ASU Softball: Previewing the Tempe Regional

(Photo Courtesy/Sun Devil Athletics)

This past weekend, Arizona State Softball was seeded as the eighth seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, which grew the chip on ASU’s shoulder. Despite beating out its fifth-place preseason Pac-12 ranking by winning the Pac-12 outright and hosting through the super-regional round, the Sun Devils feel they earned a higher seed.

“I thought we were going to be higher, to be honest with you,” ASU head coach Trisha Ford said. “It is what it is. You have to beat somebody good at the end of the day. I think if you look historically, a Pac-12 Champion has never been seeded at [the eighth seed] and I don’t think [the committee] has ever had somebody who outright won the Pac-12 be seeded lower than someone else in the Pac-12.”

“Our message this entire year is to stay true to us and control what we can control,” graduate student catcher Jessica Puk added. “At the end of the day, we can’t pick what seed we are. So, I think when our name was called, we were happy to see our name called.”

Calling the No. 8 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils’ seed into question is more than a fair critique of the NCAA selection, especially when compared with the teams seeded higher. The Sun Devils defeated the No. 5 ranked UCLA Bruins in a three-game series and won the Pac-12 title outright. However, the committee elected to opt for each team’s performance on paper instead of on the field.

It appears the only reason why the Bruins were seeded higher than the Sun Devils is each team’s Rating Power Index (RPI). NCAA calculates a team’s RPI from its winning percentage, the average of its opponent’s winning percentage and the average of its opponent’s opponent’s winning percentage.

Despite playing many of the same opponents, UCLA’s RPI has been higher than ASU’s mainly in part to the Bruins’ nonconference schedule, which included Oklahoma, Northwestern, Texas and other marquee games. All three of those teams made the tournament, and two are hosting their own regional.

Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, the Sun Devils will host a regional this weekend at Farrington Softball Stadium. Arizona State will host Cal State Fullerton, LSU and San Diego State.

Ironically, this is not the first time these teams have met at the Tempe regional. In 2009, Arizona State hosted all three teams in the regional round. ASU eventually won the regional and made it to the Women’s College World Series, where it lost to Washington and Alabama.

Arizona State’s first game will be against the Cal State Fullerton Titans (36-20, 20-7 Big West), making their first postseason appearance since 2019. The Titans were a powerhouse in the Big West only losing seven games, having three all-conference selections and winning the Big West Conference.

Leading Cal State Fullerton is sophomore infielder Peyton Toto, who is batting .367 and has 33 RBIs on the season. Toto had a strong start to the 2022 campaign but was sidelined for two weeks with a minor injury. Despite the setback, Toto bounced back and had a strong finish to the season, earning Big West All-Conference honors.

Sophomore Megan Delgadillo is another player to watch out for in the Titans’ lineup. Delgadillo leads the Cal State Fullerton in batting average with a .396 average. Delgadillo has a knack for getting on base, as she got on base in all but one of her conference games. Once she gets on base, Delgadillo can use her speed to steal second, extending base hits to doubles. Delgadillo has 47 stolen bases on the year and has only been caught four times.

Puk has only thrown out six runners on 16 steals. To put it bluntly – Puk and the Sun Devils’ pitching staff will have to be alert to Delgadillo’s presence on the base path.

Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton will be the second game on Friday, with the first pitch slated at 7:30 p.m. Opening the tournament will be LSU and San Diego State, which starts at 5 p.m.

The LSU Tigers (34-21, 13-11 SEC) are making their 17th consecutive tournament appearance and enter the Tempe regional as a battle-tested team. The Tigers played 24 SEC games, which sent 12 of its 13 teams to the tournament. They also have marquee series wins over the No. 6 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, and the No. 7 ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls.

Leading LSU in the box is a three-headed monster, consisting of redshirt sophomore infielder Taylor Pleasants, redshirt junior infielder Georgia Clark and senior pitcher/utility player Shelbi Sunseri. The three sluggers combine for 43 home runs and 148 RBIs.

The Tigers’ go-to pitcher is redshirt junior Ali Kilponen, who has pitched 162.2 innings this season. Kilponen has amassed an ERA of 2.32 and has accumulated a record of 18-7. Her play this season earned her a selection to the All-SEC First Team.

Facing off against LSU are the San Diego State Aztecs (37-14, 20-4), who are the Mountain West Champions. The Aztecs breezed through their conference schedule, which earned head coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz the Mountain West Coach of the Year. This year’s appearance in the tournament marks the first for San Diego State since 2015.

The Aztec’s ace is senior pitcher Maggie Balint, who took home the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year. Balint struck out 263 batters, which tallied for the 13th most strikeouts at the Division 1 level. Additionally, Balint’s ERA sits at 1.50 through 177 innings pitched. Statistically, Balint is one of the best pitchers in the country and could cause some trouble throughout the Tempe regional.

Catching for Balint is redshirt freshman Mac Barbara, who took home the Mountain West Player of the Year. Barbara batted .395 on the season, but what makes her so effective is her ability to score runs. This season, Barbara put 15 balls over the fence and drove in 56 runs.

The Tempe regional has been considered one of the tougher regionals across the nation. However, having home-field advantage could be enough to sway the result in Arizona State’s favor.

“I remember the second I stepped on the field; all of our eyes were just super wide,” Puk explained her thoughts when she played at the Tempe Regional for Ole Miss her freshman year. “Not only was it hot because we weren’t used to the heat out here, but just the fan base and the energy Farrington brings. They call it Club Farrington for a reason.”