TEMPE – The second edition of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will begin on Wednesday when Sun Devil softball faces Oregon State in the first round. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.
All eight tournament games will be played at Bill & Jill Smith Family Stadium on the Stanford campus. The championship game is on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Wednesday's game against Oregon State will air live on Pac-12 Network and in the Pac-12 Now app. Elise Woodward (PBP) and Amanda Freed (analyst) will call the action.
ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State enters the Pac-12 Tournament at 19-30 overall. The Sun Devils were swept by UCLA at home last weekend to finish conference play at 3-21. ASU was 2-13 on the road, and they haven't played a neutral site game in the entire season.
ASU currently scores 4.78 runs per game by slashing .284/.358/.469. The Sun Devils have recorded 67 doubles, 15 triples and hit 46 home runs.
In the circle, ASU pitchers have a 4.82 ERA and 1.74 WHIP. The staff averages 4.78 strikeouts per seven innings, and the opposition is batting .307.
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Oregon State completed the regular season with a 21-28 record, and the Beavers went 9-15 in conference action. They are 8-9 in neutral site games and 16-21 in all games away from Corvallis.
During the regular season, the Beavers slashed .230/.301/.337 with 46 doubles and 26 home runs. They score 2.94 runs per game and have stolen 23 bases.
OSU is seventh in the Pac-12 with a 3.61 ERA while maintaining a 1.41 WHIP and .271 opponents' batting average. The staff averages 4.63 strikeouts per seven innings.
EARLY OFFENSE
The ASU offense has been potent early in games, scoring 123 runs in the first three innings, which accounts for 53 percent of the team's 234 total runs. The team has crossed the plate 51 times in the first inning and scored 44 runs in the third.
DOUBLE (OR TRIPLE) TAKE
ASU ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in total doubles with 67 and an average of 1.37 per game. They have hit at least one double in a game 36 times and have multiple doubles in a game 17 times.
ASU has also tallied 15 triples to lead the conference. The Sun Devils have recorded multiple triples in the same game thrice, including three against New Mexico State on February 25. The 15 triples are tied for the 10th most in program history.
BUNCH OF THIEVES
The Sun Devils have also used their team speed to steal 67 bases on the season. That total ranks second in the Pac-12 and 53rd in the NCAA. ASU has stolen a base in 28 games and has had multiple steals in a game 19 times.
WINDLE PLAYS THE HITS
Tanya Windle led the Sun Devils during the regular season by batting .378 with 51 hits and 10 doubles. She is ninth in the Pac-12 in average and doubles while sitting 13th in hits. Windle is tied for the team lead with 15 multi-hit games, including five games with three hits. She has a hit in eight of the past 10 games and has never gone more than two games without a hit in her career.
HALL BALL
Kelsey Hall was named to the All-Pac-12 Third Team on Tuesday after batting .345 with six home runs during the regular season. She will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury during Sunday's game.
LASER LECLAIR
Audrey LeClair has also delivered over the past 14 games, going 13-for-43 with two doubles, a triple, and a walk-off home run to beat Cal on April 27. She is batting .287 on the season with nine extra-base hits. LeClair has added six outfield assists on the season, including three in the same game against Utah on April 13.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
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Kayla Lissy has a hit in six of the last seven games while going 9-for-23 with a double, homer, two RBIs, and three multi-hit games during the span. She is one of three players in the Pac-12 to have at least 14 steals without being caught.
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Alesia Denby has homered in three straight games and leads the team with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs. She ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 21 extra-base hits.
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Sara Kinch has seven doubles and five home runs while playing 46 games. Her 21 RBIs are third on the team, and she has hit two grand slams.
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Deborah Jones leads the team with 21 starts on the season, including 15 in conference play. Her 83 strikeouts lead the club and rank 11th in the Pac-12.
WALKING WOUNDED
Injuries have taken a toll on the Sun Devils, with season-ending injuries to pitchers
Kenzie Brown and
Kylee Magee affecting the rotation and Yannixa Acuña,
Kelsey Hall, and
Maddie Pomykalski not being options in the lineup. ASU players have lost a combined 173 games to injury this season.
