votes.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls headed into the 2019 season looking to fill the void left by the graduation of Vanessa Shippy, who owns the top-spot in numerous offensive categories in OSU history. Following a season opening loss to Illinois, the Cowgirls responded with a four-game win streak that included victories over Houston, Sam Houston State and then No. 13 Kentucky (8-7). Last weekend OSU was stymied in their opening games of the Clearwater Elite Invitational, falling to No. 8 LSU 3-1, before suffering a loss to Notre Dame, 6-0. Following the two losses, the Cowgirls got back on track with wins over Utah and Cal, before capping the weekend with a 13-2 run-rule victory over Hofstra. In the circle, the Cowgirls are powered by Samantha Show, a transfer from Texas A&M. The senior has thrown the bulk of OSU's inning this season, and has held opposing hitters to a .184 batting average.
TEXAS TECH
Riding a 10-game winning streak into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the Texas Tech softball program earned its first national rankings since 2012, checking in at No. 23 in the USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. announced earlier this week. Off to their best start since 2011, the Red Raiders have maintained a perfect record through two weekends despite having played some very stiff competition. After posting wins against Nebraska (15-10, 4-1) and Wisconsin (8-3) opening weekend, TTU went a perfect 5-0 at the Plainsman Invitational where they ground out key victories against No. 21 Auburn (5-4) and Drake (1-0, 4-0). Big 12 Player of the Week Trenity Edwards and senior Taylor Satchell enter the weekend tied for the league lead in home runs with three each. Sophomore pitcher Erin Edmoundson holds the No. 1 spot in the Big-12 with six wins and 47 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
NEBRASKA
A familiar foe, the Cornhuskers will arrive in Southern California riding a four-game win-streak. Following a 3-2 showing in their first week of the season (both losses to Texas Tech) Nebraska rebounded with a dominant 4-0 showing in last weekend's ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Huskers opened the weekend with a 7-2 win over NC State, before cruising to a pair of run-rule wins over Pitt and a shutout victory over the Wolf Pack. Following the weekend sweep, Junior INF Tristen Edwards was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week, College Sports Madness National Field Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week. The junior led the team at the plate going 7-for-12 (.583). She also had eight runs and three walks. The Murrieta, Calif., native slugged 1.917 over the four-game stretch, hitting one double and five homers. She also added 14 RBI.
TEXAS A&M
Coming off a historic weekend in which TAMU head softball coach, Joe Evans, became just the 12th coach in NCAA Division I history to record 1,200 career wins. The Aggies will look to improve on their 8-3 record in 2019. Texas A&M and Arizona State last met in 2017 at the Mary Nutter Classic where the Aggies escaped with a 2-1 extra-inning victory. TAMU will head to the Classic ranked No. 23 in the nation in team batting average (.344), while also ranking No. 30 in slugging percentage (.551). Statistically, the Aggies have also been strong in the circle, posting a team ERA of 2.55 through the first 11 games of the season. At the plate, A&M has been paced by junior outfielder Kelbi Fortenberry who has gone an impressive 14-for-29 with 10 runs scored and nine RBI.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
Bethune-Cookman will head to the Mary Nutter Classic looking to rebound following a 3-7 showing through the first two weeks of the season. The Wildcats have been powered in the circle by Victoria Guzman, the newly named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Pitcher of the Week. Through this past weekend's Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational, Guzman went 1-1 overall in the circle with a win over LIU Brooklyn to start the five-game event. She finished the weekend with a 1.91 ERA in two appearances. She pitched four scoreless innings with a strikeout against the Blackbirds, facing 18 batters in total.
CAL POLY
Entering the weekend with a 2-6 record in 2019, the Mustangs will be looking to snap a four-game slide. Last weekend, Cal Poly competed in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in Los Angeles, a trip that saw the Mustangs drop four-straight contests, including a hard fought 7-6 loss to Loyola Marymount in their last outing. Things will not be easy for the Big West squad in Cathedral City, where the team will face Washington, Texas A&M and Colorado State to begin the weekend. At the plate, Hailey Martin has made the Mustangs go, carding nine hits in her first 25 at-bats of the season. In the circle, Krystyna Allman has anchored the Mustangs, throwing 16 complete innings while allowing just six earned runs.
WHAT'S NEXT…
Following the six-game road weekend, the Sun Devils will return home to host the Sun Devil Classic, March 1-3. The third classic of 2019 hosted by the Sun Devils will feature games against Princenton, Texas and Wisconsin. Fans can purchase tickets for all games of the Sun Devil Classic here.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE...
THURSDAY: vs. Oklahoma State (11 a.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
vs. Texas Tech (2 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
FRIDAY: vs. Nebraska (11 .m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
vs. Texas A&M (6:30 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
SATURDAY: vs. Bethune-Cookman (9 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
SUNDAY: vs. Cal Poly (3 p.m. MST) // Live Stats // Live Streaming ($)
Leading Off...
• The Sun Devils will look to extend their three-game win streak this weekend, but will be challenged to do so with games against four teams either ranked or receiving votes in this week's polls.
• The Sun Devils will embark on the road trip with a ton of confidence at the plate. Through last week's Littlewood Classic, the Sun Devils out-scored their opponents, 41-20, due in large part to a 45-34 advantage in hits. As a team, ASU also showed a lot of power, posting a .592 slugging percentage with eight home runs.
• In the circle, the Sun Devils combined to post a 3.82 team ERA last weekend, holding opposing hitters to just a .262 batting average.
• Following the second week of the season, ASU has shown a ton of offensive fire power. Entering the third week of the 2019 season, the Sun Devils rank 11th in batting average (.369), third in slugging percentage (. 659) and third in scoring (9.20 runs per game). Individually, reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week, Kindra Hackbarth, checks in at No. 25 in total hits with 15.
• The Sun Devils enter the 2019 season picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. The fourth-place ranking in the coaches' poll is the highest since 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Trisha Ford arrived in Tempe. Last season, the Sun Devils fought their way to a 16-8 record in conference play, finishing third in the league standings. The Sun Devils were picked to finish sixth in the 2018 Coaches poll.
• With their No. 13 and No. 15 rankings in this week's polls, ASU has secured a spot in the national rankings each of the last 30 times either the NFCA Coaches or USA Today/ESPN Polls have been released. The last time the Sun Devils were not ranked was in the preseason poll prior to the 2017 season, but the squad was receiving votes.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls headed into the 2019 season looking to fill the void left by the graduation of Vanessa Shippy, who owns the top-spot in numerous offensive categories in OSU history. Following a season opening loss to Illinois, the Cowgirls responded with a four-game win streak that included victories over Houston, Sam Houston State and then No. 13 Kentucky (8-7). Last weekend OSU was stymied in their opening games of the Clearwater Elite Invitational, falling to No. 8 LSU 3-1, before suffering a loss to Notre Dame, 6-0. Following the two losses, the Cowgirls got back on track with wins over Utah and Cal, before capping the weekend with a 13-2 run-rule victory over Hofstra. In the circle, the Cowgirls are powered by Samantha Show, a transfer from Texas A&M. The senior has thrown the bulk of OSU's inning this season, and has held opposing hitters to a .184 batting average.
TEXAS TECH
Riding a 10-game winning streak into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the Texas Tech softball program earned its first national rankings since 2012, checking in at No. 23 in the USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. announced earlier this week. Off to their best start since 2011, the Red Raiders have maintained a perfect record through two weekends despite having played some very stiff competition. After posting wins against Nebraska (15-10, 4-1) and Wisconsin (8-3) opening weekend, TTU went a perfect 5-0 at the Plainsman Invitational where they ground out key victories against No. 21 Auburn (5-4) and Drake (1-0, 4-0). Big 12 Player of the Week Trenity Edwards and senior Taylor Satchell enter the weekend tied for the league lead in home runs with three each. Sophomore pitcher Erin Edmoundson holds the No. 1 spot in the Big-12 with six wins and 47 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
NEBRASKA
A familiar foe, the Cornhuskers will arrive in Southern California riding a four-game win-streak. Following a 3-2 showing in their first week of the season (both losses to Texas Tech) Nebraska rebounded with a dominant 4-0 showing in last weekend's ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Huskers opened the weekend with a 7-2 win over NC State, before cruising to a pair of run-rule wins over Pitt and a shutout victory over the Wolf Pack. Following the weekend sweep, Junior INF Tristen Edwards was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week, College Sports Madness National Field Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week. The junior led the team at the plate going 7-for-12 (.583). She also had eight runs and three walks. The Murrieta, Calif., native slugged 1.917 over the four-game stretch, hitting one double and five homers. She also added 14 RBI.
TEXAS A&M
Coming off a historic weekend in which TAMU head softball coach, Joe Evans, became just the 12th coach in NCAA Division I history to record 1,200 career wins. The Aggies will look to improve on their 8-3 record in 2019. Texas A&M and Arizona State last met in 2017 at the Mary Nutter Classic where the Aggies escaped with a 2-1 extra-inning victory. TAMU will head to the Classic ranked No. 23 in the nation in team batting average (.344), while also ranking No. 30 in slugging percentage (.551). Statistically, the Aggies have also been strong in the circle, posting a team ERA of 2.55 through the first 11 games of the season. At the plate, A&M has been paced by junior outfielder Kelbi Fortenberry who has gone an impressive 14-for-29 with 10 runs scored and nine RBI.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
Bethune-Cookman will head to the Mary Nutter Classic looking to rebound following a 3-7 showing through the first two weeks of the season. The Wildcats have been powered in the circle by Victoria Guzman, the newly named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Pitcher of the Week. Through this past weekend's Disney Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational, Guzman went 1-1 overall in the circle with a win over LIU Brooklyn to start the five-game event. She finished the weekend with a 1.91 ERA in two appearances. She pitched four scoreless innings with a strikeout against the Blackbirds, facing 18 batters in total.
CAL POLY
Entering the weekend with a 2-6 record in 2019, the Mustangs will be looking to snap a four-game slide. Last weekend, Cal Poly competed in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in Los Angeles, a trip that saw the Mustangs drop four-straight contests, including a hard fought 7-6 loss to Loyola Marymount in their last outing. Things will not be easy for the Big West squad in Cathedral City, where the team will face Washington, Texas A&M and Colorado State to begin the weekend. At the plate, Hailey Martin has made the Mustangs go, carding nine hits in her first 25 at-bats of the season. In the circle, Krystyna Allman has anchored the Mustangs, throwing 16 complete innings while allowing just six earned runs.
WHAT'S NEXT…
Following the six-game road weekend, the Sun Devils will return home to host the Sun Devil Classic, March 1-3. The third classic of 2019 hosted by the Sun Devils will feature games against Princenton, Texas and Wisconsin. Fans can purchase tickets for all games of the Sun Devil Classic here.