Bay Area road trip marks conference start

 by Steven Falkenhagen
 published on Friday, March 28, 2008

Deanna Dent / THE STATE PRESS

RACE TO THE BASE: Senior ASU outfielder Jackie Vasquez makes a run for first base but is called out during the sixth inning of the Sun Devil’s 5-0 victory against Marshall on Tuesday evening.

After 38 games, it's time. It's time for Pac-10 play that is.

The ASU softball team, ranked No. 2 in the USA Softball/ESPN.com poll, takes its show on the road this weekend to the Bay Area with games against No. 23 California (31-10) and No. 5 Stanford (31-2).

The Sun Devils (36-2) play the Golden Bears on Friday and close out their weekend on Saturday and Sunday with back-to-back games against the Cardinal.

ASU is coming off a double-header sweep of Marshall on Tuesday at home where the Sun Devils won 5-0 and 12-1.

The positions are settled for ASU, with the exception of first base. Sophomore Katie Crabb and freshman Mandy Urfer will split time at that position. ASU coach Clint Myers will likely structure his lineup on who has been playing well as of late.

Katie Burkhart (17-2) will get the start on Friday and Sunday and will be available out of the bullpen on Saturday. Sophomore Megan Elliott (14-0) or junior Amanda Nesbitt (5-0) will start take the circle on Saturday.

Cal is expected to start sophomore ace pitcher Marissa Drewery (19-5) for the conference opener, and Stanford junior Missy Penna (20-2) and freshman Ashley Chinn (10-0) will likely get the starting nods for the Cardinal.

ASU's win-loss record clearly shows that it is not lacking in talent, but it will need contributions from both the pitching staff and the hitting lineup to compete in the talent-rich Pac-10.

The pitchers have been dominant, and for the most part, the hitters have bashed opposing pitching.

But every team has its weaknesses, and ASU is no exception. The Sun Devils have often left many runners on base, which will probably come at a premium starting Friday. This season, Sun Devil batters have left 254 on base compared to 139 for their opponents through 38 games.

ASU's runs have usually come in bunches, which doesn't bode well if the offense is effectively shut down for a game. For instance, it took the Sun Devils 10 innings to score one run in a tight match up with Creighton on March 4. Thankfully for ASU, Burkhart was able to pitch 10 scoreless innings to keep the team in contention for the win.

As the Sun Devils prepare to face some of the elite softball teams in the country, the line between success and failure will fall between executing fundamentals and limiting errors.

ASU will have to move runners from base-to-base with sacrifices and limit errors in the field.

Myers has shown aggressiveness on the base paths and that will probably continue.

Reach the reporter at: steven.falkenhagen@asu.edu.