No. 25 ASU softball (27-13, 3-6 Pac-12) suffered a sweep last weekend when they took on No. 3 Washington.
The Sun Devils allowed 25 runs in the three-game series and are looking to break their losing streak on the road this weekend against No. 29 Utah (24-13, 5-4 Pac-12).
Senior catcher Katee Aguirre said last weekend was tough, but that her team will be able to bounce back.
“I think we need to focus on the little things because last weekend, we were all only looking at the big picture,” Aguirre said.
Utah comes into the series on a two-game win streak against California and Weber State.
The Utes are lead by junior infielder Anissa Urtez and junior infielder Hannah Flippen, who both boast competitiveness and consistency in their bats.
Urtez leads her team with a .423 batting average and 26 RBIs. Flippen is runner-up in batting average, holding a steady .402, and leads her team with 11 home runs this season.
Co-interim head coach Letty Olivarez said that during practice this week, the players worked on Utah's quick base running mentality.
“Utah is quick on the basepath, so we prepared the pitchers on being more reactive and we worked on the infield sitting back on the ball,” Olivarez said.
An area where ASU cannot have any shortcomings this weekend is offense.
Aguirre said the team is looking at film and practicing pitches that the Utah pitchers will utilize.
“We switched up our hitting machines to coincide with what we will be seeing this weekend,” Aguirre said. “We are focusing on the other pitchers’ strengths so that we can be prepared.”
This series gives the Sun Devils a chance to prove themselves against another ranked opponent.
Olivarez knows her team is capable of playing highly ranked opponents and said her message to the team has been encouraging, putting the Washington game behind them.
“We tell them to understand that Washington was very good and highly seeded, so it’s nothing for them to hang their heads on,” Olivarez said. “We just have to get better and move on.”
Impactful players for ASU will be junior shortstop Chelsea Gonzales and junior designated player Sashel Palacios.
Palacios dug out of her hitting slump in the series finale against Washington after going 2-4 with two home runs and 3 RBIs. Her offensive revival will hopefully stay with her when traveling to Utah.
Gonzales is coming off a hot weekend too after going 3-3 in the finale against Washington with one home run and five RBIs.
The Utah pitching staff consists of two major players, sophomore right-hander Katie Donovan and sophomore right-hander Miranda Viramontes.
Donovan holds a 1.90 ERA and 105 strikeouts, while Viramontes has a 3.10 ERA with 56 strikeouts.
The pitchers and catchers have been focusing on learning from film and reestablishing where their best pitches are placed.
“In the bullpen, we have had catchers and pitchers watch film and prepare for being more apparent on where the pitchers are going to throw,” Olivarez said.
The Sun Devils need to utilize their dominating offense and keep consistency on defense in order to maximize their potential for the rest of the season.
Red-shirt junior pitcher Kelsey Kessler will be a huge contributor for the Sun Devils this weekend.
So for this season Kessler (13-6) has a 2.59 ERA with 141 strikeouts. With Kessler’s dominating arm and help from the other two ASU pitchers, Dale Ryndak and Breanna Macha, ASU will hopefully come out on top this weekend.
“We need a better approach in the box and to come out with an attack mentality this weekend,” Aguirre said.
First pitch for the Sun Devils will be at 3 p.m. and will be airing on Pac-12 Networks.
Reach the reporter at kcvalen1@asu.edu or follow @kvalenzuela17 on Twitter.
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