The ferocious Sun Devil lineup has been a hard to deal with all season. It shocked few to see that six Arizona State hitters earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors on Wednesday.
All three outfielders made the list. Center fielder Morgan Howe and right fielder Kindra Hackbarth represented the Sun Devils on the first-team. Howe leads the team in average at .417, she is third in the conference with 54 RBI, and as added three triples and 11 home runs.
Kindra Hackbarth is right behind Howe with a .411 average. She also comes in fifth in the Pac-12 with 14 homers herself. The right fielder leads the team in doubles with 16 and 57 runs scored, the most in the conference.
Left fielder Skyler McCarty put herself on the third-team with an average of .340. McCarty’s home run (six) and RBI (33) numbers aren’t as eye-popping as Howe’s or Hackbarth’s, but she has provided protection in the lineup for the interchange pair at the top of the order.
Also included as part of the third-team was shortstop Jade Gortarez. Gortarez’s numbers read as three home runs, 23 RBI and a .312 average. Although, with highlight plays at shortstop have helped provide help to a pitching staff that loves to have her behind them.
Catcher Maddi Hackbarth earned second and defensive team honors. Hackbarth leads the team with 17 blasts, that ranks fourth in the conference. She also adds 48 RBI, third on the team behind her twin sister Kindra and Howe. Hackbarth also gunned down 12 runners on the base paths, the second most in the Pac-12. Plus, according to her pitchers, she’s been the most important part of their transition to ASU this season.
The outfield trend continued — good news for ASU has McCarty and Howe will depart after this season — Yannira Acuna earned freshman team honors. Acuna only had two blasts, but both monster shots and added 18 RBI.
According to Howe, the best is yet to come for the young Acuna.
to all the ASU fans: seriously, get excited for this girls career and the years to come! She’s an absolute BEAST and is gonna do such an incredible things for this program!
— Morgan Howe (@morgannnriley) May 8, 2019
So so proud of you yanni girl! ❤️❤️excited for you! https://t.co/Kdieo70Wfm
ASU will finish the regular season with a series against Oregon that starts on Thursday. They will find out their postseason destiny on Sunday.