ASU freshman Brynley Steele attempts to take second base against Michigan junior Sierra Romero, Sunday March 1, 2015, at Farrington Stadium in Tempe. The Sun Devils lost to the Wolverines 6-2. (Krista Tillman/The State Press)
Huskies and Tigers and Bears, oh my!
After going on the road to face Washington, Auburn, Baylor and plenty of other formidable opponents, No. 21 ASU softball continues its brutal stretch of games against top 25 teams this weekend as it takes on No. 12 California three times in Tempe.
Game one of the series will be Friday at 5 p.m., game two will be on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and game three will be on Sunday at 11 a.m.
ASU (20-9, 1-1 Pac-12) comes into the series having won seven of its past 11 games including statement victories over No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 16 Baylor and No. 18 Washington.
The Sun Devils continue to see steady improvement out of freshmen pitchers Breanna Macha and Dale Ryndak, who have been tested plenty of times this season and come out of it with an 18-8 combined record and ever-improving ERA's.
Senior catcher Amber Freeman has been dazzling in the batters box, hitting .391 and slugging .761 to go along with a team-leading eight home runs.
But the ASU lineup does not drop off from there. The Sun Devils have received major contributions from up to 11 players on offense, with seven regular starters batting .273 or better.
Even a player like senior first baseman Bethany Kemp, whose average doesn't fall into that category, is doing her fair share to help ASU rack up some runs. Kemp is tied with Freeman in the home run category, with eight of her 19 hits being home runs (42 percent).
Must be nice to have someone in the eight spot who hits a home run nearly half of the times that she puts the ball in play.
Is Smokey the Bear putting out Cal's fire?
California (22-4, 1-2 Pac-12) is struggling mightily, dropping three of its last four after starting the season 21-1.
Granted the Bears are finally starting to face legitimate competition now that their Pac-12 schedule has begun, you don't start the season with that kind of record by accident. Cal even beat No. 10 Florida State on Feb. 21.
An 8-1 defeat at home against No. 15 Minnesota is undoubtedly the low point in California's season, but Diane Ninemire's squad will be hungry for a victory or two (or three) when they walk into Farrington this weekend. They do, after all, have a ranking that is nine spots higher than the Sun Devils.
This weekend will be a prime opportunity for ASU to send itself skyrocketing up the standings if they can finally be dominant on their home field.
Twenty-two home games to start the season usually meant 20 to 22 wins in years past for the Sun Devils at Farrington, but having two starting pitchers fresh out of high school can make things difficult, regardless of the consistency of the lineup.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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