TEMPE – The No. 22 Arizona State softball team hosts its second tournament of the 2020 season, the Littlewood Classic, this weekend, Feb. 14-16 at Farrington Stadium. ASU gets back to the plate with a double header on Friday night against Illinois State and No. 10 Kentucky.
Arizona State (4-2) kicks off its Littlewood schedule with a Friday double header, starting with Illinois State at 4:30 p.m. followed by No. 10 Kentucky at 7 p.m. ASU heads back to Farrington on Saturday for its second and final double header of the tournament against Detroit Mercy (4:30 p.m.) and another game against Kentucky at 7 p.m. To close out the tournament, ASU plays a final single tilt on Sunday against RV Boise State at 3:00 p.m.
LEADING OFF…
• The Sun Devils finished last weekend's Kajikawa Classic with a 4-2 record, including an upset of No. 14 Northwestern.
• Two freshmen starters, shortstop Alynah Torres and right fielder Jazmine Hill made an immediate impact at the plate. Hill's four doubles ranks first in the Pac-12 and third in the nation. Torres' three home runs in as many nights comes in at second in the conference. Torres finished the first six games with a .429 batting average on 21 at-bats, four runs, nine hits, and six RBI. Hill boasts a .389 batting average in 18 at-bats and four RBI.
• Center fielder Kindra Hackbarth fulfilled expectations on opening weekend, complete with a walk-off two-run homerun against No. 14 Northwestern. The senior collected eight RBI in six games with a .429 batting average. Her nine hits ties Torres for a team-high. With eight runs to her name, K. Hackbarth boasts the most runs on the roster followed by Hill with seven runs.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Cielo Meza threw 14 strikeouts for her fourth career no-hitter and her first as a Sun Devil last Sunday against Seattle. Meza finished the weekend with 28 total strikeouts. Junior left-hander Madison Preston threw her first 13 innings with only four hits after transferring from Alabama.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
ILLINOIS STATE
The Illinois State Redbirds completed the 2019 season with an 18-33 record. At the helm of the staff for her 34th year is head coach Melinda Fischer (1,051-793-4). Fischer needs only seven more wins to accumulate 1,100 career wins. Last year's group seemed to do better on the road than at home as the Redbirds only won two games to six losses in front of a home crowd while edging out the win ten times on road trips. ILSU returns six starters with four key losses. Last season, ILSU added fourth-grader Coen Frambes to their squad through the Team IMPACT program. The Sun Devils and Redbirds most recently met last season, during which ASU collected a 9-6 win. ASU leads the series against ILSU 35-2. To open the 2020 season, the Redbirds plate action is driven by Mack Leonard with a .471 batting average. As the lead-off batter throughout last weekend, Leonard connected with a team-best eight hits, two home runs, and five RBIs. From the mound, right-handed pitcher, Morgan Day threw for 29 'K's' across 17 innings, complete with a pair of strikeout games.
KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Wildcats finished the 2019 season with a 36-24 record and 14-10 SEC record for a 2nd place finish in the conference. The 2019 squad reached the Seattle Super Regional, where they competed against a familiar foe to ASU, fellow Pac-12 contender Washington. With a group of seven newcomers, the Wildcats return six starters and 14 letterwinners to five lost. They return all five of their 2019 pitchers, two of the most significant are Grace Baalman and Autumn Humes. Baalman boasts a 2.72 ERA in 141.2 innings pitched while Humes notched a 3.22 ERA in 150 innings pitched. At the plate, Kentucky returns utility player Kayla Kowalik who earned 54 runs with 65 hits and 20 home runs in 2019. The Wildcats head to the desert with a perfect 4-0 record after participating in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic last weekend in Clearwater, Florida.
DETROIT MERCY
The Detroit Mercy Titans went 31-28 last season with head coach John Conway in his 17th season (427-444-3). In 2019, the Titans batting average was led by Jordan Manno with a .339 percentage. Manno also led the team in putouts (352) and runs (36). Ashley Mauser ruled the circle, throwing the most innings throughout the year in 179.0 innings pitched complete with a 2.39 ERA. In 2020, the Titans are led by head coach Marc Gillis, who has yet to win a game as a dugout boss. The Titans played two doubleheaders against North Carolina and Florida State last weekend, giving up 53 runs. In the circle in 2020 is junior Arizona native Regan Glenn who leads the team ERA at 11.20.
BOISE STATE
The Broncos started the 2020 season 4-1, which ties for the best opening weekend in their program history. In their five games already, Boise State has outscored their opponents 35-13 while averaging seven runs per game, which ranks first in the Mountain West Conference and 32nd nationally. Boise State returns three of its pitchers from 2019, including senior Kelsey Broadus, Mickey Leal, and Veronica Lynch. Broadus started more games than any other pitcher last season with 21 starts in 29 appearances. Broadus currently holds the school's best career ERA record of 2.66.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE LITTLEWOOD CLASSIC:
All ASU games will be live-streamed on ASU's Pac-12 Live Stream. Check ASU Softball's Twitter (@ASUSoftball) and Instagram (@SunDevilSB) for updates throughout the weekend.
Arizona State (4-2) kicks off its Littlewood schedule with a Friday double header, starting with Illinois State at 4:30 p.m. followed by No. 10 Kentucky at 7 p.m. ASU heads back to Farrington on Saturday for its second and final double header of the tournament against Detroit Mercy (4:30 p.m.) and another game against Kentucky at 7 p.m. To close out the tournament, ASU plays a final single tilt on Sunday against RV Boise State at 3:00 p.m.
LEADING OFF…
• The Sun Devils finished last weekend's Kajikawa Classic with a 4-2 record, including an upset of No. 14 Northwestern.
• Two freshmen starters, shortstop Alynah Torres and right fielder Jazmine Hill made an immediate impact at the plate. Hill's four doubles ranks first in the Pac-12 and third in the nation. Torres' three home runs in as many nights comes in at second in the conference. Torres finished the first six games with a .429 batting average on 21 at-bats, four runs, nine hits, and six RBI. Hill boasts a .389 batting average in 18 at-bats and four RBI.
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— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 13, 2020
• Center fielder Kindra Hackbarth fulfilled expectations on opening weekend, complete with a walk-off two-run homerun against No. 14 Northwestern. The senior collected eight RBI in six games with a .429 batting average. Her nine hits ties Torres for a team-high. With eight runs to her name, K. Hackbarth boasts the most runs on the roster followed by Hill with seven runs.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Cielo Meza threw 14 strikeouts for her fourth career no-hitter and her first as a Sun Devil last Sunday against Seattle. Meza finished the weekend with 28 total strikeouts. Junior left-hander Madison Preston threw her first 13 innings with only four hits after transferring from Alabama.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
ILLINOIS STATE
The Illinois State Redbirds completed the 2019 season with an 18-33 record. At the helm of the staff for her 34th year is head coach Melinda Fischer (1,051-793-4). Fischer needs only seven more wins to accumulate 1,100 career wins. Last year's group seemed to do better on the road than at home as the Redbirds only won two games to six losses in front of a home crowd while edging out the win ten times on road trips. ILSU returns six starters with four key losses. Last season, ILSU added fourth-grader Coen Frambes to their squad through the Team IMPACT program. The Sun Devils and Redbirds most recently met last season, during which ASU collected a 9-6 win. ASU leads the series against ILSU 35-2. To open the 2020 season, the Redbirds plate action is driven by Mack Leonard with a .471 batting average. As the lead-off batter throughout last weekend, Leonard connected with a team-best eight hits, two home runs, and five RBIs. From the mound, right-handed pitcher, Morgan Day threw for 29 'K's' across 17 innings, complete with a pair of strikeout games.
KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Wildcats finished the 2019 season with a 36-24 record and 14-10 SEC record for a 2nd place finish in the conference. The 2019 squad reached the Seattle Super Regional, where they competed against a familiar foe to ASU, fellow Pac-12 contender Washington. With a group of seven newcomers, the Wildcats return six starters and 14 letterwinners to five lost. They return all five of their 2019 pitchers, two of the most significant are Grace Baalman and Autumn Humes. Baalman boasts a 2.72 ERA in 141.2 innings pitched while Humes notched a 3.22 ERA in 150 innings pitched. At the plate, Kentucky returns utility player Kayla Kowalik who earned 54 runs with 65 hits and 20 home runs in 2019. The Wildcats head to the desert with a perfect 4-0 record after participating in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic last weekend in Clearwater, Florida.
DETROIT MERCY
The Detroit Mercy Titans went 31-28 last season with head coach John Conway in his 17th season (427-444-3). In 2019, the Titans batting average was led by Jordan Manno with a .339 percentage. Manno also led the team in putouts (352) and runs (36). Ashley Mauser ruled the circle, throwing the most innings throughout the year in 179.0 innings pitched complete with a 2.39 ERA. In 2020, the Titans are led by head coach Marc Gillis, who has yet to win a game as a dugout boss. The Titans played two doubleheaders against North Carolina and Florida State last weekend, giving up 53 runs. In the circle in 2020 is junior Arizona native Regan Glenn who leads the team ERA at 11.20.
BOISE STATE
The Broncos started the 2020 season 4-1, which ties for the best opening weekend in their program history. In their five games already, Boise State has outscored their opponents 35-13 while averaging seven runs per game, which ranks first in the Mountain West Conference and 32nd nationally. Boise State returns three of its pitchers from 2019, including senior Kelsey Broadus, Mickey Leal, and Veronica Lynch. Broadus started more games than any other pitcher last season with 21 starts in 29 appearances. Broadus currently holds the school's best career ERA record of 2.66.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE LITTLEWOOD CLASSIC:
All ASU games will be live-streamed on ASU's Pac-12 Live Stream. Check ASU Softball's Twitter (@ASUSoftball) and Instagram (@SunDevilSB) for updates throughout the weekend.