For a team to find continual success throughout a season, different players have to step up at different times.
Junior designated player Ashley Werschky and sophomore catcher Heidi Knabe elevated their play during the ASU softball team's recent 11-game California road trip.
Werschky had nine hits during the trip, including three doubles. She raised her batting average from .250 to .275 at the trip's conclusion.
ASU coach Linda Wells said that Werschky was the unsung heroine of the team.
"I'm thrilled about Werschky because she is getting overlooked," she said. "Werschky is maybe our most improved player from the time we left to coming back. She has really stepped it up and it has helped us out so much, because now we don't have to be so dependent on [Mindy] Cowles and [Desiree] Sevilla."
In ASU's 1-0 loss to then-No. 5 Texas on March 19, Werschky had one of only two ASU hits against Texas ace Cat Osterman, one of the country's best pitcher.
Werschky drove the ball to the right center gap with two outs in the top of the seventh inning for a double, giving ASU one of its best scoring opportunities of the night. She ended stranded at second base.
Werschky has also found success as the team's No. 3 pitcher.
She is 5-1 with a 1.81 ERA in just under 40 innings pitched. She has thrown two complete games in her seven starts and has held opponents to a .234 batting average.
Knabe has been impressive in her own right.
She is now batting .301 on the season, third best on the team. She had 10 hits and 10 RBIs through the last 11 games.
In the first 21 games of the season, she had just four RBIs.
"I'm having my moments, my ups and downs," Knabe said. "I'm just focusing in more on staying confident and being positive up there, getting my cuts in."
Knabe had her first home run of the season against UC Davis on March 12, hitting a grand slam to deep center in the fourth.
She has started all 32 games behind the plate for ASU, making three errors.
Conference foes await
With the non-conference schedule over, the Sun Devils are preparing for Pac-10 play, where every game presents a challenge.
All seven Pac-10 opponents have spent significant time in the top 25 this season with UA, California and Stanford currently occupying the top three spots in the nation.
"I'm very pleased with where we are," Wells said. "I think we're all looking forward to getting out in the conference and seeing what we can do."
Last season, ASU finished last in the Pac-10, going 3-17 in conference play.
The Sun Devils hope that their non-conference upset over No. 2 California in the final of the National Invitational Tournament on March 13 is a sign that better things are on the way.
The Pac-10 opener against the Golden Bears is on April 1 at 7 p.m. at Farrington Stadium.
Reach the reporter at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
