The Sun Devils will travel to their first away tournament of the season this week in Fullerton, California, to play in the Judi Garman Classic starting Thursday.
The competition in the Classic is far above what ASU has seen in the past weeks. They will play in six games in a four-day span:
Thursday, March 3
ASU vs Long Beach State – 10 a.m.
The 49ers have a pre-season record of 8-6, with a big win over No. 20 Minnesota. Sophomore catcher Lauren MacLeod leads the offense with a .387 batting average and nine RBIs on the year.
The ace for LBSU is freshman pitcher Cielo Meza, who has an ERA of 2.67, striking out a total of 49 batters.
ASU vs Cal State Fullerton – 3:30 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton comes into this tournament with a pre-conference record of 9-6.
Senior left handed pitcher Desiree Ybarra has been seen in the circle more than any other pitcher for the Titans, posting an ERA of 3.08 with 29 strikeouts.
On offense, senior outfielder Courtney Rodriguez has a .380 batting average with 11 RBIs. As a whole, the Cal State Fullerton offense has scored 90 runs.
Friday, March 4
ASU vs Wisconsin – 8 p.m.
The Badgers (7-7) offense has only scored 62 runs, averaging 4.4 runs a game. Leading the offense is junior shortstop Chloe Miller, who is hitting .372 with 19 RBIs.
In the circle for Wisconsin is senior pitcher Taylor-Paige Stewart. Stewart has a 3.61 ERA, striking out 40 batters.
Saturday, March 5
ASU vs Missouri – 5 p.m.
No. 18 Missouri looks to hold the biggest challenge for the Sun Devils. They stand at a 9-2 pre-conference record.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Paige Lowary (5-1) has an ERA of 2.05 for the Tigers, striking out 26 batters.
Missouri has an intense offense, scoring a total of 110 runs, which is the highest of the competition ASU faces this tournament.
Sunday, March 6
ASU vs Northwestern – 9 a.m.
The Wildcats have one of the lower pre-conference records (7-7) out of the teams in ASU schedule this tournament. Although a lower record, Northwestern had a big win against No. 11 UCLA.
Pitching for the Wildcats is senior pitcher Amy Letourneau, who holds a 4.17 ERA. Letourneau was also the winning pitcher against UCLA, giving up only two runs to the Bruins.
On offense, senior infielder Andrea Filler has a leading batting average of .444 as well as a leading the team to 21 RBIs.
ASU vs Baylor – 11:30 a.m.
The Bears (11-3) have the highest pre-conference record out of the teams that ASU with face. Although they have a high record, their schedule in the past weeks aren’t as tough of competition that some of these other teams have seen.
Leading Baylor’s offense is senior infielder Sarah Smith, who has a .476 batting average with 21 RBIs and four home runs.
The ace for the Bears pitching staff is senior right handed pitcher Heather Stearns. Stearns has a 2.12 ERA with 50 strikeouts.
Reach the reporter at lmbrunet@asu.edu or follow @Leah_brunette on Twitter.
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