TEMPE – The season-opening homestand for Sun Devil softball continues this week, with the team hosting eight games over five days. The action begins on Wednesday with a doubleheader against UTEP that starts at 1 p.m. MST.
ASU will begin Sun Devil Classic play against Texas State on Thursday. They will host Texas State and Seton Hall on Friday and then Ohio State and Utah Valley on Saturday. The week concludes on Sunday against New Mexico State.
The Wednesday doubleheader with UTEP will air on the Pac-12 Network with Chris Harris on the call. The team's six games of the Sun Devil Classic will be available on the ASU Live Stream and through the Pac-12 Now app.
The Sun Devil Classic will feature 21 games over four days at both Farrington Stadium and the GCU Softball Stadium. More details and the full schedule can be found at TheSunDevils.com.
ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State brings a 5-4 record into the week after completing a 3-2 week at the Littlewood Classic. They have three run-rule victories and one shutout through the first two weekends.
ASU is batting .313 and scoring 6.22 runs per game on the season. Behind their Pac-12-leading 22 doubles, the Sun Devils have a .940 OPS. They have added eight home runs and two triples.
Sun Devil pitchers have a 4.33 ERA and 1.60 WHIP entering the week. They are allowing the opposition to hit .286 with a .829 OPS. ASU is third in the Pac-12 with 54 strikeouts and 6.87 per seven innings.
FAST STARTS
ASU bats have been ready to play from the start, as the Sun Devils have scored 24 runs in the first inning of games this season. That accounts for 43 percent of the team's total runs. The team has scored in the first inning in six of the nine games, including a 10-run first against Memphis on February 17.
TAKE TWO
Doubles have been aplenty for the Sun Devils through the season's first two weeks. ASU has knocked 19 doubles this season, the most in the Pac-12 and 11th-most in the NCAA. They have hit a double in eight of the nine games and have four games with multiple doubles.
THIEVERY
The Sun Devils have also used the team's speed to rack up 20 stolen bases. That total ranks second in the Pac-12 and 20th nationally. They have swiped those bases without being caught and trail only Troy (22) and Virginia (21) in stolen bases without being caught this season.
DYNAMIC DENBY
Alesia Denby continued her hot start to the season with another two home runs last week. She begins this week batting .440 with a conference-best 1.580 OPS. Her four home runs are tied for the conference lead, and she is second in doubles and extra-base hits.
Denby has recorded a hit in seven of the nine games, with four multi-hit games. She also has four multi-RBI games for 11 total runs driven in.
HALL BALL
Kelsey Hall jump-started her season last week, going 9-for-14 during the Littlewood Classic. She is now batting .440 on the season and is on a five-game hitting streak at the moment.
Hall has a hit in seven of the nine games, and she tallied multiple hits in a game three times. Her four doubles have her tied for second in the Pac-12.
SAME BUT DIFFERENT
Yannixa Acuña carried her successful opening weekend into week two, and she is third on the team with a .429 batting average. She carries a three-game hitting streak into play and has three stolen bases, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
OSBORNE IN THE CIRCLE
Mac Osborne is off to a 3-0 start and holds a 2.26 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in the circle this season. She is one of six pitchers in the Pac-12 with at least three wins after making five appearances and three starts to lead the team with 21.2 innings pitched.
Osborne ranks fifth in the conference with 21 strikeouts and eighth in getting 6.78 per seven innings. She has at least four strikeouts in an appearance three times, including a career-high 10 against Maine.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
• Sara Kinch hit a pair of home runs during the Littlewood Classic, including a grand slam against BYU, and she has two doubles and nine RBIs on the season.
• Kayla Lissy is batting .263 while adding a team-best six walks to give her a .462 on-base percentage. Four of her five hits are doubles, and she has been on base in all but one game.
• Tanya Windle has an average of .333 on the season after posting five hits during the Littlewood Classic. She has recorded a hit in five of the seven games she has played, scoring six runs and driving in three.
• Kylee Magee earned her first win of the season against Illinois State after holding the Redbirds scoreless over three innings. Magee has tallied 17 strikeouts in 12.2 innings and is second in the Pac-12 at 9.39 strikeouts per seven innings.
ASU will begin Sun Devil Classic play against Texas State on Thursday. They will host Texas State and Seton Hall on Friday and then Ohio State and Utah Valley on Saturday. The week concludes on Sunday against New Mexico State.
The Wednesday doubleheader with UTEP will air on the Pac-12 Network with Chris Harris on the call. The team's six games of the Sun Devil Classic will be available on the ASU Live Stream and through the Pac-12 Now app.
The Sun Devil Classic will feature 21 games over four days at both Farrington Stadium and the GCU Softball Stadium. More details and the full schedule can be found at TheSunDevils.com.
ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State brings a 5-4 record into the week after completing a 3-2 week at the Littlewood Classic. They have three run-rule victories and one shutout through the first two weekends.
ASU is batting .313 and scoring 6.22 runs per game on the season. Behind their Pac-12-leading 22 doubles, the Sun Devils have a .940 OPS. They have added eight home runs and two triples.
Sun Devil pitchers have a 4.33 ERA and 1.60 WHIP entering the week. They are allowing the opposition to hit .286 with a .829 OPS. ASU is third in the Pac-12 with 54 strikeouts and 6.87 per seven innings.
FAST STARTS
ASU bats have been ready to play from the start, as the Sun Devils have scored 24 runs in the first inning of games this season. That accounts for 43 percent of the team's total runs. The team has scored in the first inning in six of the nine games, including a 10-run first against Memphis on February 17.
TAKE TWO
Doubles have been aplenty for the Sun Devils through the season's first two weeks. ASU has knocked 19 doubles this season, the most in the Pac-12 and 11th-most in the NCAA. They have hit a double in eight of the nine games and have four games with multiple doubles.
THIEVERY
The Sun Devils have also used the team's speed to rack up 20 stolen bases. That total ranks second in the Pac-12 and 20th nationally. They have swiped those bases without being caught and trail only Troy (22) and Virginia (21) in stolen bases without being caught this season.
DYNAMIC DENBY
Alesia Denby continued her hot start to the season with another two home runs last week. She begins this week batting .440 with a conference-best 1.580 OPS. Her four home runs are tied for the conference lead, and she is second in doubles and extra-base hits.
Denby has recorded a hit in seven of the nine games, with four multi-hit games. She also has four multi-RBI games for 11 total runs driven in.
HALL BALL
Kelsey Hall jump-started her season last week, going 9-for-14 during the Littlewood Classic. She is now batting .440 on the season and is on a five-game hitting streak at the moment.
Hall has a hit in seven of the nine games, and she tallied multiple hits in a game three times. Her four doubles have her tied for second in the Pac-12.
SAME BUT DIFFERENT
Yannixa Acuña carried her successful opening weekend into week two, and she is third on the team with a .429 batting average. She carries a three-game hitting streak into play and has three stolen bases, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
OSBORNE IN THE CIRCLE
Mac Osborne is off to a 3-0 start and holds a 2.26 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in the circle this season. She is one of six pitchers in the Pac-12 with at least three wins after making five appearances and three starts to lead the team with 21.2 innings pitched.
Osborne ranks fifth in the conference with 21 strikeouts and eighth in getting 6.78 per seven innings. She has at least four strikeouts in an appearance three times, including a career-high 10 against Maine.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
• Sara Kinch hit a pair of home runs during the Littlewood Classic, including a grand slam against BYU, and she has two doubles and nine RBIs on the season.
• Kayla Lissy is batting .263 while adding a team-best six walks to give her a .462 on-base percentage. Four of her five hits are doubles, and she has been on base in all but one game.
• Tanya Windle has an average of .333 on the season after posting five hits during the Littlewood Classic. She has recorded a hit in five of the seven games she has played, scoring six runs and driving in three.
• Kylee Magee earned her first win of the season against Illinois State after holding the Redbirds scoreless over three innings. Magee has tallied 17 strikeouts in 12.2 innings and is second in the Pac-12 at 9.39 strikeouts per seven innings.