Devils in Detail
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ASU Softball: Sun Devils look to continue good start in Littlewood Classic

By Sam Ficarro

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky spikes the pitchfork at center field after the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils beat the Colorado Buffaloes 48-23. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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After going 5-1 in the Kajikawa Classic, No. 16 ASU softball begins the 2018 Littlewood Classic Friday with four games in three days.

No. 16 ASU softball is back in action Friday to begin the 2018 Littlewood Classic in which the Sun Devils will play four games in three days.

Arizona State sits at 5-1 after a successful Kajikawa Classic in which the ASU defeated three Big Ten teams (Purdue, Nebraska and Indiana) and defeated Notre Dame, a tournament team from last season and St. Mary’s.

The only loss for the Sun Devils came in the season opener against then-No. 11 Tennessee 7-4 as the Volunteers hit two home runs off pitcher G Juarez resulting in five runs.

In the circle, Juarez received the most work for the Sun Devils making four appearances (two starts) posting a 3.27 ERA in 15 innings with 22 strikeouts and four walks, including a 10-strikeout complete game shutout against Notre Dame last Saturday. Juarez also recorded two saves last weekend.

All four pitchers threw in at least two games with Breanna Macha making three appearances (two starts) going 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

Alyssa Loza and Dale Ryndak combined for four appearances (two starts) allowing five runs (two earned) in 12 innings.

The Sun Devils received contributions from practically the whole lineup with many of the newcomers putting up big numbers.

Catcher Maddi Hackbarth batted .353 with two home runs and 12 RBIs with an on-base-plus-slugging average of 1.224.

Center fielder Morgan Howe had a big day Sunday recording five hits in six at-bats driving in five runs, including the only two runs in a 2-1 win over the Hoosiers.

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Howe finished the Kajikawa Classic with a .600 batting average (12-of-20) with three home runs and eight RBIs.

The Sun Devils will look to continue their five-game winning streak in the Littlewood Classic, where they’ll face four mid-major teams.

On Friday, Arizona State will face North Dakota who are 3-2 with wins over Charleston Southern, North Carolina A&T and South Carolina State.

North Dakota is led by their two-way player Kaylin VanDomelen, the reigning Big Sky Pitcher of the Year, who has started three games this season going 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA. VanDomelen also bats .429 with six hits, two RBIs and a team-high eight runs scored.

Outfielder Taylor Nadler is the Big Sky Player of the Week batting .438 with one home run and 10 RBIs.

On Saturday, the Sun Devils will play a doubleheader against Illinois State and Texas State. The Redbirds are 1-5 with their lone win coming against Georgia State 7-6.

Illinois State face tough competition in Tampa, Florida losing to South Florida and top-20 opponents in Florida and Michigan.

The Redbirds struggled posting a 4.38 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 16 walks while only batting .173 with one home run and nine RBIs.

Texas State sits with a 2-3 record with

two wins over Sam Houston State and a pair of losses against a top-ten Florida State team and Boston College.

Infielders Hailey MacKay (.385) and Bailee Carter (.375) have the two highest batting averages on the team combining for half of the team’s RBIs (17).

The Bobcats pitching staff has a team ERA of 2.70 with 38 strikeouts and seven walks.

Arizona State will wrap up the tournament Sunday against San Diego as the Toreros sit with a 5-1 record posting three wins over CSU Bakersfield and two wins over Campbell.

San Diego has a team batting average of .321 with three home runs and 26 RBIs with the pitching staff having a 1.92 ERA allowing 25 hits in 40 innings with 27 strikeouts and 17 walks.

Arizona State will be favored to win every game in the Littlewood Classic as the Sun Devils will look to continue their momentum heading into the tough Mary Nutter Classic next Thursday.

Next: ASU Softball: Morgan Howe lifts Sun Devils over St. Mary’s

ASU will face North Dakota at 5:30 p.m. MT Friday, Illinois State (4:45 p.m. MT) and Texas State (7:15 p.m. MT) Saturday and San Diego at 2 p.m. MT Sunday. All of the Sun Devils’ games in the 2018 Littlewood Classic can be seen on the ASU Live Stream.

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