(Photo: Michael Baron/WCSN)
The No. 21 Sun Devils will begin a three-game series against the Nebraska Huskers on Friday to continue their home-stand that began earlier this week.
ASU is coming off of a 9-0 run-rule win over the Maine Black Bears that ended after the top of the fifth inning. This was the team’s first time back in Tempe after a road trip in California that spanned ten games.
The win, which was pitched by freshman Alyssa Loza, brought the Sun Devils to a 16-5 overall record on the season.
Despite Loza’s impressive performance, it is unknown whether she will be the starting pitcher in the series opener as ASU head coach Trisha Ford has been known to cycle through all of the pitchers she has on hand including juniors Dale Ryndak and Breana Macha, as well as freshman Giselle Juarez.
The Sun Devils’ opponent, Nebraska, is 4-13 overall and is 0-11 when the opposing team scores first.
Nebraska went 2-3 in its most recent tournament, the Wooo Pig Classic. However, the Huskers were not able to bring home the bacon with their final game against the Lamar University Cardinals ending with a 10-9 loss.
Nonetheless, Nebraska did show they have an ability to come back as the game ended within a run despite the four-run deficit Lamar established in the fifth inning.
ASU will need to watch out for Huskers freshman Tristen Edwards, who has three home runs to lead the team. Furthermore, junior Gina Metzler is in the leadoff spot for Nebraska and has three consecutive games with three or more hits.
The Sun Devils have many weapons of their own to counteract the Huskers. Those include senior Chelsea Gonzales who leads the team with 19 RBIs and 15 runs. Gonzales had a home run last game and is tied for first on the team with sophomore Ulufa Leilua with four.
Sophomores Taylor Becerra and Skylar McCarty are coming off of multi-run games and also have eight and nine runs on the year, respectively.
The Sun Devils have an important series ahead of them where they can take advantage of a healthy home-stand and further prepare for conference games.
