TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball will head to Los Angeles this weekend for a three-game series with No. 2 UCLA at Easton Stadium. The series starts the final three weekends of the regular season with Arizona State in play to finish anywhere from fourth to ninth in the final Pac-12 standings.
The series begins on Friday at 5 p.m. and continues at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The final of the three games is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Pac-12 Network will broadcast the games on Friday and Sunday with Anne Marie Anderson (PBP) and Natasha Watley (analyst) calling the action. Saturday's game is on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (PBP) and Michele Smith (analyst).
ASU heads to California at 21-17 overall and looking to snap a season-long five-game losing skid. They are currently seventh in the conference with a 5-10 record in Pac-12 play. The team is 3-5 in road games and 7-8 in all games away from Tempe.
The Sun Devils head to the road with a .271/.366/.490 slash line. They score an average of 4.76 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are sixth in the Pac-12 with 98 extra-base hits and fourth with 51 home runs.
ASU maintains a 3.46 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in the circle this season. The team records 5.94 strikeouts per seven innings to rank fifth in the conference. ASU opponents are batting .251 with a .710 OPS while hitting a home run every 45.9 at bats.
SERIES HISTORY
UCLA has controlled the all-time series with ASU with a 109-39 all-time record. The Sun Devils took two of three from the Bruins last season for the first series win since 2015.
Arizona State is 16-57 on the road in the series and has dropped six straight and 12 of 13 at Easton Stadium dating back to the 2016 season.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefited the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 101 runs for an average of 2.66 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .288 with a .909 OPS and 30 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 37 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
Getting out to an early lead has been crucial for the ASU this season. The Sun Devils have posted a 15-2 record when leading after four innings. That moves to 10-1 when leading after five and 12-0 when leading after six.
If the game is tied through four innings, ASU has turned that into a 6-1 record. That also carries into a 3-1 mark when tied through five and 2-1 if tied after six.
SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Six runs have been the determining factor in most ASU games this season. The Sun Devils have gone 14-1 when scoring at least six runs in a game. They are 20-9 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .405 batting average and 45 hits. She has a team-high 14 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 35 of the 38 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is fifth in the Pac-12 in average and on-base (.507) while also ranking third in slugging (.775) and runs (37), seventh in home runs (10), and eighth in doubles (9). Her 86 total bases are good for seventh in the conference, and she sits sixth with 10 stolen bases.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook sits atop the Pac-12 with 16 home runs, and her 0.42 home runs per game are No. 2 in the country. She is hitting a home run every 6.6 at bats, and twice this season, she homered in four consecutive games.
VanHook is slugging .838 to rank second in the conference and 15th in the NCAA. She is batting .324 with six doubles, 31 RBIs, and 26 runs scored. VanHook enters the weekend with a hit in four of the last six games after a stretch with a hit in two of 11 games.
BROWN FROM THE BULLPEN
Kenzie Brown anchors the pitching staff from her bullpen role. She is second on the staff with a 3.09 ERA, going 10-2 with 72 strikeouts and a .226 opponent batting average.
She ranks seventh in the Pac-12 at 7.17 strikeouts per seven innings while sitting ninth in wins and sixth in appearances (26).
The series begins on Friday at 5 p.m. and continues at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The final of the three games is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Pac-12 Network will broadcast the games on Friday and Sunday with Anne Marie Anderson (PBP) and Natasha Watley (analyst) calling the action. Saturday's game is on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (PBP) and Michele Smith (analyst).
ASU heads to California at 21-17 overall and looking to snap a season-long five-game losing skid. They are currently seventh in the conference with a 5-10 record in Pac-12 play. The team is 3-5 in road games and 7-8 in all games away from Tempe.
The Sun Devils head to the road with a .271/.366/.490 slash line. They score an average of 4.76 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are sixth in the Pac-12 with 98 extra-base hits and fourth with 51 home runs.
ASU maintains a 3.46 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in the circle this season. The team records 5.94 strikeouts per seven innings to rank fifth in the conference. ASU opponents are batting .251 with a .710 OPS while hitting a home run every 45.9 at bats.
SERIES HISTORY
UCLA has controlled the all-time series with ASU with a 109-39 all-time record. The Sun Devils took two of three from the Bruins last season for the first series win since 2015.
Arizona State is 16-57 on the road in the series and has dropped six straight and 12 of 13 at Easton Stadium dating back to the 2016 season.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefited the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 101 runs for an average of 2.66 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .288 with a .909 OPS and 30 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 37 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
Getting out to an early lead has been crucial for the ASU this season. The Sun Devils have posted a 15-2 record when leading after four innings. That moves to 10-1 when leading after five and 12-0 when leading after six.
If the game is tied through four innings, ASU has turned that into a 6-1 record. That also carries into a 3-1 mark when tied through five and 2-1 if tied after six.
SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Six runs have been the determining factor in most ASU games this season. The Sun Devils have gone 14-1 when scoring at least six runs in a game. They are 20-9 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .405 batting average and 45 hits. She has a team-high 14 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 35 of the 38 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is fifth in the Pac-12 in average and on-base (.507) while also ranking third in slugging (.775) and runs (37), seventh in home runs (10), and eighth in doubles (9). Her 86 total bases are good for seventh in the conference, and she sits sixth with 10 stolen bases.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook sits atop the Pac-12 with 16 home runs, and her 0.42 home runs per game are No. 2 in the country. She is hitting a home run every 6.6 at bats, and twice this season, she homered in four consecutive games.
VanHook is slugging .838 to rank second in the conference and 15th in the NCAA. She is batting .324 with six doubles, 31 RBIs, and 26 runs scored. VanHook enters the weekend with a hit in four of the last six games after a stretch with a hit in two of 11 games.
BROWN FROM THE BULLPEN
Kenzie Brown anchors the pitching staff from her bullpen role. She is second on the staff with a 3.09 ERA, going 10-2 with 72 strikeouts and a .226 opponent batting average.
She ranks seventh in the Pac-12 at 7.17 strikeouts per seven innings while sitting ninth in wins and sixth in appearances (26).