Tempe Regional: Preview

Farrington Stadium

Teams: Arizona State, Long Beach State, San Diego State, North Dakota State
Location: Farrington Stadium (Tempe, AZ)

Players to watch:
Dallas Escobedo, Arizona State
Katelyn Boyd, Arizona State
Erin Jones-Wesley, Long Beach State
Lorena Klopp, San Diego State
Whitney Johnson, North Dakota State

Interesting storyline: North Dakota State returns to Tempe two years after playing Arizona State in Super Regionals. North Dakota State shocked the softball world two years ago when they not only stunned Oklahoma at home in regionals in the very first game, before going on to win the regional in the program's first year of Division 1 postseason eligibility. North Dakota State probably won't beat Arizona State, but it is interesting to see this squad return to Tempe.

Outlook: Arizona State is having an amazing year and this squad has the potential to go on another national title run, but first they will have to get through a deceptively strong regional.

Whitney Johnson

North Dakota State is the four seed in this regional, but if the past two years have been any indication, they will put up a real fight. The Bison have not gone 0-2 in regionals yet, though this might be their toughest regional. The Bison need to play sound defensive softball, but most importantly, Whitney Johnson needs to keep the ball in the ballpark. If Johnson can hit her spots and give her defense a chance, the scrappy Bison will be right in the thick of things.

San Diego State came into 2011 with very high expectations after a very good 2010 season, but thus far they have underachieved. The Aztecs are 32-19 on the year against a pretty difficult schedule, but they expected to do better. In the circle, SDSU can turn to a few different arms, but most likely Bailey Micetich will get the call. Micetich is a pitcher who relies heavily on location, since she doesn't have the sharp breaking movement to pick up a lot of strikeouts. Samantha Beasely is the other Aztec pitcher who figures to see some action. Beasely has some nice movement on her pitches and she rack up the strikeouts, but along with Micetich they must keep the ball in the ballpark. At the plate, Hayley Miles and Justeen Maeva lead an offense that has hit .289 on the year. The player to watch for the Aztecs though is Lorena Klopp. Klopp is hitting just .265 on the year, but she does have 15 HR and 47 RBI. SDSU will need to start overachieving if they want to advance out of this regional.

Erin Jones-Wesley

Long Beach State comes into Tempe led by a very talented pitcher and its postseason hopes depend on just how far she can carry the 49ers. Erin Jones-Wesley is just a freshman, but she can deal it in the circle. Jones-Wesley is 22-6 on the year with a 1.45 ERA and 163 SO in 183.1 innings. Jones-Wesley keeps the ball in the park, as she has only allowed 6 HR on the year, which has contributed to her 11 shutouts. At the plate, the 49ers have five starters hitting over .300 this year and they will be put to the test against some good pitching at this regional. Nalani St. Germain is the big bopper in Long Beach State's lineup, leading the squad in both HR and RBI, as well as steals. Coach Kim Sowder is going to look to these two players to lead this squad to an upset victory.

Arizona State comes into this regional as the Pac 10 champions and they are playing some great softball. For ASU it all starts at the plate, where they are hitting a scorching .343 with 69 HR. USA Player of the Year finalist Katelyn Boyd gets things going for the Sun Devils and she is having an amazing season out in Tempe. Boyd is hitting .431 as she leads ASU in runs scored, steals, hits, homeruns, and walks and she finds herself second in RBI. Every ASU starter is batting over .300 right now so it truly is pick your poison for opposing pitchers. In the circle, freshman Dallas Escobedo is a presence in the circle for the Sun Devils and she gives this squad an ace that could carry them to a national title. The Sun Devils don't just have an ace in the circle and an unstoppable offense they are also one of the top defensive teams in the nation. ASU has a .983 fielding percentage and they have committed just 24 errors this season. ASU has gunned down runners on the bases as well, as opponents are just 7-17 in steals. This squad has it all on paper, so it will be interesting to see if they can get it done on the field.

Dallas Escobedo

Winner: Arizona State