After taking two of three against No. 1 Washington last weekend, ASU softball travels to Berkeley for their first road series of the season vs. No. 20 Cal.
Arizona State, ranked 10th in the latest ESPN/USA Softball poll, prepares for their first true road series of the season against the 20th-ranked California Golden Bears in a three-game series.
The Sun Devils are coming off a statement series win over No. 1 Washington behind two shutout performances from the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week G Juarez..
ASU took the first and third game of the three-game series, both by the score of 2-0 thanks to Juarez’s pitching and the clutch hitting of first baseman Danielle Gibson.
Gibson hit a two-run double in the first inning of both wins in the series as that was all Juarez needed for run support.
Juarez threw 14 innings allowing zero runs on seven hits with two walks and 19 strikeouts picking up wins in both starts improving her record to 11-1 on the season with an earned run average of 0.84.
Next up for the Sun Devils is Cal (24-5, 1-2 Pac-12) who are coming off losing two of three at Oregon State in their first Pac-12 series of the season.
The Golden Bears’ pitching staff is led by Kamalani Dung and Zoe Conley. Dung is 14-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 85.1 innings while Conley sports a 10-5 record with a 2.20 ERA in 98.2 innings pitched.
The Sun Devils have familiarity facing Conley as they faced her twice last season with ASU going 1-1 in those games. Conley was pulled after three innings in the series opener after allowing five earned runs on seven hits, but she bounced back in the series finale throwing a complete game shutout allowing only one hit.
Cal features a deep lineup as the Golden Bears have features nine players sporting a batting average above .300.
Freshman outfielder Mikayla Coehlo is the leading run producer for the Golden Bears with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Infielder Bradie Fillmore is second on the team with 22 RBIs.
Cal is better hitting team than ASU with the Golden Bears fifth in batting average (.327) and fourth in runs scored (184).
When it comes to pitching, Arizona State has the edge sitting third in the conference with a 1.31 ERA and fifth in hits allowed (116).
Next: ASU Softball: Taran Alvelo silences Devils offense in 7-0 loss
Arizona State will look to extend their momentum this weekend before resuming non-conference play with games against BYU and North Dakota State. First pitch Friday and Sunday is set for 3 p.m. PT with Saturday’s start time set for 3:30 p.m. PT.