It was a season worth remembering and a team that gave the ASU softball program something to be remembered by.
Last year, the Sun Devil softball team defined its season with an overall 66-5 record, an 11-0 trouncing of Texas A&M in the College World Series, a first ever national title and a roster that boasted three of the most noted players in the Pac-10.
But the Sun Devil softball team has spent little time basking in the glory of its newfound championship.
“It’s definitely a great feeling, especially to bring the first championship to the program,” senior outfielder Katie Cochran said. “But now I feel like we’re trying to go out there and defend that title. That was last year, and this year we’re going out and we have a completely different team [and] a lot of fresh faces on the field and the mound. It’s going to be an exciting year.”
Though its long-term goal may remain the same, the team’s focus has shifted from obtaining their first title, to defending it. They are focused on the upcoming season, and their expectations remain high.
According to ASU coach Clint Myers, the ultimate goal is another national title.
“We expect to be back in Oklahoma City playing in that championship game,” he said. “Only with this year’s team, we will probably take a different route.”
The Sun Devils head into the 2009 season without five of the players from last year’s championship team. Among those, Pac-10 ace pitcher of the year, Katie Burkhart, who now makes her name in National Pro Fastpitch.
This year, the ASU army will employ a combination of faith in the talent of its returners and a deep freshman class in its march toward back-to-back titles.
“It’s all the same goals,” sophomore third baseman Krista Donnenwirth said. “There will be different players but we are going to try to do the same thing.”
Alongside Donnenwirth — who hit .354 and had 15 home runs in 2008 — is Cochran, a three-time All-American who hit .439 last season with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs. She also broke the NCAA record for intentional walks received, with 29, after recording six in the World Series.
Both players were recently named part of the Amateur Softball Association’s 2009 player of the year watch list.
The big change for the Sun Devils comes in the form of junior pitcher Megan Elliott, who comes into the season boasting 108 strike outs in 25 appearances. She recorded 9.1 shutout innings against the fifth-ranked Stanford Cardinal and 10 strikeouts against the Oregon Duck offense in 2008.
This new dynamic has left players with feelings of excitement toward the start the season.
“We’re very anxious to start playing,” Cochran said. “We want to see how far we can take this team. We’re working toward that every day, and we’re getting better and better. It’s a process that we’re going through, and we understand that it’s going to be difficult at times, but we’re ready to take on that challenge.”
And even as a young team, it is not one that is looked upon as rebuilding. The Sun Devils should be able to leave the errors because of nerves and chemistry early in the season and make the transition into Division I softball.
“This is a very talented team,” Myers said. “But it’s a very young team so we’re going to take some of our lumps early because it’s a tough schedule. Hopefully we will learn and by the time Pac-10 comes around we are much better and by the time playoffs come around we are playing our best softball.”
And for the Sun Devils, it starts this weekend at the Kajikawa Classic tournament, which will be held at Farrington Stadium from Feb. 6 to 12. The team is set to face off against UCF, Portland State, Penn State, Cal State Bakersfield, UTEP and Chattanooga.
Cochran and Myers said that the goal of this tournament is to help the team get comfortable playing again.
“It’s a learning process,” Myers said. “You take it one pitch at a time, one game at a time. They’re a young team, and they’re playing in front of a home crowd who is expecting to see what they saw last year. I know they will be patient; we’re going to be a good ball club.”
Before the tournament starts, the Sun Devils will get their feet wet in a game against Mcneese State at home on Thursday.
Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.
