The transition of athletes from high school seniors to freshmen in college has been dissected beyond measure.
However, the difficulty of becoming a sophomore goes relatively unnoticed.
With his 2011 National Championship ring gleaming in the Tempe sunlight, ASU softball coach Clint Myers will call on pitchers Dallas Escobedo and Mackenzie Popescue to build upon their freshman season successes.
Escobedo returns after recording 37 wins, the second most in ASU history.
She admitted she struggled with finding motivation after accomplishing so much in her freshman campaign, but also said she doesn’t feel like her work at ASU is done.
“It kind of was a wake-up call (Friday),” Escobedo said. “We didn’t really have a great practice. Our coaching staff spoke up and said, ‘Yeah, last year we won, but the year before they didn’t make it to the World Series.’ So that was the fuel to the fire.
“I don’t want to be that team that wins one year and doesn’t go the next year.”
In her first year, Popescue also made a mark, winning 13 games and recording close to 100 innings pitched.
“I think all of us have the goal of getting four rings and not just one,” Popescue said.
Of course, they both have an accomplished mentor in senior Hillary Bach, who experienced a similar situation after her first year in Tempe.
After breaking the record for most wins by a freshman with 31 in 2009, the Oklahoma native dropped her earned run average from 2.82 to 2.37 in 2010.
As one of seven seniors on the roster and the lone senior on the pitching staff, Bach said playing softball during her first year ws very different.
“It’s crazy how as freshmen, you are almost oblivious to a lot of things,” Bach said. “As a sophomore, you’ve seen it done, but you start to learn the details. Expectations get put on your shoulders and there is a lot more pressure with that. So it’s even more important to go back to the basics, focus on what you know, and play the game.”
Along with the added expectations, Escobedo will again face what she sees as the most difficult aspect of pitching in college: being able to stay mentally fit.
“I am mentally exhausted after every game,” Escobedo said. “I could pitch two games a day in club ball and it was fine, but now the game is so long. Everything you have to think about to throw one pitch, deal with a situation, or one at bat, it’s just mentally draining.”
With starting catcher Kaylyn Castillo leaving the program as a senior after last year, breaking in a new catcher will be one of the key changes to watch for in the ASU softball team’s 2012 season.
Star recruit Amber Freeman is one of the top contenders to take over the catcher position and extend a helping glove to a pitching staff that is just starting to get used to her style.
“She has a lot of experience in international softball and she has been learning quick,” Bach said. “We are very fortunate to have a great volunteer coach, Casey Myers, who is working with our catchers a lot.”
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv1@asu.edu
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