There’s never been a worse time to be a pitcher.
College softball’s trend toward an offensive sluggers' game continued in 2015.
Pending postseason play, 2015 has the highest batting average (.285), runs (4.79), home runs (.75) and ERA (4.24) of any season in NCAA history, and it’s not that close. All four of the previous records were set just last year.
One of the reasons for the rise in scoring is the proliferation and abundance of power hitters, and it's only fitting that in an era of power hitting that the all-time home run record would be broken.
Oklahoma senior Lauren Chamberlain smashed the mark (90) earlier this year, and could have reached triple digits if she stayed healthy in her junior season. Her teammate, Shelby Pendley (an Arizona transfer) is close behind her with 84 home runs.
But at no other place does the hitting surge hit home like it does in Tempe, where ASU departed accomplished starting pitchers Dallas Escobedo (115-26 2.00 ERA) and Mackenzie Popescue (59-14, 2.11 ERA). Nebraska, ASU's first opponent in the Baton Rouge regional, also lost its workhorse in Tatum Edwards (70-27, 2.02 ERA).
Both programs have had to deal with the ramifications of losing each, and for the most part, have struggled. Nebraska's ERA went from 1.92 to 4.58, while ASU's more than doubled as well, going from 2.14 to 4.46.
In the Pac-12, pitching issues are magnified, as it has historically been the nation's top conference. This season, three of the nation's top four hitting teams reign from the Pac-12. No. 8 UCLA leads the nation in hitting (.372) with Oregon third (.368) and Arizona fourth (.360).
“The hitters just continue to get better and better," ASU coach Craig Nicholson said. "I think a lot of these pitchers, if you put them in 15 years ago, they’d be outstanding. I think the hitting just caught up and passed a lot of the pitching out there just on a national scale.
Just last week, UCLA and ASU combined to score 52 runs in a 3-game series.
"Some of the scores that you’ve seen around the country, even last year, you know the game has changed," Nicholson said. 'You don’t see the 1-0, 2-1 games nearly as often as you used to so you got to be able to hit if you’re going to be successful."
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter
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