TEMPE – Needing a strong close to the regular season, Sun Devil Softball returns home for Senior Weekend and a three-game series with No. 9 Stanford at Farrington Stadium.
The season's final homestand begins at 6 p.m. on Friday before continuing at 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. ASU will honor its eight seniors in a presentation following Sunday's game.
Arizona State sits at 21-20 on the season and is looking to snap an eight-game losing skid when the series begins. They are seventh in the Pac-12 with a 5-13 record in league play, with the possibility of finishing anywhere from fifth to ninth in the final standings.
Entering the final home weekend, ASU maintains a .264 average and .840 OPS. They score an average of 4.54 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are third in the Pac-12 with 55 home runs while posting 104 extra-base hits.
ASU maintains a 3.62 ERA and 1.55 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 .261 with a .731 OPS while hitting a home run every 45.3 at-bats.
SERIES HISTORY
ASU has had the better of Stanford through the years, having won 71 of the 100 games between the two dating back to 1984. The Cardinal won the series last season for their first series win under the current three-game format that began in 2010.
Despite last season's results, the Sun Devils have won 16 of the past 19 meetings, and they are 37-15 at home with a 33-14 mark at Farrington. ASU enters the weekend, having won 19 of the past 20 games against Stanford in Tempe.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefitted the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 103 runs for an average of 2.51 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .279 with a .922 OPS and 31 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 28 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
This season, getting an early lead has been crucial for the ASU. 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 20-10 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
LONG BALL A FACTOR
After hitting a program-record 104 home runs in 2022, the Sun Devils have continued to deliver in that department in 2023. With 55 home runs in 41 games, ASU leads the Pac-12 and is 13th in the nation, hitting 1.34 per game.
The team is 20th in the NCAA in total home runs, and they have scored 83 runs via the home run this season (44.6% of total runs). ASU homered in 17 consecutive games – one shy of the program record – before being shut out by Arizona on March 10. They have hit multiple home runs in a game 17 times during the season.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .381 batting average and 45 hits. She has a team-high 14 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 37 of the 41 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is 10th in the Pac-12 in average while ranking third in slugging (.729) and fourth in on-base percentage (.493). Her 37 runs scored is sixth in the conference, seventh in walks, ninth in total bases, and 10th in home runs.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook hit two home runs at UCLA to give her 18 on the season. That is good for tops in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the NCAA, one behind the lead of 19 held by four players. Her 0.44 home runs per game also lead the conference and is No. 2 in the nation.
She needs two home runs to become the fifth player in program history to hit 20 in a season and three to tie the program record of 21.
VanHook has homered in three of the past four games, and she is slugging .838 to rank second in the conference and 11th in the NCAA. She is batting .324 with six doubles, 34 RBIs, and 28 runs scored.
CLUB FARRINGTON ADVANTAGE
Selected as one of the top college softball venues in the country by Softball America, Farrington Stadium is also among the top home-field advantages in the nation. Since the Sun Devils began playing at Farrington in 2000, they have gone 655-182 (.783) and never had a losing record at home.
Club Farrington was on full display during the 2022 season with a stadium-record average attendance of 1,362. This season, 30,045 fans have attended ASU home games for an average of 1,366 per date. That record can be broken this season, with an average of 1,343 fans per game attending this weekend's series with Stanford.
INAUGURAL PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Arizona's Hillenbrand Stadium will serve as the host site for the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which will debut from May 10-13, 2023. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Limited tickets are still available by visiting pac12.me/SBTix.
LOOKING AHEAD
ASU will close the regular season with a trip to Corvallis, Oregon, and a three-game series with Oregon State on May 5-7.
The season's final homestand begins at 6 p.m. on Friday before continuing at 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. ASU will honor its eight seniors in a presentation following Sunday's game.
Arizona State sits at 21-20 on the season and is looking to snap an eight-game losing skid when the series begins. They are seventh in the Pac-12 with a 5-13 record in league play, with the possibility of finishing anywhere from fifth to ninth in the final standings.
Entering the final home weekend, ASU maintains a .264 average and .840 OPS. They score an average of 4.54 runs per game and scored 10-plus runs in a game four times. They are third in the Pac-12 with 55 home runs while posting 104 extra-base hits.
ASU maintains a 3.62 ERA and 1.55 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 .261 with a .731 OPS while hitting a home run every 45.3 at-bats.
SERIES HISTORY
ASU has had the better of Stanford through the years, having won 71 of the 100 games between the two dating back to 1984. The Cardinal won the series last season for their first series win under the current three-game format that began in 2010.
Despite last season's results, the Sun Devils have won 16 of the past 19 meetings, and they are 37-15 at home with a 33-14 mark at Farrington. ASU enters the weekend, having won 19 of the past 20 games against Stanford in Tempe.
SECOND TIME THROUGH
The second time through the lineup has benefitted the Sun Devils this season. In innings three, four, and five, ASU has scored 103 runs for an average of 2.51 per game.
The Sun Devils are hitting .279 with a .922 OPS and 31 home runs in those three innings. That has helped them outscore the opposition by 28 runs in the time frame.
LATE LEADS
This season, getting an early lead has been crucial for the ASU. 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 20-10 when holding the opposition to five runs or less.
LONG BALL A FACTOR
After hitting a program-record 104 home runs in 2022, the Sun Devils have continued to deliver in that department in 2023. With 55 home runs in 41 games, ASU leads the Pac-12 and is 13th in the nation, hitting 1.34 per game.
The team is 20th in the NCAA in total home runs, and they have scored 83 runs via the home run this season (44.6% of total runs). ASU homered in 17 consecutive games – one shy of the program record – before being shut out by Arizona on March 10. They have hit multiple home runs in a game 17 times during the season.
STARTS WITH YANNI
Yanni Acuña leads the Sun Devils with a .381 batting average and 45 hits. She has a team-high 14 multi-hit games with 23 RBIs and has reached base in 37 of the 41 games this season, including eight straight plate appearances from game two at Utah through game two with Oregon.
Acuña is 10th in the Pac-12 in average while ranking third in slugging (.729) and fourth in on-base percentage (.493). Her 37 runs scored is sixth in the conference, seventh in walks, ninth in total bases, and 10th in home runs.
THE JORDYN RULES
Jordyn VanHook hit two home runs at UCLA to give her 18 on the season. That is good for tops in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth in the NCAA, one behind the lead of 19 held by four players. Her 0.44 home runs per game also lead the conference and is No. 2 in the nation.
She needs two home runs to become the fifth player in program history to hit 20 in a season and three to tie the program record of 21.
VanHook has homered in three of the past four games, and she is slugging .838 to rank second in the conference and 11th in the NCAA. She is batting .324 with six doubles, 34 RBIs, and 28 runs scored.
CLUB FARRINGTON ADVANTAGE
Selected as one of the top college softball venues in the country by Softball America, Farrington Stadium is also among the top home-field advantages in the nation. Since the Sun Devils began playing at Farrington in 2000, they have gone 655-182 (.783) and never had a losing record at home.
Club Farrington was on full display during the 2022 season with a stadium-record average attendance of 1,362. This season, 30,045 fans have attended ASU home games for an average of 1,366 per date. That record can be broken this season, with an average of 1,343 fans per game attending this weekend's series with Stanford.
INAUGURAL PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Arizona's Hillenbrand Stadium will serve as the host site for the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which will debut from May 10-13, 2023. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Limited tickets are still available by visiting pac12.me/SBTix.
LOOKING AHEAD
ASU will close the regular season with a trip to Corvallis, Oregon, and a three-game series with Oregon State on May 5-7.