April 24, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 7 Sun Devil Softball team crushed five home runs to set a new single season team record for longballs of 68, three in a stellar come-from-behind victory Tuesday afternoon as they swept the UNLV Rebels 9-0 (6) and 10-9 in a doubleheader in Tempe at Farrington Stadium. Katie Burkhart also made history as the first Sun Devil in history to reach the 1,000 career strikeout mark, a feat only 30 others in NCAA history have done. ASU is now 44-11 overall and will resume conference play this weekend.
Game one saw Megan Elliott pitch a two-hit complete game shutout as she claimed her 17th win of the season as her teammates when on a nine hit tear. Kaitlin Cochran lead-off for ASU and took the first pitch she saw deep for a solo shot to center. The Sun Devils tacked on five more runs through three innings to go up 6-0 on the Rebels before the sixth inning when Kristen Miller crushed a three-run shot to right center to wrap the game early with a score of 9-0.
Game two proved to be a tougher challenge for the Devils as an exhausted Megan Elliott took the mound to start game two. The Rebels got the better of Elliott in the first as Bri Bernardi took a 1-2 pitch deep to center to plate two. Elliott only remained in the game two innings, giving up seven runs, six earned before they brought in Mindy Cowles in relief.
Cowles stayed in for three innings where the Rebels added on two runs, pushing their lead to 8-0 by the bottom of the fourth before the Sun Devil offense came to life sparked by Kaitlin Cochran's two run blast to center for her second longball of the night. The Sun Devils then went on to add another before their fifth inning rally lead with a two run home run from Mindy Cowles and capitalizing on two UNLV Rebels to cut the lead to 9-8 in favor of the Rebels.
Katie Burkhart came in to relieve Cowles and shut down the Rebels where she struck out Brittany Bolinger and then struck out Kendall Fern for her career 1,000th strikeout.
ASU rallied again in the bottom of the inning to score two and take the lead off a huge two-RBI single from Ashley Muenz. Katie Burkhart cruised to the win taking down the next three to wrap the game and the comeback for the Devils.
ASU will take to the road this weekend as they continue Pac-10 play against Stanford and Cal in the Bay Area April 27-29.