Softball Heads South for Territorial Cup
TEMPE – Sun Devil softball is headed to Tucson this weekend for a three-game series against No. 19 Arizona. The series winner will earn a point in the Territorial Cup Series® Standings.
ASU's final road trip of the regular season begins on Friday at 5 p.m. at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium. Play continues on Saturday at 4 p.m., with the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m.
All three games of the series will air on Pac-12 Networks and the Pac-12 Now app. Cindy Brunson (PBP) and Kenzie Fowler (analyst) will call the action.
ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State will head south with an 18-22 overall record and looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. The team is 2-13 in Pac-12 action with nine conference games remaining. ASU has gone 2-10 away from home this season.
ASU begins the series scoring 5.00 runs per game and fourth in the Pac-12 with 107 extra-base hits. They lead the league with 15 triples, rank third with 57 doubles, and sixth with 500 total bases. For the season, the team maintains a .293/.365/.476 slash line.
In the circle, ASU pitchers have a 4.31 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. The staff averages 5.05 strikeouts per seven innings, and the opposition is batting .295.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Arizona will host the series with a 28-13-1 overall record and 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Wildcats are 9-9 in conference play. They hold a 20-6 record at home.
Arizona is second in the Pac-12 with a .326 team batting average, and they are slugging .511 to rank third in the conference. They have scored a conference-high 261 runs and have hit 50 home runs.
Wildcat pitchers hold a 3.38 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP entering the weekend. Their opponents are batting .258 with a .786 OPS. The staff records 3.93 strikeouts per seven innings.
EARLY OFFENSE
The ASU offense has been potent early in games, scoring 107 runs in the first three innings, which accounts for 54 percent of the team's 200 total runs. The team has crossed the plate 46 times in the first inning and scored 37 runs with a plus-18 run differential in the third inning.
DOUBLE (OR TRIPLE) TAKE
ASU has hit 57 doubles this season, ranking third in the conference and 68th nationally. Their 1.43 doubles per game is fourth in the league. They have hit at least one double in a game 30 times and have multiple doubles in a game 14 times. They are currently on pace for 71 doubles, which would rank 12th in program history.
ASU has also tallied 15 triples during the year to lead the conference and tie for ninth in the NCAA. The Sun Devils have recorded multiple triples in the same game thrice, including three against New Mexico State on February 25. The 15 triples are the most since 1995 and tied for the 10th most for a season in program history.
BUNCH OF THIEVES
The Sun Devils have also used their team speed to steal 63 bases on the season. That total ranks second in the Pac-12 and 39th in the NCAA. ASU has stolen a base in 26 games and has had multiple steals in a game 19 times. The 63 steals are the eighth-most for a season in program history and the most since stealing 62 bases in 2010.
WINDLE PLAYS THE HITS
Tanya Windle continues to lead the Sun Devils – and rank 10th in the Pac-12 – with her .380 batting average. She is tied for the team lead with 13 multi-hit games and four three-hit games. Windle has never gone more than two consecutive games without a hit in her career.
HALL BALL
Kelsey Hall has her average up to .345 entering the weekend with 40 hits to rank 16th in the Pac-12. Hall also has 13 multi-hit games, and she has eight doubles, two triples, and four home runs during the season. In the past five games, Hall is 6-for-16 with a double, two home runs, and three RBIs.
LASER LECLAIR
Audrey LeClair has recorded five outfield assists this season, including three against Utah last Saturday. In addition, LeClair has raised her batting average by 107 points to .307 since March 1, and she has recorded eight multi-hit games.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
• Kayla Lissy is tied for second in the Pac-12 with four triples, and she is fifth with 14 stolen bases. She is one of three players in the Pac-12 to have at least 14 steals without being caught.
• Alesia Denby leads the team with eight home runs and 25 RBIs.
• Libby Walsh is tied for second on the team with 20 RBIs.
• Deborah Jones leads the team with 15 starts on the season, including nine in conference play. She has a 4-9 record and a 5.06 ERA with a team-best 62 strikeouts.
WALKING WOUNDED
Injuries have taken a toll on the Sun Devils, with season-ending injuries to pitchers Kenzie Brown and Kylee Magee affecting the rotation and Yannixa Acuña and Maddie Pomykalski not being options in the lineup. In total, ASU players have lost a combined 128 games to injury this season.