When you play in the Pac-10, a strong start isn't nice. It's vital if you stand any chance of making the postseason.
The ASU softball team got that strong start over the weekend.
The Sun Devils used a mix of consistent pitching and timely hitting to sweep Texas-San Antonio in a three-game series at Farrington Stadium.
"We did good this weekend. We did real good," ASU senior outfielder Valerie Sevilla said. "I think we surprised a lot of people."
ASU's pitching staff stunned Texas-San Antonio's hitters.
Texas-San Antonio (0-3) averaged 6.09 runs last season in advancing to the NCAA Tournament. ASU (3-0) held Texas-San Antonio to six runs in the three-game series. ASU junior Ashley Werschky threw six shutout innings and allowed just three hits in Friday's 8-0 victory.
Werschky said she liked her team's attitude.
"Every time something bad happened, we didn't let it get us down, which is totally different from last year," Werschky said. "I think we did really well. This weekend was a good way to prove ourselves."
ASU's freshmen made a name for themselves by having an instant impact.
Working in relief, freshman pitcher Katie Burkhart threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Saturday's 4-2 win. Shortstop Rhiannon Baca went 4 for 11 over the weekend, keeping ASU alive Sunday with an eighth-inning RBI single that scored the first of two runs in a 5-4 triumph.
No freshman contributed quite like third baseman Mindy Cowles, who went
4 for 8 from the plate. She hit two home runs and had five RBIs in the three-game series.
Sevilla was impressed by her younger teammates.
"The freshmen were awesome," said Sevilla, who blasted a pair of home runs and totaled three RBIs over the weekend. "They surprised a lot of people with their play. They had been good in practice, but we had no idea that we had such a good class coming in."
Not everything went as planned.
The Sun Devils made five errors, several of which occurred when base runners tried to convert singles into doubles. The errors resulted in four unearned runs.
ASU coach Linda Wells isn't worried about the occasional mental lapses.
"I think those will iron themselves out as everyone plays a little more," Wells said.
Sevilla said she's confident her team can clean up its mistakes.
"We need to stay focused," Sevilla said. "Sometimes we lose our focus and make errors and do not do what we're supposed to do. We just need to communicate a little more."
Reach the reporter at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
