May 2, 2007
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This Week
The No. 9 Sun Devil Softball squad hits the road again this weekend as
they head to Oregon to resume Pac-10 play against the Oregon State
Beavers and Oregon Ducks. ASU will take on Oregon State on Friday,
May 4 at 3 p.m. and the Oregon Ducks on Saturday and Sunday May 5
& 6 at 1 p.m. for both games.
Series History
The Sun Devils will wrap up their regular season match-ups with the
Oregon State Beavers this weekend, coming into the weekend with a
61-25 overall series record against the Beavers since their
fi rst meeting
in 1977. This weekend's match-up will determine the winner of the 07'
series between the two.
In their
fi rst meetings of the 2007 season, the Sun Devils and Beavers
split a two-game series in Tempe, with OSU taking a 2-0 win from the
Devils before ASU stormed back to outlast them in an 11-inning battle
to win 8-7.
Last season against the Beavers, ASU snapped the Beavers' impressive
28-game winning streak in Corvallis on April 1, 2006 with a 3-2 win. The
Beavers returned to Tempe to split the two remaining games winning 3-
2 in the
fi rst game of a doubleheader on May 11 before dropping a 9-2
decision to the Sun Devils after. That wasn't their last match up of the
season though as the two teams went head-to-head in the 2006 College
World Series, with the Devils beating OSU 3-1 . Katie Burkhart struck
out 12 Beavers in the match-up with senior team captain Heidi Knabe
hitting her fourth home run of the season off Brianne McGowan.
Up Next
The Sun Devils will return home to
fi nish up their regular season hosting
the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins. The Sun Devils will take on
the Huskies on May 10 at 7 p.m. and the Bruins on the 11th and 12th
at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday's 1 p.m. game against UCLA will be
filmed
on tape delay by Fox Sports Net.
Non-Stop Until they reach the top
In the
fi rst polls of 2006, the Sun Devils were ranked fifth
in in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls. The Sun Devils
have already enjoyed a new record in the rankings section
for this year as they attained their highest ranking ever with
a #2 ranking coming in Week 2 and continuing until Week
5. The ranking also marked the
fi rst time the Sun Devils
have ever surpassed the Arizona Wildcats in ranking and
only the second time they have passed UCLA (Last was in
2002.)
Rankings By Weeks: (NFCA/USA Softball)
Week 1 - 5/5
Week 2 - 2/2
Week 3 - 2/3
Week 4 - 2/4
Week 5 - 3/6
Week 6 - 3/6
Week 7 - 6/8
Week 8 - 7/9
Week 9 - 7/9
Week 10 - 8/10
Week 11 - 7/9
Week 12 - 7/7
Week 13 - 9/9
Leaders of the Pac
After thirteen weeks of play the Sun Devils have found themselves
at the top of the Pac-10. Not only do they lead the
Pac-10 in wins, the Sun Devils are also dotting their names
in both team and individual standings.
Pac-10 Team Offensive Standings:
Home Runs - FIRST (69)
RBIs - FIRST (321)
Runs Scored - FIRST (338)
Total Bases - FIRST (722)
Walks - FIRST (239)
Hits - FIRST (443)
Doubles - Second (62)
On-base Percentage - Second (.396)
Slugging Percentage - Third (.479)
Stolen Bases - Fourth (70)
Triples - Fourth (6)
Batting Average - Fifth (.292)
Pac-10 Team Defensive Standings:
Batters struck out - FIRST (518)
Doubles allowed - FIRST (22)
Opposing batting avg. - FIRST (.177)
Wins - FIRST (45)
ERA - FIRST (1.67)
Batters struck out looking - Second (142)
Triples allowed - Second (1)
Pac-10 Individual Offensive Standings:
Hits - FIRST (82)
Runs Scored - FIRST (62)
Total Bases - FIRST (146)
On-Base Percentage - FIRST (.623)
Batting Average - FIRST (.513)
Walks - FIRST (40)
Slugging Percentage - Second (.913)
Doubles - Second (15)
Home Runs - Third (15)
Triples - Fourth (2)
RBIs - Fourth (51)
Stolen Bases - Fourth (27)
RBIs - First (64) - New ASU Single-Season Record
Total Bases - Eighth (92)
Home Runs - Ninth (10)
Pac-10 Individual Defensive Standings:
Batters Struck Out - FIRST (381)
Opposing Batting Average - FIRST (.128)
Triples Allowed - FIRST (0)
ERA - FIRST (.94)
Doubles Allowed - FIRST (7)
Batters Struck Out Looking - Second (88)
Wins - Second (26)
Saves - Fourth (2)
NC-AATionally Famous
The Pac-10 isn't the only place that the Sun Devils' stats are appearing.
They are also among the top perfomers in the nation. According
to NCAA stats:
- Ranked
fi rst in batting average nationally (.513)
- Ranked
fi fth in slugging percentage nationally (.913)
- Ranked 17th in Runs Per Game (1.07)
- Ranked 12th in RBIs Per Game (1.12)
- Ranked sixth in ERA (0.94)
- Ranked sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (11.5)
- Tied for eighth in wins (26)
Team:
- Ranked 14th in Home Runs Per Game (1.17)
- Ranked 15th in ERA (1.67)
- Ranked 20th in Runs Per Game (5.73)
Sophomore Slump?
Sophomore First-Team All-American, Kaitlin Cochran has kicked
off her sophomore season the same way she did her freshman:
phenomenally. Some of her stats include:
Hits:
Current: 82 (Leads Pac-10...5 shy of ASU Single-Season Record)
Career: 165 -2 shy of 14th place in ASU Career History
2006: 83 total - 3 shy of ASU Single-Season Record
Doubles:
Current: 15 - 6th all-time in ASU Single-Season History
Career: 23 - 2 short of 10th place in ASU Career History
Triples:
Current: 2- (Tied for 2nd in Pac-10)
Career: 6 - 5 short of 7th place in ASU Career History
Home Runs:
Current: 15 (3rd in the Pac-10)
Career: 32 (Third in ASU Career Records)
2006: 17 (New ASU Single-Season Record)
This season alone, Kaitlin has had 18 two-hit games and nine
three hit games, as well as 14 games with two or more RBIs. Her
teammate, Bianca Cruz actually has 16 games with two or more
RBIs. Kaitlin's longest hitting streak in the 2006 season was 17
games, she hasn't matched it yet as her longest thus far in 2007
has been 11 games.
Team With a Dream:
While the 2007 Sun Devil Softball team is chasing the currently elusive NCAA title, they have other goals in
mind. In the 2006 season they broke almost every offensive record in ASU history, and they're looking to break
them yet again. Some of the records they are currently chasing and have already broken are:
Runs:
ASU Season Record: 307 - Set in 2006
Current total: 338 - New single-season record!
Doubles:
ASU Season Record: 82 - Set in 1999
Current total: 62
Home Runs:
ASU Season Record: 66 - Set in 2006
Current: 69 - New single-season record!
RBIs:
ASU Season Record: 285 - Set in 2006
Current: 321 - New single-season Record!
BB:
ASU Season Record: 228 - Set in 2006
Current: 239 - New single-season record!
Wins:
Record: 53 - Set in 2006
Current: 45
Shutouts:
Record: 24 - Set in 2006
Current: 16
Strikeouts:
Record: 666 - Set in 2006
Current: 518
Runs on First and Third?
This year the Sun Devil offense has had an af
fi nity for starting off ahead. The majority of their 338 runs scored
on the season have come in the
first and third (and fourth) inning, with a total of 71 runs scored in the first
and 59 in the third and fourth. They've also found themselves in trouble in the
fi rst though as opposing teams
have scored most of their 131 runs in the
fi rst inning with 25 runs scored.
Beat em' to the Scoreboard
So far this season, when ASU scores in the
fi rst inning, they've gone on to win 25 of the 26 games in which
they have. And for games that ASU draws
fi rst blood? They hold a 32-2 record.Don't Call It A Comeback...
The Sun Devils have also proven that they aren't down and out when behind, as they hold an 13-11 record
for when the opposing team scores
fi rst and a winning record when trailing after one, two or three innings.
Same goes for when the are in a deadlock with their opponents, holding an edge in the record when tied in
the
fi rst through fourth inning.Home Sweeeeeet Home
The Sun Devils have found their home at Farrington Stadium to be a welcome one. They currently hold a
26-2 overall record at home, as well as a 5-1 Pac-10 record.
Sun Devils to watch
The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, has selected
its `Top 25 List' for the 6th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award,
which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize
outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. On the top
25 in the country list for this season are junior pitcher, Katie Burkhart, sophomore First-Team All-American,
Kaitlin Cochran and Senior third-baseman, Bianca Cruz. Burkhart and Cochran were also named to the
ESPN.com Pre-season All-American List.
Burkhart has also claimed Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors three times already this season, the
fi rst week
of the season and Cochran has claimed the award twice this season as well.
Burkhart was also named the USA Softball National Player of the Week this week on April 17 and the Louisville
Slugger/NFCA Co-National Player of the Week on April 18 for her efforts in the circle last weekend
against Cal and Stanford, pitching 16.2 scoreless (and nearly
fl awless with only two hits) innings.At the Helm:
Head Coach Clint Myers enters his second season as the leader of Sun Devil Softball after a 2006 campaign
that saw the Sun Devils set offensive records in: wins with 53 (former record was 46 set in 2002),
runs with 307 (former record was 294 in 1996), home runs 66 (former record was 45 set in 2003), RBIs
with 285 (former record was 259 in 1996), walks with 228 (former record was 180 in 2000) and strikeouts
pitched with 666 (former record was 415 in 2004 and 1999). The 2006 team also recorded an 11-10 record
in conference play, their
first winning record in Pac-10 play since 1991, placing them fourth in the Pac-
10 after
finishing last the year before and being picked to finish last in the coaches pre-season poll.