TEMPE, ARIZ. -- Following their first road-weekend of the season, No. 15 ASU softball will return to Farrington Stadium this weekend to host the 2019 Sun Devil Classic, March 1-3. Action will begin for ASU on Friday with a doubleheader against Princeton and No. 8 Texas with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m. AZT. The weekend slate will continue with a Saturday doubleheader featuring Princeton and Wisconsin before closing the weekend with a second meeting with Texas on Sunday.
Leading Off...
• Following this weekend's games, ASU will have played in seven games against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the most recent polls prior to the date of competition. Looking ahead, ASU's upcoming schedule ranks second in the country in terms of opponent's win percentage.
• The Sun Devils again enter the weekend as one of the nation's top offenses. Entering the fourth week of the season ranked No. 22 in the country with a .330 team batting average. ASU's .572 slugging percentage also ranks in the Top-20, checking in at No. 12 nationally.
• Last week's Pac-12 Player of the Week, Kindra Hackbarth, continues to impress at the plate this season. Entering this weekend, the junior ranks third in the Pac-12 in total hits, with 22 so far this year.
• The Sun Devils made a name for themselves last season as a prolific home run hitting team. Following the 2018 season, ASU ranked No. 15 in the country with just over one home run hit per game. ASU has continued to launch home runs at an impressive rate, checking in at No. 22 with 1.25 homers hit per game already this season.
KEEPING IT 100....
Numerous Sun Devils enter the weekend looking to track down the century mark in a few statistical categories. For example;
• Head coach, Trisha Ford has amassed 91 wins at ASU, leaving her just nine wins shy of the century mark.
• Senior infielder, Taylor Becerra has amassed 92 runs in her ASU career, leaving her just eight shy of reaching 100 runs scored.
• Junior outfielder, Kindra Hackbarth needs just four hits to reach the 100-hit plateau as a Sun Devil.
• Senior outfielder, Morgan Howe has amassed 88 hits in the Maroon and Gold, leaving her just 12 shy of 100 hits as a Sun Devil.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE...
FRIDAY, March 1: vs. Princeton // 2:30 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
vs. Texas // 5:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SATURDAY, March 2: vs. Princeton // 3:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
vs. Wisconsin // 5:30 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SUNDAY, March 3: vs. Texas // 12:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
PRINCETON
The Tigers began the 2019 season last weekend with a trip to Liberty, where the squad posted a 1-3 record on the weekend. Princeton began the season with an 8-0 win over Wright State, before suffering three-straight losses, all coming in shutout fashion. In their last game of the weekend, Princeton struggled at the plate, failing to record a hit in a 12-0 loss to Liberty in five innings. As a team, the Tigers are batting at a .169 clip. Freshman Ali Blanchard leads the Tigers at the plate with three hits in her 10 at-bats through the first weekend of play. Blanchard has also shined for Princeton in the circle, throwing a team-high 9.2 innings last weekend, posting a 5.07 ERA on the weekend.
TEXAS
Following an illustrious career at Oregon, head coach, Mike White will make the familiar trip to Tempe for the first time with the Longhorns. White, a five-time Pac-12 Champion, has found success during his first few weeks on the 40-acres. In his first appearance in 2019, UT posted an 8-0 run-rule victory over Boston College, a momentum boost that spring boarded the Longhorns to five-straight victories. The Longhorns suffered their lone loss of the season to No. 7/8 LSU during the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, 7-1, but then responded with a hard-fought 4-3 win over No. 18/21 Kentucky to close out the event. Last weekend, Texas posted a 5-0 record at the Texas Invitational, allowing just four runs in their five games on the weekend. Sophomore, Jane Jefferson lead the team at the plate this season, entering the weekend with an impressive .463 batting average with 19 hits on the season. In the circle, Texas has relied on the duo of junior, Miranda Elish and freshman, Shealyn O'Leary who both have carded sub 0.30 ERAs having pitched over 20 innings in the circle.
WISCONSIN
The Badgers will travel to Tempe in the midst of their best start in program history. After posting a perfect 5-0 record in last week's Islander Invitational in Corpus Christi, Wisconsin has now won 10-straight games and have posted a 13-1 start to the season, marking the best in program history, beating out the 12-1 start of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament championship team. The lone loss on the season for the Badgers came against then unranked Texas Tech (Now ranked No. 17) during the first week of the season. During the second weekend of play, Wisconsin posted a perfect 4-0 record during the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, securing a pair of wins against then No. 17 NC State (3-1, 6-3) during the weekend. Most recently, the Badgers rolled through the 2019 Islander Invitational, allowing just six runs in five games on the weekend. Junior, Kayla Konwent has been a spark for Wisconsin at the plate, going 18-for-39 (.469 batting average) in her 14 starts, including blasting four home runs already in 2019. In the circle, Haley Hestekin has been the go-to pitcher for the Badgers, throwing a team-leading 38.1 innings with a 6-1 record.
WHAT'S NEXT…
Following this weekend's Sun Devil Classic, ASU will remain at home to host the ASU Invitational from March 7-10. Action will begin in the fourth-home weekend of season with a Thursday doubleheader against JMU and Michigan. Play will continue on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. meeting against New Mexico State, before concluding the weekend with games against Lehigh and South Dakota Saturday and Sunday.
Leading Off...
• Following this weekend's games, ASU will have played in seven games against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the most recent polls prior to the date of competition. Looking ahead, ASU's upcoming schedule ranks second in the country in terms of opponent's win percentage.
• The Sun Devils again enter the weekend as one of the nation's top offenses. Entering the fourth week of the season ranked No. 22 in the country with a .330 team batting average. ASU's .572 slugging percentage also ranks in the Top-20, checking in at No. 12 nationally.
• Last week's Pac-12 Player of the Week, Kindra Hackbarth, continues to impress at the plate this season. Entering this weekend, the junior ranks third in the Pac-12 in total hits, with 22 so far this year.
• The Sun Devils made a name for themselves last season as a prolific home run hitting team. Following the 2018 season, ASU ranked No. 15 in the country with just over one home run hit per game. ASU has continued to launch home runs at an impressive rate, checking in at No. 22 with 1.25 homers hit per game already this season.
KEEPING IT 100....
Numerous Sun Devils enter the weekend looking to track down the century mark in a few statistical categories. For example;
• Head coach, Trisha Ford has amassed 91 wins at ASU, leaving her just nine wins shy of the century mark.
• Senior infielder, Taylor Becerra has amassed 92 runs in her ASU career, leaving her just eight shy of reaching 100 runs scored.
• Junior outfielder, Kindra Hackbarth needs just four hits to reach the 100-hit plateau as a Sun Devil.
• Senior outfielder, Morgan Howe has amassed 88 hits in the Maroon and Gold, leaving her just 12 shy of 100 hits as a Sun Devil.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE...
FRIDAY, March 1: vs. Princeton // 2:30 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
vs. Texas // 5:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SATURDAY, March 2: vs. Princeton // 3:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
vs. Wisconsin // 5:30 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SUNDAY, March 3: vs. Texas // 12:00 p.m. // Live Stats // Watch Live
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION....
PRINCETON
The Tigers began the 2019 season last weekend with a trip to Liberty, where the squad posted a 1-3 record on the weekend. Princeton began the season with an 8-0 win over Wright State, before suffering three-straight losses, all coming in shutout fashion. In their last game of the weekend, Princeton struggled at the plate, failing to record a hit in a 12-0 loss to Liberty in five innings. As a team, the Tigers are batting at a .169 clip. Freshman Ali Blanchard leads the Tigers at the plate with three hits in her 10 at-bats through the first weekend of play. Blanchard has also shined for Princeton in the circle, throwing a team-high 9.2 innings last weekend, posting a 5.07 ERA on the weekend.
TEXAS
Following an illustrious career at Oregon, head coach, Mike White will make the familiar trip to Tempe for the first time with the Longhorns. White, a five-time Pac-12 Champion, has found success during his first few weeks on the 40-acres. In his first appearance in 2019, UT posted an 8-0 run-rule victory over Boston College, a momentum boost that spring boarded the Longhorns to five-straight victories. The Longhorns suffered their lone loss of the season to No. 7/8 LSU during the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, 7-1, but then responded with a hard-fought 4-3 win over No. 18/21 Kentucky to close out the event. Last weekend, Texas posted a 5-0 record at the Texas Invitational, allowing just four runs in their five games on the weekend. Sophomore, Jane Jefferson lead the team at the plate this season, entering the weekend with an impressive .463 batting average with 19 hits on the season. In the circle, Texas has relied on the duo of junior, Miranda Elish and freshman, Shealyn O'Leary who both have carded sub 0.30 ERAs having pitched over 20 innings in the circle.
WISCONSIN
The Badgers will travel to Tempe in the midst of their best start in program history. After posting a perfect 5-0 record in last week's Islander Invitational in Corpus Christi, Wisconsin has now won 10-straight games and have posted a 13-1 start to the season, marking the best in program history, beating out the 12-1 start of the 2013 Big Ten Tournament championship team. The lone loss on the season for the Badgers came against then unranked Texas Tech (Now ranked No. 17) during the first week of the season. During the second weekend of play, Wisconsin posted a perfect 4-0 record during the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, securing a pair of wins against then No. 17 NC State (3-1, 6-3) during the weekend. Most recently, the Badgers rolled through the 2019 Islander Invitational, allowing just six runs in five games on the weekend. Junior, Kayla Konwent has been a spark for Wisconsin at the plate, going 18-for-39 (.469 batting average) in her 14 starts, including blasting four home runs already in 2019. In the circle, Haley Hestekin has been the go-to pitcher for the Badgers, throwing a team-leading 38.1 innings with a 6-1 record.
WHAT'S NEXT…
Following this weekend's Sun Devil Classic, ASU will remain at home to host the ASU Invitational from March 7-10. Action will begin in the fourth-home weekend of season with a Thursday doubleheader against JMU and Michigan. Play will continue on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. meeting against New Mexico State, before concluding the weekend with games against Lehigh and South Dakota Saturday and Sunday.