ASU Softball: Sun Devils head to Oregon State for final regular season series

(Photo via Nicole Mullen/WCSN)

Arizona State Softball is coming off another series loss after getting swept by Stanford during ASU’s final home series. This weekend, the Sun Devils will head to Corvallis, Oregon, to face Oregon State for a three-game set. There, ASU will try to get its first win after 11 straight losses.

Arizona State (21-23, 5-16) will start the series against Oregon State (13-27-1, 4-16-1) Friday night, meeting up with the Beavers for the first time since last March, when the Sun Devils swept the Beavers in three games.

Oregon State holds the worst record in the Pac-12 Conference, with Arizona State tied for second to last in the standings. Coming off five series losses in a row and a losing streak of two games, the Beavers are also looking to bounce back and close out their regular season on a positive note.

Oregon State has the lowest amount of runs scored in the Pac-12 with 118. In hits, the Beavers are also last among Pac-12 teams with 248 overall. The player with the highest batting average is junior infielder Grace Messmer, who is batting .286. Junior catcher Abby Doerr leads the team with 11 homers, and Messmer paces the Beavers with 34 hits.

As for their pitching, the Beavers’ numbers aren’t much better. Oregon State is last in the conference with a team earned run average of 5.49, and they reside in the bottom third in the rankings with 198 runs allowed, 159 earned runs allowed and just 196 strikeouts.

The lowest earned run average on the team comes from sophomore right-handed pitcher Sarah Haendiges, who fields a 3.95 ERA. In her one appearance in conference play, Hanediges allowed three runs to score in just 1.1 innings pitched. Junior right-hand pitcher Tarni Stepto is the team’s go-to pitcher. She leads the Beavers in starts, appearances and innings pitched. She’s tallied a 5.08 ERA while punching out 113 hitters. The Beavers also have sophomore right-hander Ellie Garcia, who has a 5.68 ERA on the season. Garcia is the Beavers’ No. 2 pitcher, having thrown six complete games, one less than Stepto.

While the matchup against Oregon State may seem favorable for ASU, the Sun Devils have had plenty of their own struggles. They’re batting .260 as a team, and their .193 average in conference play stands at the lowest in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils’ 54 runs and 101 hits within conference play also put them at the bottom of the conference.

The Sun Devils, however, do have some strong bats that they hope will lead their struggling offense. Graduate outfielder Yannira Acuña leads her team in three different categories, including the highest batting average, hitting .381. Acuña also sits atop the team’s leaderboard with 48 hits and 39 runs. Graduate infielder Alexa Millus sits behind Acuña at .319, and senior infielder Jazmyn Rollin follows Millus with a .314 average. Senior infielder Jordyn VanHook is fourth in batting average, hitting .311, and she still leads the Pac-12 with 18 home runs. Her slugging percentage is second in the conference at .815.

In the circle, every ASU pitcher who’s thrown more than 50 innings has an ERA above 3.50. The lowest comes from freshman right-handed pitcher Kylee Magee at 3.70. Junior right-handed pitcher Mac Osborne is close behind her with a 3.72 ERA. Altogether, the Sun Devils’ pitching staff has a 3.71 ERA this season.

Arizona State is coming off some challenging series these past few weeks against conference teams. This series against Oregon State looks to be the Sun Devils’ most favorable Pac-12 matchup this season. With just three games left, this weekend will likely be ASU’s best chance of snapping its losing streak and getting back above .500 before the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.