May 18, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State University softball players Mindy Cowles, Katie Burkhart, Heidi Knabe and Sharee Zaleski have all been named to the All-Pac-10 Conference Softball Teams, announced Wednesday by Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen. All four players make their first appearance on the all-conference teams with Cowles garnering second-team accolades and Burkhart, Knabe and Zaleski earning honorable mention status.
Cowles, a freshman infielder/pitcher from Riverside, Calif., is batting at a team-best .315 clip with a team second-best 10 home runs. She continues to lead the team with 37 runs scored, 30 RBIs, .458 on base percentage and a .658 slugging percentage. Additionally, Cowles leads the team with 12 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games, including two games with four RBIs and one with five RBIs. She is also batting a robust .458 with runners in scoring position.
Burkhart, a freshman pitcher from San Luis Obispo, Calif. has notched 11 wins, including a no-hitter, a combined no-hitter with six shutouts and a Pac-10 leading five saves (10th nationally). Overall in 36 appearances (176 innings), Burkhart, who strikes out 8.4 batters per 7 innings, carries a team-leading 1.43 ERA (sixth in the Pac-10) with 211 strikeouts (six double digit strikeout games and two nine K games). Burkhart also leads the team in opponent's batting average (167/fifth in Pac-10). Burkhart was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (3/14) after going 3-0, including a complete game two-hit shut out over No. 2 California to lift ASU to the NIST title. She has also been named one of the 32 initial athletes invited to participate in the 2005 Women's National Team Selection Camp, June 13-17, at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Knabe, a sophomore catcher from Simi Valley, Calif., has started all 53 games (one of only two players) and played every inning (354) except one. Knabe is one of only two Pac-10 catchers to have picked off two runners and has thrown out a Pac-10 leading 15 base runners (20 for 35). Offensively, Knabe is having a career year with a team second-best .295 average with 46 hits, nine doubles, a grand slam, 14 runs scored and 20 RBIs. In Pac-10 play, Knabe batted a team-high .286 with 18 hits, including three doubles, a home run and six RBIs.
Zaleski, a sophomore first baseman from Costa Mesa, Calif. leads the team in home runs with 11 (fourth all-time in a single-season), is tied for the team-high with 30 RBIs, has scored 15 runs and holds a .493 slugging percentage. Zaleski was named Pac-10 Player of the Week (3/14) as she lifted ASU to five straight wins, including a game-winning home run in the championship game as ASU shutout No. 2 California, 1-0 to win the National Invitational Softball Tournament title in Sunnyvale, Calif. In ASU's final regular season game against No. 2 California, Zaleski again provided the power and game-winner once again as she hit a second inning solo home run to carry ASU to a 2-1 win.