The last time Arizona State softball visited UCLA’s Easton Stadium, head coach Trisha Ford opted for Nichole Chilson to pinch hit for Maddi Hackbarth in the eighth inning of the series finale.
It made sense. Hackbarth had been hitless in her last 10 at-bats and the Sun Devil catcher’s season batting average sat below .200 on the closing day of the 2018 regular season.
Fast forward to 2021, the Sun Devils travel back to Los Angeles to face the defending national champion Bruins. This time Hackbarth is far from struggling at the plate.
She heads into the opening weekend of Pac-12 play as the conference leader in home runs (12) and RBI (34), as well as firmly establishing herself in the early Player of the Year discussions alongside the likes of Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo, Iowa State’s Sami Williams and Arkansas’ Braxton Burnside.