Fullerton, Calif. – No. 23 Arizona State softball team is hitting the road again as they travel to the golden state of California to take part in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, CA. The Sun Devils will play five games in three days starting with a doubleheader on Friday, March 4 when they take on the University of Kansas at 10:30 a.m. and then Cal Poly at 4 p.m. MST.
The Judi Garman Classic is the second and final away non-conference tournament played by the Sun Devils this year and features quality opponents. Hosted by Cal State Fullerton, all the games will be played at Anderson Family Field. The full schedule can be found here.
Aside from Kansas and Cal Poly on Friday, the Sun Devils will play Loyola Marymount on Saturday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m. and conclude their road trip with a doubleheader on Sunday., March 6 against Texas A&M at 10:00 a.m. and Seattle at 12:15 p.m.
Texas A&M is currently receiving votes in the USA Softball/ESPN.com rankings.
Overall, Judi Garman is a tournament of 12 teams including Pac-12 opponents UCLA and Utah, as well as Fresno State, where head coach Trisha Ford was previously at before her time in Tempe.
In last week's Texas Classic, ASU won two out of three after having multiple games canceled due to the rainy weather which forced the tournament to have an entire reschedule. The Sun Devils blanked #23 Texas -- leading to their fallout in this week's rankings -- in the first game and then rallied to beat the University of Texas, San Antonio 7-4 on their last day in Austin.
The bats of ASU look to stay hot, particularly freshman standout Cydney Sanders, who has the fourth-best batting average in the Pac-12 and best for a freshman with a .464 batting average.
Pacing her is Yanni Acuña who has a .424 batting average and is tied for the Pac-12 lead in doubles with seven. As a team, the Sun Devils rank second in the Pac-12 with 17 doubles, trailing only Cal who has 19.
In the circle, the Sun Devils have been wheeling and dealing, posting a 2.36 team ERA.
A big factor for the Sun Devils has been freshman pitcher Mac Morgan who has a 5-1 record with a 1.77 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched. Lindsay Lopez has also made strides in her junior season, as she is currently tied for the tenth best ERA in the Pac-12 with a 1.35 ERA and has kept batters to a .188 batting average, the best on the team.
Marissa Schuld has found her groove in the circle after sitting last season due to in-conference transfer rules. Schuld is tied for the fourth-best K/7 with an astonishing 10.50 K/7. On the season, Schuld is 2-2 with 31 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched.
Games will not be live streamed, but fans can follow the live stat links provided attached with below's schedule.
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU Softball this weekend and the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.
Game Schedule (Time in MT)
March 4th -
ASU vs. Kansas @ 10:30 A.M. (Live Stats)
Cal Poly vs. ASU @ 4:00 P.M. (Live Stats)
March 5th -
Loyola Marymount vs. ASU @ 6:30 P.M. (Live Stats)
March 6th -
ASU vs. Texas A&M @ 10:00 A.M. (Live Stats)
ASU vs. Seattle @ 12:15 P.M. (Live Stats)
*home team is italicized
Game Note Facts
• Historically, ASU is 5-3 against Kansas, winning the last matchup against the Jayhawks in 2020.
• ASU is undefeated against the Mustangs of Cal Poly. They lead the series 5-0, last winning in 2020 with a score of 11-1.
• The Sun Devils have a short series history with Loyola Marymount, leading the series 1-0. However, their last matchup was 17 years ago, in 2005.
• ASU leads the all-time matchup against Texas A&M 9-1 winning the last time the two teams met in 2019.
• The Sun Devils are undefeated against Seattle last beating the Redhawks last year. This will be the fifth time these two teams have met.
• Yani Acuña is currently ASU's hottest hitter. She is on a 7-hit hit streak and has reached base eight times in a row.
• Junior pitcher Lindsay Lopez not only leads the team in ERA but also has no losses on the season.
• Freshman Cyd Sanders leads the Sun Devils in both batting average and RBIs on the season. • On the season, senior pitcher Marissa Schuld has struck out 31 batters and has only walked two.
• Jaz Rollin has kept up her on-base streak, now reaching base eight times in a row.