Arizona State Hosts Arizona

April 19, 2000

ON TAP: The fourth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (37-10, 5-5 Pac-10) will play host to the second-ranked Arizona Wildcats (44-6, 7-3 Pac-10) on Friday, April 21 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 22 at 6:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Farrington Stadium, located on the corner of Rural Road and Sixth Street behind the practice football fields.

NEW PAC-10 FORMAT: Except for ASU's last conference match up against Stanford on May 13, this year all Pac-10 games will be single games (Fri., Sat., Sun.) instead of the traditional doubleheaders. Also, instead of the usual 28 game format, Pac-10 teams will now play 21 conference games.

AIR TIME: Arizona State will have five games televised the year by two different stations. Local cable outlet, COX channel 9 will air four games (UNLV (3/24), California (4/8), Arizona (4/21) and UCLA (5/5)), while FOX Sports Net will carry the Oregon State game (4/29) in Corvallis.

WEEK IN REVIEW: On the road, Arizona State fell to top-ranked Washington, 2-0, and then earned a split against third-ranked UCLA, dropping the first game 5-1 and winning the final game 1-0. Against UW, both teams posted five hits apiece, but the Huskies tallied single runs in the first and second innings. ASU had several scoring chances, but were unable to get anybody across the plate. ASU stranded six runners, while UW left five. The Sun Devils then faced third-ranked UCLA in a two-game series. The Bruins started the first game with a run in the first and third innings. In the sixth inning, ASU came back to cut the lead in half, when Kirsten Voak walked and then scored on a double to by Kara Brun. However, UCLA scored three additional runs in the bottom of the sixth to seal the win. Sunday's game featured a pitcher's duel, but in the end Voak earned the win with a two-hit shutout over the Bruins. Voak had a perfect game through five innings before allowing a hit in the sixth and seventh innings. Voak's win was her 25th on the year, setting a new Arizona State single season record that she tied last year. On the day Voak limited UCLA to two hits, two walks, while striking out six. ASU had five hits, but the biggest came off the bat of sophomore first baseman Erin Wardein. In the fifth, Wardein stepped to the plate and belted the first pitch off Bruin ace Amanda Freed over the left field wall. In the seventh, UCLA had a threat going with one out and the bases loaded, but Voak struckout Courtney Dale and enduced a foul ball to third baseman Stacey Farnworth to end the game.

GRAND SLAMMIN': So far this season, ASU has hit four grand slam home runs by three different players. Erica Beach with two, Andrea Rodgers and Jamie Hlebechuk each with one.

TOUGH SCHEDULE/TOUGHER CONFERENCE: As in any season, Arizona State will face some of the nation's top programs. Within the toughest conference in the nation, the Pacific-10, ASU will face a nationally-ranked ranked team every time out. For the eighth consecutive week, all eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-25, including the top four positions, while five of the eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-10. Pac-10 teams hold a 254-44-1 (.851) record against non-conference opponents. Additionally, last season all eight teams made postseason apperances with five advancing to the College World Series.

HEAD COACH LINDA WELLS: Arizona State's storied tradition of softball excellence has flourished under the tutelage of 11th-year head coach Linda Wells, one of the most prominent and successful coaches in NCAA history. Wells, who is currently the 10th-most successful active coach in NCAA Division I history, claimed her 700th win at this year's Fiesta Bowl Tournament as ASU defeated Cal State Fullerton, 8-3. Wells, who holds a 731-575-1 career record, has led the Sun Devils to seven NCAA Regional appearances in 10 seasons, including her first trip to the College World Series in 1999. While at Arizona State, Wells has compiled a record of 380-281 and has had five players earn a total of seven All-American awards.

LIFE'S A BEACH: Sophomore pitcher/designated player Erica Beach is building on her successful freshman campaign that saw her garner NFCA first-team All-American honors. This year in the circle, Beach is 12-6 with six shutouts, a 1.69 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Against Portland State, Beach set a new career-high in strikeouts with seven. At the plate, Beach is batting .355 with seven home runs, including two grand slams and a team-high 42 RBIs. She is batting .446 with runners in scoring position and has posted 11 multi-hit games, including a career-high 4-for-4 performance against CS Fullerton. Beach also has 10 multi-RBI games, including one five RBI game. Beach was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week (3/17) after batting .500 with seven RBIs, helping ASU win the NIST. With her seven home runs this year, Beach is now tied for the all-time single-season mark at ASU. Also her 12 career home runs are good for third all-time, while her 81 career RBIs is good for eighth all-time. Additionally, Beach's 42 RBIs has already surpassed her total from last year (39). She needs only four more to set a new single-season record at ASU.

VOAK'S RESUME: Sophomore All-American pitcher/designated player Kirsten Voak is also picking up where she left off last season. After an ASU record-setting 24 win, 314 strikeout season last year, Voak re-set the record this year with her 25th win against UCLA. Voak is currently 25-4 with 11 shutouts, a 0.85 ERA and 238 strikeouts. Voak fired her first no-hitter of the season (third career) against Simon Fraser and struckout a season-high 15 against Oregon, which also ties her career-high. Voak has also earned three Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors (2/22), (3/17), (4/3), with her latest coming against the Oregon schools. Voak posted a 2-0 record, picking up wins over 11th-ranked Oregon State and 23rd-ranked Oregon. Against Oregon, Voak tied her career-high for strikeouts in a game with 15, while not walking a batter. To begin the game, Voak struck out eight of the first 11 batters, while striking out the side two times. Additionally, Voak struckout every Oregon batter at least once, while four batters struckout two or more times. Voak went 1-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and two walks. Against OSU, Voak limited the Beavers to three hits, one run, while posting nine strikeouts ... After recording four wins in the Louisville Slugger Tournament where she pitched 24 innings, allowed only three runs, no walks, while striking out 30 ... Voak again earned the honor after posting a 5-0 record, including three shutouts at the NIST. She pitched in six games, totaling 33 innings, allowed only three runs, while striking out 42. For her efforts, Voak earned her second NIST All-Tournament honor. Voak was also named to her second NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team as she recorded three shutouts, pitched 27.1 innings, allowed only eight hits, no earned runs, four walks, while striking out 31. Voak's averaging 8.5 strikeouts per game and holding opponents to a .167 average. At the plate, she is batting .361 with a home run, seven doubles, 25 runs, 18 RBIs and has walked 28 times. Voak has a career total of 552 strikeouts, good for second all-time in ASU history and 49 wins, good for fifth all-time.

Voak's Career Double-Digit Strikeout Games (15):
15 - Oregon, 7 innings (4/2/00)
15 - Central Michigan, 8.1 innings (5/20/99)
14 - Utah, 7.1 innings (3/13/99)
13 - Santa Clara, 7 innings (3/10/00)
13 - Florida Atlantic, 7 innings (5/22/99)
12 - UNLV, 7 innings (3/26/00)
12 - Iowa, 7 innings (3/17/00)
12 - Portland State, 7 innings (2/26/00)
12 - Nebraska, 7 innings (2/13/99)
12 - Oregon State, 6 innings (4/24/99)
12 - Washington, 8 innings (4/10/99)
11 - Utah, 7 innings (3/10/00)
11 - Illinois State, 7 innings (2/20/00)
10 - Oregon, 7 innings (4/25/99)
10 - Utah, 7 innings (3/18/99)

JUNIOR OLYMPIAN TRIO: Leading Team USA with the most players on its roster, Arizona State sophomore's Missy Hixon and Kirsten Voak, along with freshman Kara Brun collected silver medals at the 1999 International Softball Federation Junior Women's World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. Hixon, who played and started in seven games, finished with a .400 batting average (10-25) and was second on team with nine RBIs and three doubles. Hixon also finished third in runs scored (9) and fourth in hits (10) and batting average. Brun played in six games, starting five and also batted .400 (6-15). She finished tied for second on the team in doubles (3) and third in RBIs (8). Voak tied for the team-high in wins with three, recorded a team-second best 33 strikeouts and had a 0.35 ERA. In 20 innings pitched, opponents batted a miniscule 0.76, both team-highs. Voak combined with teammate Keira Goerl to no-hit Chinese Taipei, 4-0. Voak fired the first four innings, striking out seven while giving up only one walk for her first win. Against Venezuela, Voak struckout 12 batters in six innings for her second win. She then propelled Team USA into the gold medal game by throwing her second complete game, allowing only three hits and striking out 11 against Taipei. Voak also posted a save against New Zealand, pitching three innings of no-hit ball.

BRUN'S A HIT: Freshman shortstop Kara Brun has made an immediate impact this year, offensively and defensively. At the plate, Brun is batting .359, leads the team in hits (52), doubles (12), total bases (85), and is second in RBIs (31) and runs scored (35). Brun is also tied for the team-high with seven home runs, four coming the way of game-winners. She needs one more long ball to set the single-season record (8). Brun has posted 13 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games and held a team-high 16 game hitting streak. On the field, the strong-arm shortstop leads the team in assists (97) and has committed only three errors for a .981 fielding percentage.

ASU'S NATIONAL RANKING: Individually: Voak is third in most victories (25), 18th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5) and 18th in ERA (0.85). As a team: Arizona State is eighth in fielding percentage (.972), 13th in winning percentage (.787), 13th in pitching ERA (1.16) and 16th in batting average (.308).

CAREER MILESTONES: Head Coach Linda Wells needs 19 wins to reach 750 ... Erica Beach needs three more home runs to move into second all-time ... Beach needs four RBIs for the single-season record ... Voak needs 76 strikeouts to re-set her single-season mark at ASU, and 254 strikeouts for the all-time record ... Missy Hixon needs 17 more doubles for the all-time record ... Kara Brun needs six more doubles for the single-season record ... Arizona State, as a program, needs 35 more wins to reach 900 in its history ... ASU needs seven more wins to set a new single-season record.

DYNAMIC DUO: Sophomores Missy Hixon and Nichole Thompson, who play second base and center field respectively, each contribute in similar ways. Hixon has started and played in all 47 games with Thompson starting and playing in 44 ...Thompson's hitting a team-high .366, Hixon .327 ... Hixon has 50 hits, Thompson has 49 hits ... Thompson has scored a team-high 37 times, Hixon 25 ... Hixon has 16 RBIs, while Thompson has produced 14 ... Hixon has 10 doubles, Thompson has seven ... Hixon leads the team with 16 multi-hit games, Thompson has 15 multi-hit games ... Hixon and Thompson have each posted three multi-RBI games ... Hixon has produced two home runs from the leadoff spot ... Thompson had a team-high 16 game hitting streak ... Thompson was also named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team by batting .500 (9-18) with six runs scored and two stolen bases.

DEVIL NOTES: ASU has hit 24 home runs (including four grand slams) this year by eight different players (all-time mark of 26 total HRs in '99) ... ASU has outscored its opponents 223-75, including 73-19 in the first and second innings combined ... Beach and Voak are combining to limit opponents to one walk a game, while striking out nearly seven ... opponents are batting only .189 against ASU ... 13 players have at least two RBIs, including 10 in double-digits ... most of the time, ASU starts eight underclassmen ... ASU's longest winning streak of the year - 9 games (three times) ... ASU has allowed one sacrifice fly this season, while the Sun Devils have posted 12 ... ASU is averaging just under five runs a game, while holding opponents to just over one run ... ASU has recorded 17 games with double-digit hits.