(Photo via Sam Polgreen/WCSN)
TEMPE – Yannixa Acuña is expected to miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury, a person familiar with the situation told WCSN.
The sophomore outfielder exited Friday’s loss against Oregon State after she suffered an injury fielding a ball in the wet outfield grass. It appeared her foot was caught in the grass as she threw, causing her to fall to the ground. Acuña was helped off the field by two teammates and did not play for the rest of ASU’s weekend series. Acuña was seen leaving Farrington Stadium in a leg brace and crutches after ASU’s Sunday win.
“It just broke my heart because I’ve dealt with that scare before,” graduate outfielder Kelsey Hall said Friday. “Obviously, that is a big momentum changer. Yaya has been one of the biggest factors on our team, but at the end of the day, what we talked about is that we need to play for her.”
Acuña has primarily batted in the leadoff spot for the Sun Devils this year in 26 appearances and is second on the team in batting average at .382. Her 11 stolen bases led the team in the category. This year, ASU is ranked 19th nationally and second in the Pac-12 Conference with 53 stolen bases.
This injury occurred at a time when the Sun Devils already had injuries entering conference play, with sophomore right-handed pitcher Kylee Magee dealing with a wrist injury that has kept her out since Mar. 2.
After losing two of three games against both Washington and Oregon State to start conference play, ASU sits at 2-4 in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils will now embark on a multi-week road trip against Oregon, San Diego and Stanford without one of their top hitters in Acuña, adding to an already difficult season.
Sitting at 17-11 overall, ASU will need the rest of its lineup and remaining outfielders to pick up the production left behind, now that Acuña will be watching the rest of the season from the dugout.
“(Acuña) worked really, really hard in the off-season and in the fall,” ASU head softball coach Megan Bartlett said. “She’s put on 10 or 12 pounds of muscle at this point. She has great hand-eye coordination, so oddly enough, the offensive pieces, I think, come way easier to her.”
