April 18, 2013
Game Notes | ESPN Power Rankings | This Week In Pac-12
TEMPE, Ariz. - In its first set of games against a non-ranked opponent since March 16, Arizona State softball will play at Utah starting Friday, April 19 at 5 p.m. PT.
The Sun Devils (38-5, 9-3 Pac-12) are No. 2/3 in the weekly polls, staying at No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA poll since March 12 for the sixth-straight week but falling one spot to No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
Friday 5 p.m. PT | Live Stats | Live Stats | Live Stats | Radio
Utah (19-23-1, 4-11 Pac-12) is coming off a 14-3 (6) win against Utah State in a midweek contest on Wednesday. ASU leads the series matchup against the Utes 27-10 dating back to 1975. In the last 10 meetings, ASU has won eight. Under Clint Myers, the Sun Devils are 6-1 against Utah.
The last time Arizona State played at Utah was 1990, going 1-1. In the latest matchup, last season, ASU swept the series 13-1 (5), 6-4, 13-5 (6).
In the past week softball has continued its success on the leaderboards. Dallas Escobedo was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday and Amber Freeman advanced as a Top 25 Finalist for Softball Player of the Year on April 10. Escobedo's nod is her second of the season and fourth in her career. ASU now has five Player of the Week honors in 2013.
Looking ahead at the Utah matchup, ASU is second in the Pac-12 behind leader Oregon who is 13-2 in conference play (38-6 overall). Utah sits at eight of nine with wins at home against Arizona (8-4) and UCLA (7-4, 8-3) and on the road at Oregon State (11-2).
In conference games only, ASU is second in batting average at .301 and Utah is close behind at third, hitting .274. There is a gap in the circle, the Sun Devils have a 2.66 ERA and have allowed 61 hits while the Ute have a 5.07 ERA and 147 hits allowed, translating into 93 runs scored against the team - ASU is at a third of that with 32 opponent runs.
Live stats and radio will be provided by Utah for all three games in the series. Arizona State softball has eight more TV games remaining on the regular-season schedule.
Don't miss a play this weekend. Live stats and radio links available on our schedule page. thesundevils.com/sports/w-softb... @thesundevils @pac12 @asu
— ASU Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 18, 2013
Remaining Softball TV Schedule
April 26 vs. California 7 p.m. PT ESPNU (Gold Game, wear gold)
April 27 vs. California 7 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
April 28 vs. California 3 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
May 3 at Arizona 6 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
May 4 at Arizona 6 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
May 5 at Arizona 3 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
May 10 vs. Oregon 5 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network
May 11 vs. Oregon 5 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network