It’d be easy for the ASU softball team to sit back and relax at home against Oregon State after a historic performance last weekend in Tucson.
That is simply not an option for the No. 1 Sun Devils (42-5, 9-3 Pac-10).
ASU is riding a five-game winning streak and will host the Beavers (18-19, 1-11) in a three-game set that kicks off on Friday night.
While OSU sits in the cellar of the Pac-10 standings, the Sun Devils know not to take this series lightly.
Just a season ago, ASU was handed a 1-2 series loss by OSU in Corvallis.
“The biggest thing for us this weekend is to look at this like it’s the World Series right now,” junior outfielder Annie Lockwood said. “That it’s our World Series coming in after a weekend like that, you have to expect to come in and play even harder than we just did and take no prisoners and play with a no mercy attitude.”
ASU believes preparation will be vital to this weekend’s series. The Sun Devils are determined to avoid a letdown, while maintaining their intensity from recent weeks.
Offensively, the Sun Devils hope to bring their red-hot bats into this play as well. ASU currently leads the Pac-10 in batting average, runs, hits, RBIs and total bases.
At the forefront of the team’s hitting success has been junior shortstop Katelyn Boyd. Boyd launched a pair of home runs in last week’s rivalry series at UA.
She is hitting .444 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs this season.
In addition to Boyd, senior catcher Kaylyn Castillo is batting .374 with eight doubles and 31 RBIs this season and was recently named Pac-10 Player of the Week for her performance against the Wildcats.
Junior outfielder Talor Haro is also swinging a hot stick of late with a .414 batting average.
Facing off against the potent ASU lineup will be an OSU pitching staff that has struggled in recent weeks.
All three Beaver pitchers hold ERA’s of 3.00 or higher, and opponents are hitting .242 against them.
Junior Paige Hall has received the majority of the time in the circle with 26 appearances and a 6-4 record.
ASU hopes to see good pitches and jump on them early against OSU.
“Being aggressive and getting good pitches is going to be the key this weekend,” Lockwood said.
The OSU arms will be opposed by an ASU pitching staff that is lights out at times.
Ace freshman Dallas Escobedo has been nearly unstoppable this season with her 21-3 record and 1.49 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting just .178 against her.
Freshman Mackenzie Popescue struggled in her last outing against UA, but still maintains a 2.12 ERA and an 11-2 record.
The right-hander is confident her struggles were a one-time deal.
“It’s just one of those things that happens,” Popescue said. “I went out there and didn’t really have my stuff. I felt like I warmed up really well in the bullpen, and then went out there and it was a whole new world.”
Junior Hillary Bach also pitched well in last Friday’s marathon game against UA. It was her first appearance of the Pac-10 season, and she picked up her tenth win of the year.
The Sun Devil hurlers will take on a Beaver lineup that has had trouble scoring runs throughout Pac-10 play.
In the conference, OSU ranks last in many offensive categories, including batting average, runs, hits, and home runs.
Not a single player in the Beavers’ starting lineup is hitting over .300.
Junior outfielder and first baseman Mary Claire Brenner leads the team with 20 RBIs, and Hall has smacked a team-leading six home runs.
Although the Beavers have lost eight straight Pac-10 contests, nothing would please them more than to upset ASU for the second straight season.
“Are we a better team than them? Yes, but on any given day and any given game teams rise to the occasion,” ASU coach Clint Myers said. “They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If they’re trying to get an at-large bid, they need to finish strong. So knocking off the number one team in the country would be huge for them.”
Reach the reporter at greg.dillard@asu.edu
