ASU Softball: Challenging Stretch Looms for Sun Devils
By Sam Ficarro
After a shortened Littlewood Classic because of inclement weather, ASU softball heads to California where tougher competition wait in the wings.
ASU softball is sitting at 9-1 and is currently ranked 19th in the latest USA Softball/ESPN poll.
The Sun Devils have been driven by strong pitching and timely hitting.
Starting pitchers Dale Ryndak, Breanna Macha and Alyssa Loza have combined to allow just 12 runs and combining for 38 strikeouts and 4 walks.
Arizona State have gotten out of the gates strong under first-year head coach Trisha Ford.
With the two host tournaments over, Arizona State will now head to California for tournaments the next two weeks, where the competition gets a lot tougher.
From February 24-26, the Sun Devils will take part in the Mary Nutter Classic.
Arizona State will begin play on Friday with No. 18 Texas A&M and Notre Dame, who received votes this week in the USA Softball/ESPN poll.
The next two games will be Saturday versus Texas, who received votes in the poll, and UC Santa Barbara Sunday before wrapping up the tournament versus No. 14 Michigan.
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That’s a really challenging slate of games in a short time frame.
Then from March 2-4 Arizona State will participate in the Judi Garman Classic featuring stiff competition.
ASU will begin the tournament with a second game versus the Wolverines before facing Cal State Fullerton, South Carolina, who received votes in the poll, No. 25 Baylor and Iowa to wrap up the weekend.
This will be a great test for the Sun Devils to see where they stack up against some of the best compeititon in the country.
With the Pac-12 so deep, this slate of games greatly prepare for them for conference play and potentially the NCAA Tournament.
It will be interesting to see how the Sun Devils starting rotation fares against talented lineups and how ASU’s offense will fare against talented pitching staffs.
Next: ASU Softball: Devils Pick Up Two Wins in a Rained Out Littlewood Classic
It’s still early but this will be an important stretch for Arizona State to see if they really are contenders for the Pac-12.