TEMPE -- The No. 16 Sun Devil softball team is on the road for the first time this season at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. Arizona State (9-2) kicks off its first and only neutral site games of the 2020 regular season on Thursday morning against Auburn at 10:30 a.m. PT.
The Sun Devils have more than 24 hours off before a Friday doubleheader against San Diego and New Mexico at 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. PT, respectively. Saturday will open play against No. 7 Florida at 2:30 p.m., followed by Notre Dame at 6:00 p.m. The final tilt of the weekend against Cal State Fullerton is at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
LEADING OFF...
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
AUBURN
The War Eagles are 8-3 heading into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Senior Justus Perry leads the team batting average at .435 in 23 at-bats. Junior Makenna Dowell follows Perry with a .429 batting average and is tied for a team-high two home runs. On the mound, Auburn is led by junior right-handed pitcher Lexie Handley with six game-starts in eight appearances. She boasts a 2.10 ERA through 23.1 innings pitched. Senior pitcher Ashlee Swindle supplements Handley with a 2.22 ERA and 20 strikeouts in seven appearances.
SAN DIEGO
The San Diego Toreros are undefeated at home to combine for a 5-5 record two weeks into the season. A trio of seniors holds the top-3 batting averages, including infielder Sara Silveyra (.370), outfielder Savannah Shields (.333), and catcher Madison Casiano (.267). San Diego outpaces the West Coast Conference (WCC) in doubles, doubles per game, and shutouts with three so far this season. In position one, senior Delaney Heller pitched 30 innings in seven appearances for team-high 2.31 ERA.
NEW MEXICO
The Lobos notched five wins in nine games to head to Palm Springs with a 1-2 record at neutral sites. ASU is the second of three Pac-12 teams that New Mexico will face in the month of February. UNM took the diamond against Stanford during opening weekend, losing the first game 6-7 but coming back for a shutout 2-0 win the next day. The Lobos roster their own homerun machine in junior outfielder Andrea Howard who sent four out of the park in nine starts.
FLORIDA
With only one loss in 12 games, the Florida Gators rank No. 7 according to the NFCA Coaches Poll. Sophomore third baseman Charla Echols leads the congregation of Gators in batting average with a .500, a percentage that ranks 35th nationally and second in the SEC. Her ability to get the bat on the ball, all 18 times in 12 games, ranks Echols third in the nation for hits. Florida is anchored by two pitchers: one experienced junior, Natalie Lugo and a rookie, Rylee Trlicek. Lugo slings a 1.52 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched chased by Trlicek's 1.62 ERA in 21.2 innings.
NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish travel to the desert 7-2, all on neutral sites. Notre Dame opened its season against another ASU opponent at Mary Nutter, Auburn. ND fell to the Auburn, 1-4, then lost the next contest against Missouri before working on their current seven-game win streak. Defensively, the Fighting Irish rank ninth in the nation for double plays per game with 0.67. Freshman Joley Mitchell started nine games and finished with a .476 batting average and a .645 on-base percentage. Junior pitcher Alexis Holloway exhibits a 0.40 ERA after 35.1 innings pitched. In seven appearances she's faced 137 batters, striking out 25.
CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans are 6-3 and faceoff against three Pac-12 opponents: ASU, Utah, and Oregon State at Mary Nutter. Nationally Cal State Fullerton ranks 11th for stolen bases per game with an average of 2.44. In each of their nine games, the Titans have scored at least one run, even in a loss. With 21 at-bats, senior infielder Zoe Richard leads the charge with a .524 batting average, including 19 total bases and three runs. The Titans rotate three mound bosses, seniors Sophie Frost and Trisha Parks and sophomore Dani Martinez. The trio combines for 60 innings pitched and 47 strikeouts.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE MARY NUTTER CLASSIC
Check ASU Softball's Twitter (@ASUSoftball) and Instagram (@SunDevilSB) for updates throughout the weekend.
The Sun Devils have more than 24 hours off before a Friday doubleheader against San Diego and New Mexico at 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. PT, respectively. Saturday will open play against No. 7 Florida at 2:30 p.m., followed by Notre Dame at 6:00 p.m. The final tilt of the weekend against Cal State Fullerton is at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Final BP before we head out to Palm Springs! pic.twitter.com/t14ppMBBdq
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 19, 2020
LEADING OFF...
- Four of ASU's six matchups this weekend are against teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils are currently on a five-game win streak with two upsets of then-No. 10 Kentucky, including a bout that went 11 innings.
- Freshman shortstop Alynah Torres owns the team's big bat with a .405 batting average and five home runs to tie for the lead in the Pac-12 Conference and sixth nationally. Torres' 15 hits, 37 at-bats, and 14 RBI also lead the team.
- On-deck in batting average is outfielder Kindra Hackbarth with the second-highest at .382 and a team-high 15 runs. Runner-up to K. Hackbarth's hits is freshman right fielder Jazmine Hill with 11 while Bella Loomis and Alli Tatnall tie for third with seven a-piece.
- Senior pitcher Cielo Meza ranks eighth in the nation and third in the conference with 53 strikeouts. Madison Preston is sixth in the Pac with 34 strikeouts. With eight appearances each, the Sun Devil duo of Meza and Preston is proving hard to beat as the team utilized their combination in six of ASU's nine wins, including both upsets of No. 10 Kentucky last weekend.
Throwing it back to our 2018 #ESPN photoshoot at the @NutterClassic pic.twitter.com/Nc7fi74LPj
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 20, 2020
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
AUBURN
The War Eagles are 8-3 heading into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Senior Justus Perry leads the team batting average at .435 in 23 at-bats. Junior Makenna Dowell follows Perry with a .429 batting average and is tied for a team-high two home runs. On the mound, Auburn is led by junior right-handed pitcher Lexie Handley with six game-starts in eight appearances. She boasts a 2.10 ERA through 23.1 innings pitched. Senior pitcher Ashlee Swindle supplements Handley with a 2.22 ERA and 20 strikeouts in seven appearances.
SAN DIEGO
The San Diego Toreros are undefeated at home to combine for a 5-5 record two weeks into the season. A trio of seniors holds the top-3 batting averages, including infielder Sara Silveyra (.370), outfielder Savannah Shields (.333), and catcher Madison Casiano (.267). San Diego outpaces the West Coast Conference (WCC) in doubles, doubles per game, and shutouts with three so far this season. In position one, senior Delaney Heller pitched 30 innings in seven appearances for team-high 2.31 ERA.
NEW MEXICO
The Lobos notched five wins in nine games to head to Palm Springs with a 1-2 record at neutral sites. ASU is the second of three Pac-12 teams that New Mexico will face in the month of February. UNM took the diamond against Stanford during opening weekend, losing the first game 6-7 but coming back for a shutout 2-0 win the next day. The Lobos roster their own homerun machine in junior outfielder Andrea Howard who sent four out of the park in nine starts.
FLORIDA
With only one loss in 12 games, the Florida Gators rank No. 7 according to the NFCA Coaches Poll. Sophomore third baseman Charla Echols leads the congregation of Gators in batting average with a .500, a percentage that ranks 35th nationally and second in the SEC. Her ability to get the bat on the ball, all 18 times in 12 games, ranks Echols third in the nation for hits. Florida is anchored by two pitchers: one experienced junior, Natalie Lugo and a rookie, Rylee Trlicek. Lugo slings a 1.52 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched chased by Trlicek's 1.62 ERA in 21.2 innings.
NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish travel to the desert 7-2, all on neutral sites. Notre Dame opened its season against another ASU opponent at Mary Nutter, Auburn. ND fell to the Auburn, 1-4, then lost the next contest against Missouri before working on their current seven-game win streak. Defensively, the Fighting Irish rank ninth in the nation for double plays per game with 0.67. Freshman Joley Mitchell started nine games and finished with a .476 batting average and a .645 on-base percentage. Junior pitcher Alexis Holloway exhibits a 0.40 ERA after 35.1 innings pitched. In seven appearances she's faced 137 batters, striking out 25.
CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans are 6-3 and faceoff against three Pac-12 opponents: ASU, Utah, and Oregon State at Mary Nutter. Nationally Cal State Fullerton ranks 11th for stolen bases per game with an average of 2.44. In each of their nine games, the Titans have scored at least one run, even in a loss. With 21 at-bats, senior infielder Zoe Richard leads the charge with a .524 batting average, including 19 total bases and three runs. The Titans rotate three mound bosses, seniors Sophie Frost and Trisha Parks and sophomore Dani Martinez. The trio combines for 60 innings pitched and 47 strikeouts.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE MARY NUTTER CLASSIC
Check ASU Softball's Twitter (@ASUSoftball) and Instagram (@SunDevilSB) for updates throughout the weekend.