(Photo: Michael Baron/WCSN)
Game 36: Arizona State University vs. Stanford University
The Sun Devils will take on the Stanford Cardinal in a three-game series in California. ASU is coming off a 1-0 loss to Oregon, while the Cardinal lost 9-1 to the undefeated Arizona Wildcats. Arizona State currently boasts a 23-12 overall record and Stanford is 16-19 on the year.
“Any time that you get on the road, it’s tougher,” head coach Trisha Ford said. “We played more games on the road this year than we traditionally have. It’s a big series for us and every series, especially when it’s in our conference this year, is big. It’s going to be important for us to come out and take three games.”
Pac-12 standings
As usual, the Pac-12 softball standings are very competitive. ASU holds the seventh place position with its 2-7 record and Stanford is dead last with a 0-9 record in conference play thus far.
“We’re pretty close to that half way mark of conference play,” Ford said. “I think we have about one more week until we officially hit it. This time of year is really when you want to starts climbing in a positive way.”
Losing streaks all around
The Sun Devils, with their collection of losses to both the Oregon State Beavers and the Oregon Ducks, are on a four game losing streak. The three most recent losses came in the series in which the Ducks swept ASU.
“Those games were tough loses, but I feel like we played really well against them. Obviously, people didn’t expect us to win, but I think we put up a really good fight against Oregon,” junior Taylor Becerra said.
However, Stanford has an even longer string of losses and have been defeated in its last nine games.
In total, Stanford was outscored 19-81 throughout that period of time. Nonetheless, the Stanford series will pose its challenges for ASU, as well as be a homecoming for Coach Ford.
“We’re there to win ball games and that’s ultimately most important,” Ford said. “Everything else that happens is the cherry on the cake, but don’t get it twisted, we’re there to win.”
Players to watch- Stanford
Cardinal senior Kylie Sorenson has been a powerhouse leading the team with 24 RBI and 28 runs scored.
Additionally, freshman Teaghan Cowles has made an offensive impact for the team with 27 runs on the year.
Sophomore pitcher Carolyn Lee holds a 4.35 ERA and is the most relied on pitcher for Stanford with her 7-12 record.
Players to watch- Arizona State
A strong defense will be a major component of the Sun Devils finding success in this upcoming series. One of the players that has exemplified such play is freshman Breezy Wise.
“Breezy started off this year as someone of the bubble,” Ford said. “She’s probably one of our best defending outfielders, but her bat was a little inconsistent. There was a time between our DP [designated player] and our left field we were kind of rotating everybody through and giving everybody a shot. That’s what you look for – who’s going to take the reins and run with it, and I thought Breezy has done a nice job.”
The Cardinals will also have to deal with usual suspects Sashel Palacios and Chelsea Gonzales. The seniors have consistently lead the team both in statistics, as well as in the locker room.
“People like Sashel and Gonzo and Margo, who have done a lot of transitioning in their four years here, I would say those three have really been the leaders of buying in and getting people on board,” Ford said.
Gonzales has a team high 27 runs, 36 hits and 33 RBI. She is tied with sophomore Fa Leilua for most home runs with eight, and has a friendly competition going on with Palacios in the RBI category as she trails her only by three.
“This week was good for me to focus and back-track on some things that I’ve needed to work on from previous weekends,” Palacios said. “I think I did pretty well and just to build on that, and like I said we’ve put together some pretty good practices to prepare, I’m excited.”
Key to the Series
If the Sun Devils are to find success this weekend and improve their 2-7 Pac-12 record, the team will need to be diligent about its defense and capitalize on base hits.
However, the most important item on ASU’s list is its pitching.
“For this weekend in particular, pitch selection is going to be huge for us,” Ford said.
Expect to see veteran pitchers Dale Ryndak and Breana Macha for the majority of the series, as has been the case with most of the team’s conference play.
Ryndak has a stellar 1.54 ERA and is 6-3 on the season, while Macha also holds an impressive 1.75 ERA with a 9-5 record.
This is a huge weekend of play for ASU and as Coach Ford said, this is the time of year where she wants her team to begin increasing the caliber of its highest level of play.
“They bought in because they can start to see some of the positives, and understand kind of what we’re doing and see the bigger picture,” Ford said.
