Teammates eagerly await ASU junior catcher Katee Aguirre after her 3-run homer vs. Indiana softball at Farrington Stadium on Feb. 7, 2015. Aguirre would have a monster game with a 3-run home run and a walk off single as the Sun Devils romped over the visiting Hoosiers 10-2.
After starting the season a disappointing 4-3, the ASU softball team will look to rebound this weekend in the second tournament of the season: The Littlewood Classic. The tournament is the second of four consecutive to start the season that the Sun Devils will play in Tempe. ASU comes into the tournament ranked No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Friday, Feb. 13
ASU vs. North Texas – 6 p.m.
The Mean Green are 2-3 this season with wins over Texas Southern and Boise State. North Texas's top batter is junior utility player Taylor Schoblocher, who is off to a hot start batting .667 and slugging 2.167. The Mean Green's best pitcher is freshman Monique Garcia (1-1, 5.86 ERA), who leads the team in innings pitched in this young season (14.2)
ASU vs. Illinois State – 8:15 p.m.
The Redbirds are 2-3 this season with wins over Jacksonville and Hampton. Illinois State's top batter is sophomore catcher Jordan de los Reyes, hitting .429 with an OBP of .529 this year. The Redbirds' best pitcher is junior Regan Romshek (2-2, 3.33 ERA), who has pitched 27 of the 33.2 total innings possible this season.
Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15
ASU vs. Boston – 6 p.m. Saturday
The Terriers have yet to play a game this season, opening up their 2015 campaign in the Littlewood Classic. BU finished 36-21 (13-5 Patriot League) last season, making it to the regional round of the postseason before falling to LSU 8-3. Boston's top returning batter from last season is sophomore infielder Brittany Younan, who hit .379 and slugged .508 in 2014. Boston returns all three of its starting pitchers from last season as well.
ASU vs. Oklahoma – 8:15 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday
The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners provide one of the biggest tests of the season for the Sun Devils. Oklahoma is 5-0 so far this season after making it to the quarterfinal round of the Women's College World Series last year, losing 4-2 to Oregon, and winning the national championship in the previous year over Tennessee.
The Sooners' last game this season was an 8-0 victory over Hawaii in five innings, a win that included a perfect game thrown by freshman pitcher Paige Parker. Oklahoma has earned one first-place vote from its play so far this year with a roster made up of only five seniors, but loaded with young talent.
ASU head coach Craig Nicholson said to his players after last weekend that they need to find out what kind of team they want to be. This weekend's slate of games at the Littlewood Classic will certainly test the Sun Devils' merit and help them find out if they can compete with the true contenders.
The team's mantra is "All That Matters is What We Believe," but it's going to take a lot more than belief to take down a college softball titan.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or on Twitter @RClarkeASU.
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