Softball Launches 2024 Season with Return of Kajikawa Classic

TEMPE – Sun Devil Softball opens the 2024 season this week with five games during the return of the Kajikawa Classic. ASU will start the year against Wisconsin on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

The action continues on Friday when the Sun Devils face No. 20 Northwestern at 4 p.m. and St. Thomas at 6:30 p.m. Saturday's slate calls for ASU facing Boise State at 4 p.m. and Maine at 6:30 p.m.

All five ASU games will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Arizona with Cindy Brunson (PBP) and Kenzie Fowler (analyst) calling the action.

The Kajikawa Classic will feature 20 games over four days at both Farrington Stadium and the GCU Softball Stadium. More details and the full schedule can be found at TheSunDevils.com/kajikawa.

ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State head coach Megan Bartlett rebuilt the roster after going 22-26 during her first season in Tempe in 2023. This year's squad brings in 11 newcomers – including six transfers – to pair with the 10 returners.

ASU finished 14-12 in games at Farrington Stadium last season. That continued the team's run being .500 or better every season since they started playing home games at the location during the 2000 season.

The pitching staff brings back all five who appeared in a game for the team last season while adding a freshman into the mix. ASU's lineup will look significantly different in 2024, with just two of the nine regulars back this season.

Offensively, the Sun Devils are coming off a season in which they batted .264 with a .822 OPS, while the team's 1.23 home runs per game placed second in the Pac-12 and 19th in the country. 

In the circle, ASU pitchers compiled a 3.87 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. The staff recorded six shutouts and averaged 5.69 strikeouts per seven innings.

KAJIKAWA HISTORY
ASU has seen plenty of success during the Kajikawa Classic through the years. In the 18 seasons of competition, the Sun Devils are 89-15 (.856), finishing with the best record in the event eight times. They enter averaging 7.13 runs per game during Kajikawa play.

Northwestern has appeared in the Kajikawa 12 times with a 32-30 record. Only Western Michigan and ASU have played in more events. Wisconsin has gone 9-18 in six appearances, with Boise State posting a 6-15 mark in its four appearances. Weber State finished 2-3 during its only time at the event in 2019. GCU, Maine, and St. Thomas will each make their Kajikawa debut this season.

SERIES HISTORY
ASU has gone 26-10 all-time against the five teams on the schedule during the first week. The Sun Devils are 11-8 against Northwestern and 2-0 during the Kajikawa Classic. 

The team's 7-2 record against Wisconsin includes a 2-0 mark during the Kajikawa. ASU has gone 6-0 against Boise State – 1-0 at the Kajikawa – and 2-0 versus Maine, having never met during the annual classic. The game with St Thomas is the first in the series.

ONE FOR 1,600
The next win for the Sun Devils will be No. 1,600 for the program in the NCAA era. ASU began competing in the NCAA in 1982 and has gone 1599-844-2 (.654) for an average of 38 wins per season. The team has won two NCAA National Championships (2008, 2011) and advanced to the Women's College World Series 12 times.

HOME RUN LEADER
Jordyn VanHook returns for her fifth season, coming off a breakout year in 2023, during which she led the Pac-12 with 19 home runs. VanHook became the first Sun Devil to lead the conference since 2006 when Sun Devils Kaitlin Cochran and Mindy Cowles tied for the lead.

VanHook finished the season at No. 3 in the NCAA with 0.40 home runs per game. Her .767 slugging was 22nd nationally. She also led the team with 35 RBIs and was second with 29 runs scored.

ALL ABOUT HALL
Kelsey Hall joins the Sun Devils this season after being named the Mountain West Player of the Year last season. She batted .385 with 12 doubles, 11 home runs, and 52 RBIs for the Broncos last season. The two-time MW All-Conference selection added a .504 on-base percentage with a .854 slugging percentage with 11 multi-hit games.

During this preseason, Hall has been selected as Top 100 by both D1 Softball and Softball America. Both organizations also selected her as one of the top outfielders in the country.

WELCOME IN WINDLE
The Sun Devils also welcome the reining WAC Freshman of the Year in Tanya Windle. She was named to the 2023 TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list after leading the WAC in batting average (.432), hits (76), triples (7), and on-base percentage (.505). Windle was also in the conference's top 10 in runs scored (53, 4th), stolen bases (16, 3rd), and total bases (112, t-6th).

Her freshman season included a hit in 47 of her 53 games, with 25 multi-hit games in which Utah Tech went 21-4. She closed the season with a hit in 16 of the team's final 17 games.