No 6/5 ASU Softball Set For Big Pac-12 Series in Seattle
TEMPE -- The No. 6/5 Arizona State University softball team returns on the road this weekend to take on Washington in an important Pac-12 series beginning Thursday, April 17 at 4 p.m. PT/MT in Seattle. The Sun Devils will also play on Friday at 4 p.m. before concluding the series on Saturday at 11 a.m. Thursday and Friday’s games will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks while the final game of the series will not be featured on the network.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
Elizabeth Caporuscio leads the @Pac12 in doubles with 14 this season, good for 10th in @ASUSoftball’s single-season records
@ASUSoftball’s has won 4 of the last 5 when trailing after the 5th, 6th or top of 7th innings. Was 0-5 prior to current streak.
Just a junior, @A_Freeman9 is now sixth on @ASUSoftball’s all-time home run list with 39 in her career and seven this season.
@A_Freeman9 has reached safely in all but three games this season, hitting safely in all but seven of 42 games played.
@ASUSoftball has been ranked in 134-straight @NFCAOrg polls and has been in the top ten of 123 of those.
@CGonzales112 is currently 4-of-5 with bases loaded in @Pac12 play and leads the team in league-play RBI with 17 this season.
@ASUSoftball has six grand slams already this season, two more than last season and just two shy of the last two seasons combined.
Alix Johnson (@MissJohnson_33) has 42 walks thus far this season, which is eight more than any player in the @Pac12.
@dalpal12 now has 238 K’s this season and 1,124 in her career, moving her into 47th all-time on the @NCAASoftball career list.
Haley Steele currently leads the @Pac12 with 22 hits in league play while leading the team overall with 41 RBIs this season
Scouting the Opposition
This weekend’s battle marks the start of a murderer’s row of Pac-12 series to finish out the season for the Sun Devils, starting with No. 11/11 Washington before a non-conference series against Southern Mississippi next weekend the precedes back-to-back series against No. 1/1 Oregon and No. 2/2 UCLA.
The Sun Devils trail the all-time series against the Huskies, 46-29, but have dominated UW is recent years in winning eight of the last nine games and sweeping the series in Seattle in 2011 and 2012. The Sun Devils have been victorious in six of the last eight series against the Huskies.
The Huskies are 24-11 on the year and 4-7 in Pac-12 play, a mark skewed by the fact UW has already faced Oregon and UCLA.
UW leads the conference in stolen bases per game at 1.37 and is right at the top of most offensive categories, sitting fourth in the conference with a .331 team batting average. Victoria Hayward leads the Huskies with a .431 batting average while Kylee Lahners provides the big bat with a team-leading 12 homers on the season. The Huskies have eight players currently batting over .300 this season.
UW has two very capable pitchers in Bryana Walker and Kaitlin Inglesby with Walker getting the bulk of the starts with 22 this season. She has a 1.60 ERA to Inglesby’s 2.03 with a 14-7 record to Inglesby’s 8-3 record.
A K of a Different Sort
Those familiar with ASU softball are familiar with the K’s that Dallas Escobedo is so accustomed to but ASU reached abother K milestone this past weekend. ASU head coach Craig Nicholson picked up his 1,000 career victory with a 5-1 win over Utah in the opening game of the series. He now has 1,002 wins under his belt after going 723-90 in a decade of action at Central Arizona College before leading Ball State to being perennial contenders in the MAC with a 241-162 record overall during his time there. With 38 wins under his belt this season, Nicholson finds himself with a career 1002-258 record (.795).
Craig Nicholson Leading the Way
Craig Nicholson was hired on June 30. The head coach at Ball State for the past seven seasons, Nicholson amassed a 241-162 record with the Cardinals and holds a 999-258 career record. Nicholson replaces Clint Myers, who accepted a similar position at Auburn on June 14. On top of coaching at Ball State, Nicholson was the associate head coach for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) in 2008 and helped the team to a NPF title.
The fastest coach in BSU program history to pass the 100 and 200-win marks, Nicholson was instrumental in Ball State capturing four Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season championships (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and the program’s first All-American. Offensive minded, Nicholson saw much growth in the Ball State program under his tutelage. Not since UCLA’s Sue Enquist retired following a World Series appearance in 2006 has a program coming off an appearance in Oklahoma City gone through a coaching change, making the Sun Devils a very unique program in that regard this season.
Follow the Action
This is the fifth consecutive weekend that the Sun Devils will be scheduled to be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks with the first two games of the series slated to be shown on television. Rich Cellini and Tammy Blackburn will be on the call this weekend. It is important to note that only fans with access to the Pac-12 Networks through their local provider will be able to view this weekend’s games through the Pac-12 Networks channel or online at the Pac-12.com. Contact your local provider for more details. Saturday’s game will be be provided via a live stream free to all at the Pac-12.com. Additionally, fans are encouraged to stay tuned to ASU softball via social media outlets by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter or liking the team on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ASUSoftball.
In The Rankings
After a sweep of Utah the Sun Devils moved up one spot to No. 6 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and one more spot to No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll.
The View From The Top
Over the past eight seasons, the Sun Devils have been among the most dominant teams in the nation. One need look no further than the weekly NFCA Coaches Poll to get a gage of that. The Sun Devils have been ranked in 134 consecutive Coaches Polls, a streak that dates back to Week 2 of the 2006 season. The Sun Devils entered the top-10 in Week 6 of that season and have since been ranked in the top 10 in 123 of the 134 polls that have taken place since the team entered the rankings in 2006.
A Look Back - Utah
The No. 7/6 ASU softball team completed its second consecutive sweep in Pac-12 action by taking three games against Utah in Temp this past weekend. The Sun a Devils improved to 37-6 with the victory and 12-3 in Pac-12 action. Head coach Craig Nicholson picked up his 1000th career victory in the first game of the series, a 5-1 victory for ASU. The Sun Devils held off a late Utah rally in the second game, a 4-3 decision, before rallying in the sixth inning of the final game for a 7-4 victory.
Players to Watch
The Sun Devils entered the season with four returning NFCA All-Americans on the roster, the most of any team in the country. Only Alabama (3) is within one of the Sun Devils mark and is the only team with more cumulative returning selections (6) than ASU, who has five with Dallas Escobedo being a two-time All-American. Returning All-Americans Escobedo, Cheyenne Coyle and Amber Freeman have all been named to the USA Softball Preseason Player of the Year Watch List for the upcoming season.
And Then There Were 25
Dallas Escobedo and Amber Freeman have both been named as finalists for the 2014 ASA/USA Softball National Player of the Year. Both began the season on the Top 50 Players to Watch list along with (Cheyenne Coyle) and made the “midseason” cut as announced by the organization prior to the Utah series. The 25 finalists will be narrowed to 10 prior to the beginning of postseason play. This is the first time ASU has had two players in the Top 25 since placing three on the list from the 2008 National Championship roster.
The Road to OKC Goes Through Dallas
For the past three years, Dallas Escobedo has been among the premier pitchers in the nation. The two-time All-American and three-time First-Team All-Pac-12 selection has helped to lead ASU to the WCWS in each of her past three seasons in Tempe, including a National Championship in 2011. Escobedo is currently 18-5 with a 1.71 ERA and an incredible 238 strikeouts to just 31 walks - for a whopping 7.7:1 K:BB ratio. She has posted nine complete game shutouts - allowing just a single hit in six of those while saving her best performance for Longwood in a game of offensive struggles as she no-hit the Lancers for her third career solo no-hitter and fourth no-hitter overall. Escobedo currently ranks first nationally in strikeouts and fifth in shutouts. Before anyone gets excited about her five losses, it is worth noting opponents only managed 18 runs in those games (3.6 per game) but the Sun Devil offense only mustered 12 runs (2.4 per game) total. On the flipside, the ASU offense has 121 runs in Escobedo’s victories (6.7 per game) and truly had the senior’s back in the Stanford series when Escobedo gave up 12 total earned runs - nearly twice her total entering the series - but still came away with two victories in the series sweep.
100 Starts For Escobedo
Senior Dallas Escobedo now has 126 starts as a Sun Devil. In her career, Escobedo is second at ASU in wins (109), 9 shy of tying Katie Burkhart for first on the time all-time list. With 238 strikeouts this season, Escobedo‘s career number sits at 1,124 and she became just the second Sun Devil in history to eclipse the 1,000 K mark with with a strikeout against her very first batter of the Judi Garman Classic. She became just the 14th player in Pac-12 history to accomplish the 1,000 strikeout feat and is currently tied for 46th in NCAA career history for total strikeouts and is well on pace to continue to climb that leaderboard as the season continues. One area of improvement for the senior is the fact that she has given up just 15 home runs this season after giving up a whopping 39 last season, giving up 1.1 per every seven innings pitched. That number has gone down drastically this season as she is giving up just .68 home runs per seven innings thus far in 2014. She has admittedly struggled a bit with that stat in Pac-12 action, giving up a homer in all but two of her 10 appearances. Escobedo has been incredibly strong in not allowing two-out rallies, holding opponents to a lowly .111 batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs. She has given up just five hits in that situation on 45 at-bats with a whopping 20 strikeouts.
Return of the Mack
Lest we forget, Escobedo is just half of one of the most potent 1-2 pitching punches in the country. Fellow senior Mackenzie Popescue has shown she is just as much an ace in the last two seasons and is a pivotal part of ASU’s success. Popescue has a 1.50 ERA this season with just 23 earned runs allowed and a team-leading 18 wins to her record (13th nationally) to just one loss, pitching complete games in 14 games this season, 13 of those being victories. Popescue has also been a capable fielder with 33 assists and six puts outs with zero errors thus far on the season.
‘Ber, It’s Cold In Here
The reining Pac-12 Player of the Year, Amber Freeman, continues to consistently get it done at the plate. She leads the team with a .443 batting average this season that is second in the Pac-12. Freeman leads the team with 54 hits and a .521 OBP this season as well while ranking second in RBI with 37. Freeman has hit safely in all but seven games on the season (including 15 of the last 16) and has reached base in all but three games. Additionally, Freeman has not had a single error this year recording 229 putouts for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. She also leads the team in most games with multiple hits, doing so in 14 games this year - ranked second on the team and leading the team in games with three or more hits with five. Freeman has been pivotal in keeping the inning going and is leading the team with 20 hits when she’s at bat with two outs at the board on 46 attempts (.435) with 11 two-out RBI with four of her nine homers this year coming with two outs. There’s plenty more situational love for the junior, who has also had 90 opportunities to advance runners from the three-hole and has successfully done so 50 times (.556).
Just Getting a Read On Things
On the season, Amber Freeman is batting .400 on 14-of-35 hitting in the first innings of games from the three hole with five RBI, one home run and a .571 slugging percentage. Not bad numbers by any stretch when you look at just one inning of action. However, that’s before you see what she has done the second time through the order against pitchers. In the third and fourth innings this season, when Freeman typically takes her second at-bat of games, she is batting an incredible .561 on 23-of-41 hitting with 13 RBI, 5 homers and a whopping 1.026 slugging percentage.
‘Ru-sci-o, ‘Ru-sci-o, ‘RU-SCI-OOOOOO
Elizabeth Caporuscio is another Sun Devil that has been putting together and incredible year for ASU and currently batting .367 (third on the team) with a team-leading 14 doubles in the process - tied for the Pac-12 lead in the category. Her 47 hits are third on the squad while she has posted a solid .404 on-base percentage. She currently leads the team with 16 two-out RBIs and has proven she is the hitter you want with the bases loaded, with five hits in nine opportunities (.556) with a grand slam this season. Caporuscio is also the only Sun Devil to record a triple this season. Since Pac-12 play has begun, Caporuscio is currently second on the team with 14 RBI while leading the league with five doubles in that span. She is also second on the team with eight hits on 19 chances (.421) with runners in scoring position in Pac-12 action.
Steele of a Deal
Haley Steele has been among ASU’s most reliable hitters and continues to bring runners home. The junior is batting .360 on the year with eight home runs and has team lead for RBI with 41. Steele has been the Sun Devils’ most successful batter when it comes to advancing runners, doing so 53 times of 102 attempts (.520) - the most hits of any batter in that situation. As if that weren’t enough, Steele also has posted the most hits with runners in scoring position in logging 22 hits in such situations. She is second on the team in Pac-12 action with a .415 average and with 14 RBI.
Red Bull Gives You Wigness
Bailey Wigness continues to remain at the top of the Sun Devil batting average list this season, currently fifth with a .351 average. It was her single to the pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning against then-No. 16 Nebraska that brought home the game-winning walk-off run in 1-0 victory at the Judi Garman Classic. Wigness has advanced runners on 41 of 61 chances (.682) this season - easily leading the team in the category by nearly 100 points over anyone who has had at least 40 oppurtunities to advance runners on the year. Since Pac-12 play began, Wigness has advanced runners 21-of-31 times (.677).
AlixIsOnFire
Alix Johnson has been among ASU’s most reliable base runners this season. Johnson is batting .331 on the season but still finds herself with an on-base percentage of .503 that is good for second on the team behind Freeman. Her 44 runs scored are 11 more than any other Sun Devil. She is tied for second on the team with nine doubles this season and has already surpassed her 2013 total in the category. Additionally, Johnson leads with 12 stolen bases on 14 attempts. and is fourth in the conference. Where Johnson has truly shined, however, is her ability to take bad pitches. Her 42 walks pace the team and are nine more than anyone else in the Pac-12 conference. She has successfully advanced runners on 40 of 67 opportunities (.597) this season. She has served as the leadoff batter in 47 innings this season, safely reaching base on 27 of those chances for a .574 average.
Chey-City
On the season, Cheyenne Coyle is batting .325 with 34 RBI while also drawing 31 walks, which is good for second on the team and third in the Pac-12. Coyle has a team leading 12 hits on 14 attempts (.857) when she has a runner on third and less than two outs. She was the hero of the final game of the Stanford series, launching a three-run shot to the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh to cap a five-run comeback and score her first walk-off hit of the season in a 7-5 victory. On 55 leadoff opportunities this season, Coyle has safely reached base on 31 of them (.564).
B’s In the Trap
Bethany Kemp had one of the top performances of the weekend at the Littlwood Classic. Kemp batted .417 with five hits on 12 at bats. The more impressive feat, however, was the four of those hits went over the fence as the junior led the team with four home runs over the three days of competition. The junior currently leads the team with 11 home runs this season and sits tied for fourth in the Pac-12 in the category. Kemp is second on the team with a .708 slugging percentage and has drawn 27 walks on the season, which is good for third on the roster. Kemp has already surpassed last year’s total (9) with 11 homers this season and - with 20 career home runs to date - is 19th on ASU’s all-time home run list. Kemp is currently third on the team in Pac-12 action with a .381 batting average.
Chelsea Lately
While numerous Sun Devil newcomers have shined in the spotlight this season, none have had as impressive an impact as Chelsea Gonzales. The freshman is batting .373 on the season - second on the team - and has been exceptional at getting her bat on the ball. Gonzales has struck out just six times - the least among Sun Devil starters - and has posted a .400 on-base percentage. While Gonzales’ batting average has gone down slightly in Pac-12 play, her clutch hitting has gone up. She leads the team lead in two-out RBI with 11 in Pac-12 action while going 4-for-5 in league play with the bases loaded. She has 17 RBI in Pac-12 games this season, a total that also leads the team and is fifth in the Pac-12.
Dinger Derby
There have been plenty of longballs this season for the Sun Devils, who are currently second in the Pac-12 with 58 thus far this season. ASU entered the Diamond Devil Invite with 15 home runs before knocking 14 out of the park of the course of the four day event. ASU is currently on pace to finish the season with around 78 home runs at its current clip if it played 62 games as it did last season. ASU has a home run in all but 14 games this season and is 28-2 in games where they hit a home run.
No Home Runs For You
While ASU has had no problem with the long ball this season offensively, they also haven’t had much of one on defense either. ASU’s pitching staff has given up just 17 home runs to date - a mark that is second in the Pac-12.
More Time For Activities
The Sun Devil offense has ended games before the seventh inning 17 times this season, or in about 38.6 percent of all games played. ASU has four run-rule victories in Pac-12 action thus far and has already surpassed last year’s season total of 15 total run rules while inching closer to the school record of 24, set in 2012.
Grand Slama Jamma
The ASU offense has booted six grand slams this season, two more than last season and just two shy of the total from the last two years combined (8).
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
Head coach Craig Nicholson has been adamant that this team will be aggressive on the base pass and force the opposition to make plays. If the start to the season is any indication, he’s a man of his word. ASU has 39 stolen bases on 49 attempts in 2014. In 62 games last season, the Sun Devils were 39-for-45 on stolen-base attempts.
Two Outs? No Problem
While the Sun Devils have been impressive from the batter’s box this season, the squad has done a fine job of getting it done with two outs on the board. ASU is 121-of-362 (.334) - just below the team’s .347 overall average - with two outs. 102 of the team’s 284 RBI (36.0 percent) this season have come with two outs on the board.
Don’t Miss Your Chance
ASU has been successful offensively this season largely because it has taken advantage of its chances when they are there. With runners in scoring position, ASU’s batters are 150-of-429 (.350) while being exceptional at bringing runners home from third with less than two outs, going 70-of-109 in such situations (.642). Of course that means you have to get runners in a position to score to begin with, and ASU’s batters have done just that in going 416-of-760 (.547) when it comes to advancing runners. And of course, someone has to get on base to make any of this a possibility, another feat ASU batters have been exceptional at. ASU’s leadoff batters this season have reached base 125 of 259 times (.483) while the Sun Devils are 160-of-472 (.353) with the bases empty on the year. To show the importance of these numbers, ASU is just 7-of-53 (.132) with runners in scoring position in the team’s five losses and 1-of-6 (.167) with a runner on third and less than two outs. Bringing runners home has also been an issue for ASU at times, as the team has stranded 300 runners this season compared to just 232 on the opponent’s side.
Rally Cry
ASU’s two come-from-behind victories late in the game in the Stanford series were important for the fact that that was an area that ASU had struggled in this season. Prior to the Cardinal series, ASU was 0-5 when trailing after the fifth, sixth or top of the seven innings in games this season. ASU stifled that stigma twice against Stanford as they came back from a two-run deficit in the seventh to tie the game and win in extras in the first game of the series before a five-run walk-off rally in the seventh in the final game. The Sun Devils added another to the tally with a four-run fifth inning to come back from a 1-0 deficit against Arizona in the second game of the series. The Sun Devils were also able to overcome a late Utah home run that gave the Utes a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning and now post a 4-6 record in games where they trailed in the fifth, sixth or top of the seventh innings.
Home Run Records
Six current Sun Devils rank among the top 20 on the all-time home run list at ASU. Amber Freeman is sixth with 39, Alix Johnson is tied for eighth with 35, Haley Steele is 11th with 33, Cheyenne Coyle is 13th with 29, Elizabeth Caporuscio is 17th with 23 and Bethany Kemp entered the ranks this season and is currently 19th with 20.
Add It To The Trophy Case
Dallas Escobedo went 4-0 at the Judi Garman Classic and put up some gaudy number at pitcher in the process en rout to a sweep of every major national and conference Player of the Week award. She was named the National Player of the Week by both the NFCA and USA Softball and the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week as well. Escobedo registered a 0.26 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 27 innings of work. Over the course of the four victories, Escobedo held her opposition to a paltry .060 batting average and a grand total of five hits. Included among her impressive efforts was her fourth career no-hitter, earned during a 13-strikeout blanking of Longwood, a one-hit shutout of then-No. 5 Michigan (nine K’s), 10 strikeouts while permitting just a single base knock in outlasting then-No. 16 Nebraska, 1-0 (8 inn.), and five innings of three-hit ball while allowing her only earned run for the week in a 9-1 (5 inn.) rout of Wisconsin. It was her first NFCA honor, third USA Softball award and the seventh Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honor for the senior ace.
Order a New Trophy Case
Dallas Escobedo continued her career haul of honors as she was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Pennsylvania Rebellion, entering their first season of action on the circuit. Just a day later, Escobedo was named as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which is given annual and honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. She has also been named as one of 25 finalist for the ASA/USA Softball Nationa Player of the Year honor.
Lights, Camera, Action
Days and times of softball’s TV games is on thesundevils.com. ASU will have 17 televised games on the Pac-12 Network in 2014. That schedule includes 10 home games that will be broadcast on the network. If that’s not enough for fans, than they are in luck as all of ASU’s remaining home games will be live streamed online through the Pac-12 website at http://pac-12.com/videos/arizona-state-university
On The Airwaves
Not only will every single home Sun Devil contest be either live-streamed or broadcast live on television, but for the second consecutive year Blaze Sports Radio will provide the call for all of Arizona State’s home games this season. Fans in the Tempe area can tune in at 1330 AM while they can also listen online at ustream.tv/channel/blaze-sports.
Note on WCWS
The Sun Devils have advanced the WCWS in seven of the last eight seasons, two more than any other program in the nation in that time frame. Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and Florida have each been to five in the same span. In that eight-year span, ASU has one of the top winning percentages in the country with a 427-102 record since 2006. The .807 percentage is tied for third nationally with Michigan behind only Alabama (.837) and Florida (.810).
Winning Percentage Since 2006 (Prior to 2014)
1. Alabama - .837 (432-84)
2. Florida - .810 (437-102)
3. Arizona State - .807 (427-102)
Michigan - .807 (385-92)
5. Tennessee - .804 (421-102-1)
6. Oklahoma - .803 (384-93-1)
7. ULL - .775 (373-108)
8. Missouri - .748 (374-126)
9. UCLA - .747 (345-117)
10. Texas - .742 (347-120-2)
Opening Day Success
Arizona State is now 38-7 on opening day dating back to 1971. The last time ASU lost its first game of the season was back in 1995.
More on Arizona Victory
The Sun Devils improved to 8-2 this season against teams ranked in the NFCA Top-25 with with a 2-1 weekend series against then No. 8/9 Arizona. The most notable facet of ASU performance against the Wildcats was the fact that the UA entered the weekend as arguably the top offensive team in the nation. The Wildcats were No. 1 in both runs per game and slugging percentage nationally and led the way in just about every offensive category in the Pac-12. Even with the six-run effort in the final game of the series, ASU held the WIldcats to a grand total of eight runs in three games after the UA entered the game averaging just under eight runs per game.
Where 2013 Left Off
The Sun Devils dropped two games in the 2013 WCWS en route to a 50-12 season overall. The appearance in the WCWS was ASU’s seventh in the last eight seasons, two more than any other team in the nation in that time. The Sun Devils finished the year 16-8 in conference play and tied for second in the Pac-12 with Washington. The team opened the season with a porgram best 21-0 record to start the season and finished the year with an incredible 40-3 record at home. Catcher Amber Freeman was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year while Freeman, Dallas Escobedo and Cheyenne Coyle were all named NFCA All-Americans.
Notable losses:
Sam Parlich | 2B, .348 avg, 10 HR, 41 RBI, .541 SLG%, .368 OBP%, 61 starts
Lucy Aubrecht | C/DP, .313 avg, 5 HR, 27 RBI, .542 SLG%, .417 OBP%
Notable returners:
Dallas Escobedo | RHP, 30-6, 2.32 ERA, 250.2 innings pitched in 2013. No. 1 in the circle in powerful 1-2 pitching lineup. USA Softball Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. 2x All-American. Opposing hitters have batted under .200 against her in her career.
Amber Freeman | C, 62 starts, .361 batting average, 18 homers. Pac-12 Player of the Year. 61 RBI and 66 hits. 2013 All-American. Member of USA Softball Team following the 2013 season. USA Preseason Softball Top-50 PoY Watch List
Cheyenne Coyle | SS, 62 starts, .358 batting average, 20 home runs, 66 RBIs. Tied single season ASU home run mark. 2013 All-American. USA Preseason Softball Top-50 PoY Watch List
Alix Johnson | OF, .324 batting average, 57 hits, 8 doubles, 11 homers, 35 RBI. 2012 All-American and multiple time All-Conference Selection
Bailey Wigness | OF, 60 starts, .376 batting average last season led the team. .440 OBP%
Mackenzie Popescue | RHP, 19-6 record, 1.94 ERA. All-Pac-12 Selection. Gave up just seven home runs on the season.
Haley Steele | 3B, 62 games started, .330 batting average, 12 homers and 47 RBIs. .600 SLG%, .410 OBP%. All-Pac-12 Selection
Bethany Kemp | 1B, 43 games started, .331 average, 9 homers, 27 RBI. .596 SLG%, .401 OBP%. All-Pac-12 Selection