Arizona State's Dallas Escobedo named USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week

March 11, 2014

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Arizona State's Dallas Escobedo named USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week

 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Following an exceptional week in the circle for Arizona State, senior pitcher Dallas Escobedo (Glendale, Ariz.) has been named the USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Week the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.  The senior pitched the Sun Devils to four wins in the circle as she helped Arizona State to a 7-0 record throughout the course of the week and a 5-0 record at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.

 

"I am absolutely honored to be recognized at the USA College Softball Player of the Week," said Escobedo.  "While it is great to receive the personal recognition, we couldn't have had the performance we had this past weekend if we didn't come together as a team. It was important for us to go out last week and get back to playing Arizona State softball and we did that. This honor is a testament to all the hard work the girls on the team put in and we look forward to taking this momentum in Corvallis and the Pac-12 schedule beginning this weekend."

 

Escobedo kicked the weekend off with the fourth no-hitter of her career against Longwood, fanning 13 Lancer batters in the process.  Two days later, Escobedo led the then-No. 7 Sun Devils against then-No. 4 Michigan squad, limiting the Wolverines to just one hit with nine strikeouts.  Escobedo also made school history during the matchup against Michigan when she collected her 1,000th career strikeout, becoming just the second Sun Devil to reach the milestone and just the 14th player in Pac-12 history to accomplish the feat.

 

A day later, Escobedo stepped back into the circle against No. 14 Nebraska, where she led the Sun Devils to a shutout victory in extra innings.  Escobedo limited the Huskers to just one hit while posting 10 strikeouts.  In her final performance on the week, Escobedo gave up her only run in four games against Wisconsin while striking out six Badger batters. 

 

"Dallas is pretty locked in right now," said Arizona State Head Coach Craig Nicholson.  "She's making good pitches and she picking her spots.  Any time she gets into tight situations, she's staying relaxed.  The biggest thing for her is she's not walking anybody. She's throwing strikes and really attacking hitters.  This honor obviously means a lot to us as a team and the hard work Dallas puts in each week to make us better.  She is a leader on this team and this weekend was a perfect example of that."

 

On the week, Escobedo was 4-0 while holding opponents to a .060 batting average and totaling 38 strikeouts in 27 innings of work.  She allowed just one earned run, three walks and three hit-by-pitches en route to a 0.26 ERA.

 

This is the third USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honor for Escobedo, who earned previous earned accolades during Week 1 of the 2011 season and Week 14 of the 2013 season. 

 

2014 USA Softball National Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 6-9): Kylee Lahners - Washington - Junior - Infielder– Laguna Hills, Calif.

Week 2 (Feb. 10 -16): Aimee Creger - Tulsa - Senior - Pitcher– Yukon, Okla.

Week 3 (Feb. 17-23): Ally Carda – UCLA – Junior – Pitcher – Elk Grove, Calif.

Week 4 (Feb. 24 – March 2): Cheridan Hawkins – Oregon – Sophomore – Anderson, Calif.

Week 5 (March 3-9): Dallas Escobedo - Arizona State - Senior - Pitcher– Glendale, Ariz.

 

About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball 
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.  

 

About the NCAA Women’s College World Series 
The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 24^th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2014 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!

 

 

Codi Warren

 

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817