ASU softball is in an unfamiliar position.
Its series against No. 6 UCLA marks what is most likely the last series at Farrington Stadium in 2015. Given the team's struggles this season, it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that ASU will be on the road to begin the postseason for the first time since 2010.
This will be the final time decorated seniors such as catcher Amber Freeman, Haley Steele and Bethany Kemp play in front of the home fans.
"Definitely an emotional time, coming to an end," Freeman said. "I'm looking forward to it but I'm also sad my days as a Sun Devil are numbered."
No. 24 ASU (32-19, 10-10 Pac-12) enters play on a down note after squandering a lead with one out left against lowly Stanford (17-34, 2-19) and dropping the previous series to Utah at home in what was considered a wake-up call for a team that had taken series against No. 17 Arizona (37-15, 12-9) and No. 19 Cal (35-16, 7-14).
After struggling in the past two weeks, and in the season as a whole, ASU braces for one of its more difficult tests. UCLA (44-8, 18-3) has a shot at winning the Pac-12 title, but would need considerable help from Arizona in its series against No. 1 Oregon (44-5, 19-2).
The Sun Devils have been tested all season, as evidenced by nonconference games against No. 3 Michigan (48-6), No. 7 Auburn (46-9), No. 5 Oklahoma (45-7) and No. 12 Minnesota (46-8). According to the NCAA's RPI, ASU has the ninth-best strength-of-schedule in the country, and the strongest of a non-SEC school. The Sun Devils are 2-8 against the NFCA top-10.
UCLA has a well-rounded team led by senior Ally Carda (25-4, 1.97 ERA) who was a top-three finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year in 2014. Carda can be erratic at times (83 walks, 19 wild pitches and 24 hit batters), but she is virtually unhittable when her location is on, sporting a .170 batting average against and has 245 strikeouts in 174 innings.
At the plate, junior outfielder Allexis Bennett gets things going for the Bruins. She is second in Division I in batting average (.520) with 17 stolen bases on the season.
UCLA is looking to secure its status as a top-eight seed in the postseason, which would assure it of home games in the regional round and in a potential super regional. But as UCLA and ASU found out last season, hosting doesn't assure anything (both the Bruins and Sun Devils were upset at home).
The Bruins are on 13-game winning streak, which includes series sweeps over Arizona, Oregon State (26-24, 6-14), Cal and Stanford. ASU hasn't swept a conference foe all season, as it has shown to be in the middle of the pack.
Game one begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday. All three games will be aired on Pac-12 Networks.
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter
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