ASU softball has postseason experience at just about every position.
Except on the mound.
With five senior starters, including three four-year starters in left fielder Elizabeth Caporuscio, catcher/designated player Amber Freeman and third baseman Haley Steele, the players have been there before. The 2012 and 2013 squads made the Women's College World Series, while the 2014 team was upset in the regional round of postseason action last year, which is still on their minds.
For the seniors, it's their last shot to return to Oklahoma City and one final chance at glory.
"We have a bunch of people that have been there before and they want to get back there before their career is over," ASU coach Craig Nicholson said. "I think losing at regional last year is huge motivation. I think we’ve used it for motivation all year long and now we’re at a point where you have a chance to truly atone for what happened."
Freeman, the team's leader both statistically and off the field, knows that this group of seniors could be the first senior class at ASU since 2007 to not win a national championship in their career. She was named to the Pac-12 First Team on Wednesday for the third time, and in 2015, continues to improve at the plate, hitting for a team-high .439 with 15 home runs.
"We can feel the time ticking down," Freeman said. "A lot of the girls in the locker room don't understand that until they are seniors but we do have a sense of urgency because this is our last time."
It will be Freeman and other veterans who ASU's freshman pitchers must rely on to guide them through the game.
“The only people who will start on Friday that don’t have that experience are in the circle and obviously that’s an important piece of what goes on," Nicholson said. "Those guys hopefully lean on our upperclassmen who have been there and done it before. I think it’s important that our seniors continue to lead. I have no doubt that they will. They’ve done it all year long, it’s not going to stop now."
The young players know the history with the program and want to send out the seniors the right way.
"We go out there every game and we want to do it for the seniors," freshman pitcher Dale Ryndak said. "They came in thinking they were going to win a national championship and they were so close to it. We want to give them everything we can, every game. These girls have the heart and we definitely have the talent to win."
ASU begins regional play against Nebraska on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT. Junior Kelsey Kessler's last collegiate victory was for Kansas against the Huskers in a 2014 regional, and freshman Breanna Macha said Kessler has been helping her and Ryndak.
Regional schedule:
(Note that it's listed in Eastern Time, which is one hour ahead of Louisiana and three hours ahead of Arizona).
|
Date |
Time (ET) |
Game/Commentators |
Network |
|
Fri, May 15 |
4:30 p.m. |
Nebraska
vs. Arizona State |
ESPN3 |
|
|
7 p.m. |
Texas
Southern vs. No. 5 LSU |
ESPN2 |
|
Sat, May 16 |
Noon |
Game 3 – Game 1 vs. Game 2 winner |
ESPN |
|
|
2:30 p.m. |
Game 4 – Game 1 vs. Game 2 loser |
ESPN |
|
|
5 p.m. |
Game 5 – Game 3 loser v. Game 4 winner |
ESPN |
|
Sun, May 17 |
1 p.m. |
Game 6 – Game 3 vs. Game 5 winner |
ESPN |
|
3:30 p.m. |
Game 7* Game 6 rematch (if necessary) |
ESPN, ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 |
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter
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