March 22, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - After back-to-back tournaments on the road, the fifth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (29-5, 0-0 Pac-10) will return back to Farrington Stadium to host UNLV (13-14, 0-0 Mountain West) in a three-game series, Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26. Farrington Stadium is located on the corner of Rural Road and Sixth Street, behind the football practice fields. Game times are slated for 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Friday's game will be televised on COX Sports (cable channel 9) with George Allen and Doug Gerlach.
AIR TIME: Arizona State will have five games televised the year by two different stations. Local cable outlet, COX channel 9 will air four games (UNLV (3/24), California (4/8), Arizona (4/21) and UCLA (5/5)), while FOX Sports Net will carry the Oregon State game (4/29) in Corvallis.
WEEK IN REVIEW: Arizona State fell short of defending its title at the KIA Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., falling in the quarterfinals to 12th-ranked Oregon State, 3-2, in eight innings. The Sun Devils started the tournament strong by winning all three of its pool (A) games. In the first game against Texas, sophomore pitcher Kirsten Voak threw a one-hitter, while striking out nine batters as ASU defeated Texas, 2-0. Voak struckout every Texas batter except one. Senior rightfielder Jamie Hlebechuck led ASU with a 3-for-3 performance with a run scored, while centerfielder Nichole Thompson went 2-for-2 with two doubles and an RBI. Against Notre Dame, the Irish put the first run on the board, but in the fifth inning, freshman shortstop Kara Brun smacked a solo home run to tie it up. ASU would win the exciting game in the bottom of the seventh when senior catcher Andrea Rodgers came in to pinch hit. With one out and a runner on third, Rodgers hit the ball to the first baseman, who could not handle the ball, allowing ASU to score the run. Sophomore pitcher Erica Beach started the game, going five and two-thirds innings before being relieved by Voak, who got the Sun Devil's out of a bases loaded jam. ASU closed out pool play by defeating Cal State Northridge, 2-1, behind a three-hitter by Beach. For the second straight game, ASU scored in the bottom of the seventh to win the game. Thompson led off with a single to right field. After moving to second, freshman catcher Sara Kahler singled to center field to drive in Thompson for the game winner. In the first game of bracket play, Arizona State avenged an earlier loss this year by shutting out 14th-ranked Iowa, 5-0. Voak fanned 12 Hawkeyes for her 13th career double-digit strikeout game. She limited Iowa to two hits, while going 3-for-3 with an RBI at the plate. Kahler had another fine game, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and Thompson posted two RBIs. In the final game against Oregon State, the Devils came up just short in the bottom of the eighth as sophomore second baseman Missy Hixon was thrown out at the plate trying to tie the game. Earlier in the game, Thompson made a spectacular catch in center field as she crashed through the fence to take away a home run.
GRAND SLAMMIN': So far this season, ASU has hit FOUR grand slam home runs by three different players. Erica Beach with two, Andrea Rodgers and Jamie Hlebechuk each with one.
HEAD COACH LINDA WELLS: Arizona State's storied tradition of softball excellence has flourished under the tutelage of 11th-year head coach Linda Wells, one of the most prominent and successful coaches in NCAA history. Wells, who is currently the 10th-most successful active coach in NCAA Division I history, claimed her 700th win at this year's Fiesta Bowl Tournament as ASU defeated Cal State Fullerton, 8-3. Wells, who holds a 723-570-1 career record, has led the Sun Devils to seven NCAA Regional appearances in 10 seasons, including her first trip to the College World Series in 1999. While at Arizona State, Wells has compiled a record of 372-276 and has had five players earn a total of seven All-American awards. Under Wells' watchful eye in '99, five ASU players garnered All-Pacific-10 Conference acclaim, while three Sun Devil players earned a total of five Pacific-10 Conference Pitcher/Player of the Week honors, one of the tops in the conference. Competing in the toughest conference in the county, Wells also placed two players on All-American teams, bringing her total to five (six occasions) during her tenure at ASU.
LIFE'S A BEACH: Sophomore pitcher/designated player Erica Beach is already building on her successful freshman campaign that saw her garner NFCA first-team All-American honors. This year in the circle, Beach is 10-3 with six shutouts, a 0.73 ERA and 44 strikeouts. Against Portland State, Beach set a new career-high in strikeouts with seven. At the plate, Beach is batting .394 (37-94) with seven home runs, including TWO grand slams and a team-high 37 RBIs. She has posted 11 multi-hit games, including a career-high 4-for-4 performance against CS Fullerton, and has had nine multi-RBI games, including one five RBI game. Beach was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week (3/17) after batting .500 with seven RBIs, helping ASU win the NIST. With her seven home runs this year, Beach is now tied for the all-time single-season mark at ASU. Also her 12 career home runs are good for third all-time, while her 76 career RBIs is good for ninth all-time. Beach is also two RBIs shy of her mark last year of 39.
VOAK'S RESUME: Sophomore All-American pitcher/designated player Kirsten Voak is also picking up where she left off last season. After an ASU record-setting 24 win, 314 strikeout season last year, Voak is off to a 19-2 start this season with 10 shutouts, a 0.61 ERA and 165 strikeouts. Voak fired her first no-hitter of the season (third career) against Simon Fraser and struckout a season-high 13 against Santa Clara. Voak has also earned two Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (2/22), (3/17) honors, once after recording four wins in the Louisville Slugger Tournament where she pitched 24 innings, allowed only three runs, no walks, while striking out 30, and again after posting a 5-0 record, including three shutouts at the NIST. At the NIST, she pitched in six games, totaling 33 innings, allowed only three runs, while striking out 42. For her efforts, Voak earned her second NIST All-Tournament honor. Voak also was named to her second NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team as she recorded three shutouts, pitched 27.1 innings, allowed only eight hits, no earned runs, four walks, while striking out 31. Voak's averaging 8.5 strikeouts per game and holding opponents to a .160 batting average. At the plate, she is batting .389 (35-90) with one home run, five doubles, 22 runs scored, 15 RBIs and has walked 19 times. Voak now has a career total of 479 strikeouts, good for second all-time in ASU history and 43 wins, good for seventh all-time.
Voak's Career Double-Digit Strikeout Games (13):
| 15 | Central Michigan, 8.1 innings (5/20/99) |
| 14 | Utah, 7.1 innings (3/13/99) |
| 13 | Santa Clara, 7 innings (3/10/00) |
| 13 | Florida Atlantic, 7 innings (5/22/99) |
| 12 | Iowa, 7 innings (3/17/00) |
| 12 | Portland State, 7 innings (2/26/00) |
| 12 | Nebraska, 7 innings (2/13/99) |
| 12 | Oregon State, 6 innings (4/24/99) |
| 12 | Washington, 8 innings (4/10/99) |
| 11 | Utah, 7 innings (3/10/00) |
| 11 | Illinois State, 7 innings (2/20/00) |
| 10 | Oregon, 7 innings (4/25/99) |
| 10 | Utah, 7 innings (3/18/99) |
JUNIOR OLYMPIAN TRIO: Leading Team USA with the most players on its roster, Arizona State sophomore's Missy Hixon and Kirsten Voak, along with freshman Kara Brun collected silver medals at the 1999 International Softball Federation Junior Women's World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. Hixon, who played and started in seven games, finished with a .400 batting average (10-25) and was second on team with nine RBIs and three doubles. Hixon also finished third in runs scored (9) and fourth in hits (10) and batting average. Brun played in six games, starting five and also batted .400 (6-15). She finished tied for second on the team in doubles (3) and third in RBIs (8). Voak tied for the team-high in wins with three, recorded a team-second best 33 strikeouts and had a 0.35 earned-run average. In 20 innings pitched, opponents batted a miniscule 0.76, both team-highs. Voak combined with teammate Keira Goerl to no-hit Chinese Taipei, 4-0. Voak fired the first four innings, striking out seven while giving up only one walk for her first win. Against Venezuela, Voak struckout 12 batters in six innings for her second win. She then propelled Team USA into the gold medal game by throwing her second complete game, allowing only three hits and striking out 11 against Taipei. Additionally, Voak posted a save against New Zealand, pitching three innings of no-hit ball.
CAREER MILESTONES: Head Coach Linda Wells needs 27 wins to reach 750 ... Erica Beach needs three more home runs to move into second all-time ... Voak needs 328 strikeouts for the all-time record and five more wins to break last year's single-season record ... Missy Hixon needs 21 more doubles for the all-time record ... Arizona State, as a program, needs 43 more wins to reach 900 in its history.
DYNAMIC DUO: Sophomores Missy Hixon and Nichole Thompson, who play second base and centerfield respectively, each contribute in similar ways. Hixon has started and played in all 34 games with Thompson starting and playing in 31 ...Thompson's hitting .412, Hixon .330 ... Thompson has 40 hits, Hixon with 37 ... Thompson has scored 32 times, Hixon 21 ... Hixon has 16 RBIs, while Thompson has produced 13 ... Thompson has 12 multi-hit games, while Hixon has 11 ... Thompson has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, while Hixon has made only two errors for a .980 percentage ... Hixon has posted three multi-RBI games and produced two home runs from the leadoff spot ... Thompson had a team-high 16 game hitting streak ... Thompson was also named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team by batting .500 (9-18) with six runs scored and two stolen bases.
TOUGH SCHEDULE/TOUGHER CONFERENCE: As in any season, Arizona State will face some of the nation's top programs. So far, ASU has posted a 11-5 record against top-25 teams. The Sun Devils have also played in five tournaments this season. After hosting the Fiesta Bowl and Louisville Slugger Tournaments, ASU played in the NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.), National Invitational Softball Tournament (San Jose, Calif.) and the KIA Klassic (Fullerton Calif.). Within the toughest conference in the nation, the Pacific-10, ASU will face a nationally-ranked ranked team every time out. This year, all eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-25, including the top five positions. Six of the eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-10. The SEC has five teams ranked, while the Big 12 has three in the top-25. So far this year, Pac-10 teams hold a 217-36-1 (.856) record against non-conference opponents and have won 16 tournament titles. Last year all eight Pac-10 teams made it to regional action, with five of the teams advancing to the College World Series.
DEVIL NOTES: ASU has hit 20 home runs (including four grand slams) this year by eight different players (26 total HRs in '99) ... ASU has outscored its opponents 195-42, including 66-9 in the first and second innings combined ... Beach and Voak are combining to limit opponents to less than one walk a game, while striking out 6.5 ... opponents are batting only .177 against ASU ... 13 players have at least two RBIs, including eight in double-digits ... ASU has started eight underclassmen at one time ... ASU's longest winning streak of the year - 9 games (three times).
MEDIA INFORMATION: All publicity for the ASU softball team are coordinated by Assistant Media Relations Director Will Phillips at (480) 965-1237. Any interviews with ASU softball players or coaches should be arranged through Phillips with at least 48 hours notice.
STARTERS AND KEY RESERVES:
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | B/T | Avg. | Notes |
| Erica Beach | So. | P/DH | L/L | .394 | 10-3 record, 0.73 ERA, 37 hits, 7 home runs and 37 RBIs |
| Kirsten Voak | So. | P/DH | R/R | .389 | 19-2 record with 165 Ks, one no-hitter, 10 shutouts |
| Sara Kahler | Fr. | C | L/R | .361 | Has tallied 24 RBIs with one home run, 2 k's in 84 at bats |
| Erin Wardein | So. | 1B | R/R | .197 | 2 home runs, 4 doubles and 15 RBIs |
| Missy Hixon | So. | 2B | L/R | .330 | 37 hits, 2 home runs and 6 doubles from the leadoff slot |
| Kara Brun | Fr. | SS | R/R | .355 | 38 hits, 4 home runs, team-high 9 doubles, 1.000 fielding % |
| Stacey Farnworth | Jr. | 3B | R/R | .260 | 2-for-2 with a run scored against Long Beach State |
| Nichole Thompson | So. | OF | L/R | .412 | Team-leading 32 runs scored and 40 hits, 7 doubles |
| Jamie Hlebechuck | Sr. | OF | R/L | .358 | 2 home runs, including a grand slam at NFCA Leadoff Tourney |
| Jen Langenhuizen | Jr. | OF | L/R | .250 | Defensive outfielder, scored 4 runs |
| Lesley Murphy | Sr. | 1B | L/L | .214 | Posted RBIs against Nebraska and DePaul |
| Dee Wathen | Jr. | SS | R/R | .250 | Played in five games, scoring once |
| Devyn Braga | Jr. | OF/3B | R/R | .118 | 1-for-2 with a double and 2 RBIs against Portland State |
| Jennifer Forner | Fr. | OF | L/L | .222 | 9 runs scored, posted 2 RBIs against Simon Fraser |
| Andrea Rodgers | Sr. | C | R/R | .250 | Hit first career home run (grand slam) against Michigan State |
| Bonnie Brannen | So. | C | R/R | .100 | Played in 12 games with one hit and 2 runs scored |
| Carly Grainger | Jr. | OF | L/L | .000 | Played in 22 games, scoring 5 runs |