Devils to face tough pitching in regional
In college softball, trying to hit your way to the Women's College World Series is not typically a winning strategy.
The best teams almost always have the best pitching and often elite hitting too.
Of the top 10 in the USA Today coaches poll, only No. 10 LSU is not among the top 25 nationally in earned run average. Each of the top eight NCAA Tournament seeds — teams that will host a super regional if they advance — are top 25 in ERA with the lowest of those being Alabama at No. 21.
Alabama just happens to be where Arizona State is playing in a regional starting Friday. The Sun Devils, No. 228 nationally in ERA, will have to piece adequate pitching together and live up to their lofty hitting statistics to have any chance of reaching the WCWS for a second straight year.
ASU pitching has been a season-long work in progress. The Sun Devils lost all of their pitchers from 2018 including ace Giselle Juarez, who transferred to Oklahoma.
The replacements — transfers Samantha Mejia (from Fresno State) and Cielo Meza (Long Beach State), freshmen Abby Andersen and Mikayla Santa Cruz — have been up and down with Mejia (14-9, 4.38 ERA) arguably the best of the bunch.
What third-year coach Trisha Ford seems to have found is that a combination of Meza and Mejia works best like in two games at Oregon last week.
"We've talked about this all season," Ford said. "It doesn't have to look the same, it doesn't have to be pretty, it can be a 15-14 game as long as you have 15.
"Coach (Jeff) Harger has done a great job from an offensive standpoint of really igniting that side, and we've put up some big numbers. So from a pitching standpoint, there hasn't been as much pressure. It's going to get harder obviously with postseason, but I think we've done a great job as a pitching staff and putting up some numbers to kind of support where we're at."
ASU was on an offensive tear through March 24 before losing nine straight games to Washington, UCLA and Arizona — currently ranked No. 2, 3, 6. Six of the losses were shutouts.
The Sun Devils recovered to win eight of their final nine, finishing 33-18 and fourth in the Pac-12. That propelled them to a 15th straight postseason appearance, but questions linger about whether they beat a team as good as Southeastern Conference regular-season champion Alabama (52-7) in a double-elimination tournament in Tuscaloosa.
ASU's first hurdle is Atlantic Sun champion Lipscomb (41-13-1) at 1 p.m. Friday. Lipscomb is on a 13-game win streak and has lost just once since March 30.
Lipscomb senior right-hander Mandy Jordan (18-7, 1.81) has 16 complete games. Sixth-ranked Alabama's pitching is even better led by Sarah Cornell (21-1, 2.17 ERA) and Montana Fouts (15-4, 1.07, 152 strikeouts), SEC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year.
The Tide hit too — topped by first baseman Bailey Hemphill (.364, 22 homers). Patrick Murphy is SEC Coach of the Year.
ASU counters with a lineup that averages 7.55 runs (No. 3 nationally),has hit 85 home runs (No. 4) and has a .612 slugging percentage (No. 3). Six position players were regulars on the 2018 WCWS team.
Five players have double-digit homers led by sisters Maddi and Kindra Hackbarth with a combined 35.
"The whole season you think everything matters then you come to this time and everything in the past doesn't matter anymore," senior outfielder Morgan Howe said. "It's all about who's right on, what team can figure it out together at the same time. We don't have to about all the stuff that happened earlier this season or two seasons ago. All we have to worry about is right now.
"That's something I can take away from past experiences. This is crunch time. All we have is what we have (now). Can we figure it out together or not?"
Alabama leads 6-4 all-time vs. ASU. The Tide won 2-1 in the last meeting at the 2012 WCWS. The Sun Devils went 1-2 in a 2005 regional in Tuscaloosa, losing 3-1 to Alabama.
Tuscaloosa regional
What: Double elimination tournament with winner advancing to bestof-3 super regional vs. winner of Austin regional.
Where: Rhoads Stadium.
Friday: Arizona State (33-18) vs. Lipscomb (41-13-1), 1 p.m. (ESPN3); Alabama (52-7) vs. Alabama State (24-23), 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU).
Saturday: Game 1-2 winners, 11 a.m.; Game 1-2 losers, 1:30 p.m.; game 3 loser vs. game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday: Winner game 3 vs. winner game 5, 11 a.m.; if necessary game, 1:30 p.m.