Five takeaways from the Littlewood Classic

1. These Sun Devils Can Hit

Arizona State went 44 for 131 (.336 AVG.) in the Littlewood Classic and hit nine home runs in the five games this weekend. Two Sun Devils hit grand slams in one game as Cheyenne Coyle and Katie Aguiree did it in a 15-0 win over Illinois-Chicago. The team has twenty-one home runs as a whole for the year so far.

“I think a home run is a production of a good swing and putting it on a good pitch,” Coyle said. “I got a good pitch to hit… it’s just a matter of seeing the ball well and putting a good swing on it.”

Seven players in the ASU starting lineup are batting .320 or better. Cheyenne Coyle leads the team with an other-worldly average of .469 through twelve games. Lucy Aubrecht has a .476 average in nine games played as well. ASU also has only struck out 26 times in a total of 319 at bats this season, which represents just eight percent of all plate appearances for the Sun Devils

2. Room for improvement in the field

ASU committed a total of seven errors in three games and did not commit an error in the other two. Sam Parlich committed three errors on Friday, and Cheyenne Coyle had three over the weekend so a majority of the errors come from the middle infield. Parlich and Coyle are responsible for 11 of the 14 Sun Devil errors this season. Sure, it’s surprising if Dallas Escobedo is on the mound and a ball actually is hit in play, but that of course is no excuse.

“She’s a senior. She knows what she has to do, she just has to go out and play. She is potentially the best second baseman in the country,” head coach Clint Myers said of Parlich’s fielding woes. “I haven’t seen a woman have as good of hands around the bag as she does. She turns a double play at second base better than most men.”

The ASU fielders don’t see much action due to high strikeout numbers, but when they do, they have to capitalize and make the play. “Our goal is to not give our opponent extra opportunities,” Myers said.

3. Alix Johnson is still a mystery…at least for right now

For Coach Myers, it must be tough to have faith in his center fielder after another rough weekend for Johnson. On Friday night she hit in the two spot behind Coyle and went 0 for 6.

On Saturday, Coach Myers made the decision to bat Johnson leadoff and she went 4 for 6. On Sunday, she batted leadoff again and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. Johnson now leads the team in strikeouts with seven. It’s incredibly puzzling. This year Johnson is hitting a dismal .184 with two home runs and seven RBI in comparison with last year when Johnson hit .395 with thirteen home runs and fifty-three RBI and was named a first team All-American.  Johnson said she felt relaxed and more motivated on Saturday after Coyle got walked intentionally to get to her.

“I think some people forget sometimes that Alix had a phenomenal year last year… Alix is a phenomenal ball player, she’s gonna be a mainstay for us all season long. She’s gonna get it turned around…she’s still gonna get better and that’s kinda scary,” said Coach Myers.

4. Pitching continues to wheel and deal

One thing ASU doesn’t have to worry about is pitching. Dallas Escobedo continues her winning ways and Mackenzie Popescue has stepped up in a big way to replace Hillary Bach.

“Mack” is now 4-0 with a .48 ERA. She got a no-decision on Friday night against Northern Iowa but came back and got the win against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday. Dallas Escobedo was a little rattled giving up two runs against Michigan State.

“It was an off day, I wasn’t feeling my best and I was a little disappointed in myself,” Escobedo said.  She came back strong against Illinois State on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday. Escobedo has now struck out 78 batters this season and opponents have a minuscule .123 average against her.

5. The Bethany Kemp and Nikki Girard platoon isn’t a battle, it’s a pairing… For now

Kemp and Girard both played against Northern Iowa and Michigan State on Friday. Girard played on Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. Kemp got the start in the field while Girard was the designated player against Illinois State. On Sunday only Kemp played. “It’s a nice dilemma to have,” Coach Myers said. “Beth is a little quicker and has a year of experience but Nikki has been putting some pretty good swings on the ball and is versatile enough to play a multitude of positions and you’ll see both of them in the lineup all year long more than likely.”

Myers is happy to be 12-0, but said you might see an even bigger smile on his face if it was June 3^rd and ASU still had a zero in the loss column. “It’s a marathon, we want them to be at their best come the playoffs.”

ASU Softball plays a four-game series against Portland State next weekend at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. The lone game Friday night begins at 7 p.m. MT.

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