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It was a perfect day for softball in Tempe on Sunday –– 75 degrees and sunny.
A gust of wind blew past the many palm trees that line the back wall of Farrington Stadium, but it was no thanks to the weather. The gust was caused by a home run from none other than ASU senior catcher Amber Freeman. While this one was just for what the team called the "Dinger Derby" and didn't count, you can expect to see Freeman go yard many more times in her fourth season as a Sun Devil.
However, she did not win the home run derby or make it to the finals, which featured her teammates: redshirt sophomore outfielder Mandi Grebe and sophomore shortstop Chelsea Gonzales. Gonzales defeated Grebe 6-5 in the final round of the derby.
Freeman wasn't worried about not taking home this individual honor, nor is she aiming for any other individual accomplishments this season.
Non-participants in the "Dinger Derby" wait for fly balls in the outfield at Farrington Stadium in Tempe on Jan. 25, 2015. (Ryan Clarke/ The State Press)
"Before I came back from winter break my dad was like, 'Don't make any individual goals ... focus on your team,' so this year I really just wanna be all about my team and be the best leader I can be," Freeman said.
Freeman leads a team that, in part due to losing its top two pitchers from last season in Dallas Escobedo and Mackenzie Popescue, is somewhat of an afterthought, ranked No. 16 in the nation by the NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
Freeman and her teammates aren't remotely concerned with where they're ranked. Given that mindset, ASU has adopted the mantra "All That Matters is What We Believe," and Freeman takes that to heart.
"I love that (mantra). It doesn't matter what outside people think –– all that matters is what we think about ourselves," Freeman said. "I think that's going to carry us a long way this year because we're kind of the underdog. A lot of people have counted us out after losing important seniors last year. We need to just stay strong mentally."
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Mental strength and focus will be a big key on the defensive side of the ball without Escobedo and Popsecue, said ASU head coach Craig Nicholson, who's entering his second season with the Sun Devils.
"I feel like our team, our players, have extreme confidence in what our pitchers are going to be capable of doing," Nicholson said. "We may average four, or five or six less strikeouts than we did last year and that means we're going to have to make four, or five or six more plays (on defense)."
On the offensive side, ASU returns six of its top nine batters from a team that finished 46-12-1 last season, earning the No. 3 spot in the Pac-12 behind Oregon and UCLA.
Nicholson is thrilled to see so many familiar faces in the batters box for his team.
"I think that offensively we're in a great spot right now. We're ready; we look good," Nicholson said. "Our offense is very advanced. We're talented and we're going to have the ability to score runs and play from out front as often as we can."
Nicholson buys into the team's mantra, and echoed Freeman's statement of feeling under the radar and overlooked.
"We're a little bit of a wild card right now," Nicholson said. "We understand that, as a group, the most important thing is what our mentality is and the fact that we're willing to believe in ourselves and believe in each other. (We) are chomping at the bit for February 5th to get here."
The Sun Devils open up the season with a doubleheader in the Kajikawa Classic against Creighton and Western Michigan on Feb. 5 in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or on Twitter @RClarkeASU.
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