Losing six of seven home games was not the way the ASU softball team envisioned starting the Pac-10 season.
Facing an eight-game road trip, ASU will try to regroup.
The No. 21 Sun Devils will face No. 13 UCLA today in Los Angeles. They'll meet No. 24 Washington on Saturday and Sunday in Seattle.
ASU (26-13, 1-6 Pac-10) is last in the Pac-10, one game behind UCLA and a half-game behind Washington. Freshman second baseman Mindy Cowles said her team's offense must come alive.
"We need to stop missing signs," Cowles said. "We just need to get things done, like getting bunts down and hitting the ball down on the ground to move runners over in scoring position. When we do get runners in scoring position, we need to be more aggressive."
The Sun Devils enter the weekend with a Pac-10-worst .260 batting average. They've left an average of 6.18 runners on base.
Showing signs of improvement might prove difficult. UCLA freshman right-hander Anjelica Selden leads the
Pac-10 with a 0.43 ERA. She has allowed just nine earned runs in 146 2/3 innings. She has completed all 18 games in which she has started.
ASU freshman left-hander Katie Burkhart contends that the strong competition isn't intimidating.
"The first game, there was a little hype being in the Pac-10," Burkhart said. "But now I'm just thinking of them [UCLA] as any other ballgame. I've played these girls for a long time, so it's not like I haven't faced them before. You just buckle down and play to that level."
UCLA (20-10, 1-4) is the two-time defending national champion. The Bruins won both games against ASU last season.
Washington (19-14, 1-5) also has ASU's number. Last season, Washington won all three games in the series.
ASU coach Linda Wells hopes her team has learned from its recent struggles.
"You have to take advantage of every opportunity you get," Wells said. "We just haven't been able to do that. You have to do everything you can to put yourself in position to win, and we're not always doing that."
Reach the reporter at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
