TEMPE – After achieving the program's 15th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance in 2019, the No. 22/23 Arizona State softball team will open their 2020 season this weekend, starting with a double header on Friday against Portland State and Kansas. The Sun Devils will play six games in four days as host of the Kajikawa Classic at Farrington Stadium and Tempe Sports Complex.
The heavily anticipated season starts with Friday's double header at 3:30 p.m. against Portland State and 7 p.m. against Kansas. ASU heads back to Farrington on Saturday for its second and final double header of the tournament against Western Michigan (4:30 p.m.) and No. 14 Northwestern (7 p.m.). To close out the tournament, ASU plays two single-game tilts on Sunday, Feb. 9, against Seattle at 2 p.m. and No. 12 Tennessee on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m.
LEADING OFF…
• The Sun Devils will look to continue their winning ways in season openers in Friday night's matchup. The squad enters the 2020 season winners of 23 of their last 24 season-opening games. ASU has dropped just eight season-openers in the program's 46-year history, making the Sun Devils a remarkable 40-8 all-time in season openers.
• ASU returns 12 letter winners, including two Top 100 players, senior center fielder Kindra Hackbarth and junior second baseman Bella Loomis. The other 11 players to complete the 23-woman roster are all newcomers - eight freshmen and three transfers.
• The Sun Devils finished the 2019 regular season with a 35-20 record on the season, finishing fourth in the Pac-12 with a 13-11 record in league play. The 35 wins pushed ASU to their 25th straight season with 30 or more wins, while the team's 13 wins in Pac-12 play marked the second-straight winning season in league play, and is the 12th winning season in conference play in program history.
• ASU enters the season with an impressive offensive finish in 2019. The Sun Devils concluded the year ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring with 411 runs in 55 games for an average of 7.47 runs per game. The team's 1370 at-bats and 436 hits marked a .318 batting average, ranked 16th in the nation. Senior catcher Maddi Hackbarth's 19 home runs in 2019 fell one short of tying a school record.
• There will be no shortage of ways to follow the Kajikawa Classic with 12 games scheduled to broadcast across the Pac-12 Networks. Alongside the Pac-12's coverage of the annual event, FloSoftball will also be streaming five games to subscribers of their online streaming service.
ABOUT THE KAJIKAWA CLASSIC...
The classic is named in honor of Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, an ASU graduate who earned his bachelor's degree in 1937 before completing a master's degree in 1948. While an undergrad, Kajikawa was a member of the varsity football team. In 1937, Kajikawa began his coaching career at ASU with the Arizona State Teacher's College freshman football team. In addition, he served as head basketball coach from 1948 to 1957, and he was head coach of ASU's club baseball team from 1947 to 1957. Before retiring in 1978, Kajikawa had worked as the freshman football coach under a total of nine ASU head football coaches.
During World War II, Kajikawa took his only hiatus from ASU to serve with distinction in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd combat regiment, manned entirely by Japanese Americans, was the Army's most decorated combat unit.
Kajikawa, who was a professor emeritus of physical education at ASU, was recognized on April 6, 1995, in a ceremony that named the Sun Devil football practice field The Bill Kajikawa Practice Facility. He was also inducted into the Arizona Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1982.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE CLASSIC:
The heavily anticipated season starts with Friday's double header at 3:30 p.m. against Portland State and 7 p.m. against Kansas. ASU heads back to Farrington on Saturday for its second and final double header of the tournament against Western Michigan (4:30 p.m.) and No. 14 Northwestern (7 p.m.). To close out the tournament, ASU plays two single-game tilts on Sunday, Feb. 9, against Seattle at 2 p.m. and No. 12 Tennessee on Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m.
?? #SunDevil nation we need you to #PackFarrington pic.twitter.com/JzMfJjIg8r
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) February 6, 2020
LEADING OFF…
• The Sun Devils will look to continue their winning ways in season openers in Friday night's matchup. The squad enters the 2020 season winners of 23 of their last 24 season-opening games. ASU has dropped just eight season-openers in the program's 46-year history, making the Sun Devils a remarkable 40-8 all-time in season openers.
• ASU returns 12 letter winners, including two Top 100 players, senior center fielder Kindra Hackbarth and junior second baseman Bella Loomis. The other 11 players to complete the 23-woman roster are all newcomers - eight freshmen and three transfers.
• The Sun Devils finished the 2019 regular season with a 35-20 record on the season, finishing fourth in the Pac-12 with a 13-11 record in league play. The 35 wins pushed ASU to their 25th straight season with 30 or more wins, while the team's 13 wins in Pac-12 play marked the second-straight winning season in league play, and is the 12th winning season in conference play in program history.
• ASU enters the season with an impressive offensive finish in 2019. The Sun Devils concluded the year ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring with 411 runs in 55 games for an average of 7.47 runs per game. The team's 1370 at-bats and 436 hits marked a .318 batting average, ranked 16th in the nation. Senior catcher Maddi Hackbarth's 19 home runs in 2019 fell one short of tying a school record.
• There will be no shortage of ways to follow the Kajikawa Classic with 12 games scheduled to broadcast across the Pac-12 Networks. Alongside the Pac-12's coverage of the annual event, FloSoftball will also be streaming five games to subscribers of their online streaming service.
ABOUT THE KAJIKAWA CLASSIC...
The classic is named in honor of Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, an ASU graduate who earned his bachelor's degree in 1937 before completing a master's degree in 1948. While an undergrad, Kajikawa was a member of the varsity football team. In 1937, Kajikawa began his coaching career at ASU with the Arizona State Teacher's College freshman football team. In addition, he served as head basketball coach from 1948 to 1957, and he was head coach of ASU's club baseball team from 1947 to 1957. Before retiring in 1978, Kajikawa had worked as the freshman football coach under a total of nine ASU head football coaches.
During World War II, Kajikawa took his only hiatus from ASU to serve with distinction in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd combat regiment, manned entirely by Japanese Americans, was the Army's most decorated combat unit.
Kajikawa, who was a professor emeritus of physical education at ASU, was recognized on April 6, 1995, in a ceremony that named the Sun Devil football practice field The Bill Kajikawa Practice Facility. He was also inducted into the Arizona Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and the ASU Hall of Distinction in 1982.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE CLASSIC:
| Friday | ASU vs. Portland State ASU vs. Kansas |
WATCH WATCH |
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| Saturday | ASU vs. Western Michigan ASU vs. No. 14 Northwestern |
WATCH WATCH |
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| Sunday | ASU vs. Seattle | WATCH | Live Stats |
| Monday | ASU vs. No. 12 Tennessee | WATCH | Live Stats |