Top 20 Matchup Awaits Softball This Weekend In Tucson
LEADING OFF
No. 18 Washington (34-9, 6-5 Pac-12) travels to Tucson to play a three-game series against No. 16 Arizona (31-9, 6-3 Pac-12) at Hillenbrand Stadium this Friday-Sunday. Game one of the series is set for 6 p.m. PT Friday (April 10) with game two scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday (April 11) and the final slated for 2 p.m. PT Sunday (April 12). Satuday and Sunday’s games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Krista Blunk and Kenzie Fowler calling the action. Both teams are coming off series sweeps. Washington swept Stanford in Seattle and Arizona took three games from Oregon State in Corvallis. The Huskies and Wildcats boast two of the nation’s top offenses. Washington ranks third nationally with 8.26 runs per game while Arizona’s offense ranks sixth at 7.85 runs per game. The Huskies’ 62 home runs leads the Pac-12 while Arizona is second with 61.
Game One: Friday, April 10 | 6 p.m.
Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats | Hillenbrand Stadium
Game Two: Saturday, April 11 | 7:30 p.m.
Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats | Hillenbrand Stadium
Game Three: Sunday, April 12 | 2 p.m.
Pac-12 Networks | Live Stats | Hillenbrand Stadium
TOP STORYLINES THIS WEEK
• Washington enters the weekend with a 34-9 record and 6-5 mark in conference play after sweeping Stanford last weekend, outscoring the Cardinal 41-12. The Huskies combined for 31 hits in the series including a whopping 10 home runs. Eight total batters earned hits in the three-games.
• Freshman Krystal Aubert hit .833 in the three-game series, including three home runs and 10 RBI. Junior Courtney Gano hit .778, going 7-for-9 while sophomore Ali Aguilar went 6-for-8 for a .750 average. The pair of sluggers each recorded two homers in the series.
• For the fourth time this season, Washington recorded four home runs in the game and scored a season-high 17 runs for the second time this year.
• As a team, Washington's 1.93 doubles and 8.26 runs per game ranks 3rd nationally.
• Huskies lead the Pac-12 in: runs (355), hits (399), RBI (324), doubles (83), homers (62), total bases (686), walks (206).
• After her performance in the series against Stanford, Aubert was voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. She led the Husky offense with a .833 batting average and 10 RBI, recording five hits and three home runs including her first career grand slam. Defensively, Aubert started all three games in right field.
• Aguilar leads Washington offensively with a .439 batting average, producing 61 hits, 42 RBIs, 21 doubles (leads the nation), 10 home runs, a .820 slugging percentage and .535 on-base percentage. She boasts a team-leading 21 multi-hit games this season.
• Aguilar, who moved from the leadoff spot to the three-spot in the lineup on March 1, is leading the nation with 21 doubles. Her 55 hits this season ranks second in the Pac-12. She has at least one hit in 30 of 43 games, including an eight-game hitting streak in which she recorded 16 hits and 18 RBI.
• Senior Kylee Lahners moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup on March 1 as her .564 on-base percentage leads the Pac-12. She has at least one hit in 28 of 43 games. The senior slugger opened her senior season on an 11-game hitting streak, going 18-for-32, batting .562 with 12 RBI, 13 runs and three home runs. She is currently second on the team with a .397 average while leading the Pac-12 and team in on-base percentage (.564) and walks (40). Lahners has provided plenty of power with 10 home runs and a .750 slugging percentage.
• Junior Courtney Gano leads the team with 54 RBI (ranked seventh nationally) and 17 home runs (tied for third nationally). She has generated 47 hits, 33 runs, five doubles, one triple and a .761 slugging percentage. Her 17 home runs leads the Pac-12 and is tied for third nationally.
• Gano has recorded two multi-homer games this season vs. UNLV (Feb. 7) and UTEP (Feb.21). Lahners has also recorded a multi-homer game against Grand Canyon (Feb. 16).
AT THE PLATE
• 12 batters are batting .300 or better on the season with one batting over .400 (Aguilar .439). With 62 home runs, 83 doubles and nine triples, Washington is slugging .594 as a team.
• Washington has posted double-digit hits in 22 games this season. In the series against Stanford, the Huskies recorded 31 hits including six doubles and a whopping 10 home runs.
• The Huskies have hit 62 home runs in total this season, while recording multiple home runs in 18 games. The Dawgs have hit 21 homers in 11 Pac-12 games, including a combined six home runs in two games against Arizona State and 10 against Stanford. 10 different Huskies have tallied at least one homer.
• Washington is 18-4 when scoring in the first frame and 23-4 when scoring first this season. Against No. 10 UCLA, Washington scored nine combined runs in the first inning of the three-game series. The Dawgs won the series finale, 6-2 and snapped UCLA’s 15-game winning streak.
IN THE CIRCLE
• Senior Kasey Stanchek (13-4) has seen the majority of innings in the circle and holds a 3.60 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 51 walks in 114.2 innings. Junior Hailey Bator (10-2) and sophomore Casey Stangel (7-3), hold ERAs of 3.30 and 3.66, respectively.
• Stanchek improved to 7-0 when throwing a complete seven innings with her complete game efforts against Stanford (April 2) and UCLA (March 23). Stanchek leads the team with 70 strikeouts on the season, including a team-high seven against UTEP (Feb. 22) and Ohio State (March 7). In five of the seven games in which she tossed a complete game, Stanchek has given up less than three runs.
SERIES HISTORY
Arizona leads 62-28 all-time, but Washington has won five of the last seven meetings. The Huskies won the series last season, taking two of three games in Seattle. Washington and Arizona first met in 1993.
