No. 4 Softball Hits The Road To Battle Nationally Ranked Foes

April 12, 2000

ON TAP: The fourth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (36-8, 4-3 Pac-10) will travel to top-ranked Washington (43-4, 5-1 Pac-10) for a single game on Friday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m. The Sun Devils will then fly down to Los Angeles to face third-ranked UCLA (31-5, 6-0 Pac-10) on Saturday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 16 at 1:00 p.m.

NEW PAC-10 FORMAT: Except for ASU's last conference match up against Stanford on May 13, this year all Pac-10 games wil 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: Arizona State posted a 2-1 record, defeating ninth-ranked Stanford, 3-2, and splitting the series against seventh-ranked California, 1-0 and 0-4. Against Stanford, pitcher Kirsten Voak posted her 24th victory of the year, tying ASU's single-season win mark she set last year. Voak allowed five hits, two runs, while striking out five. The Cardinal jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with consecutive doubles. The Sun Devils would tie the game and take the lead in the third after two hits and two Cardinal errors. ASU would tag on one more run in the fifth, when Kara Brun smacked her fifth home run and second in as many games to left field. However in the sixth inning, Stanford would cut the lead to one run, but Voak would close out the inning as well as the seventh for the win. In the first game against Cal, sophomore Erica Beach pitched six scoreless innings before being relieved in the seventh by Voak, earning her first save of the year. ASU scored the lone run in the second inning when Brun hit a home run over the center field wall. In the final game, Cal started off strong in the first inning with four runs off of three hits, forcing Beach to be relieved by Voak. Voak finished the game, allowing no runs on six hits while striking out seven. The Devils had seven hits during the game but could not get any players across home plate. The team was led by center fielder Nichole Thompson who went 2-for-3 with two singles. Also contributing were first baseman Lesley Murphy and left fielder Jen Langenhuizen, both going 1-for-2 on the afternoon. Arizona State stranded seven runners, while California left 11 on the base pads.

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.

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 730-573-1 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 379-279 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 12-5 with six shutouts, a 1.47 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Against Portland State, Beach set a new career-high in strikeouts with seven. At the plate, Beach is batting .374 with seven home runs, including two grand slams and a team-high 42 RBIs. She has posted 11 multi-hit games, including a career-high 4-for-4 performance against CS Fullerton, and has had 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 Arizona State.

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 has tied her own win record at 24-3 this season with 10 shutouts, a 0.84 ERA and 224 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 .168 average. At the plate, she is batting a team-high .377 with one home run, seven doubles, 25 runs scored, 18 RBIs and has walked 27 times. Voak has a career total of 538 strikeouts, good for second all-time in ASU history and 48 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 .365, leads the team in hits (50), doubles (11), total bases (82), and is second in RBIs (30) 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 (84) and has committed only three errors for a .980 fielding percentage.

ASU'S NATIONAL RANKING: Individually: Voak is second in most victories (24), 20th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5) and 21st in ERA (0.84). As a team: Arizona State is eighth in batting average (.314), ninth in winning percentage (.818), 12th in pitching ERA (1.07) and 13th in fielding percentage (.971).

CAREER MILESTONES: Head Coach Linda Wells needs 20 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 90 strikeouts to re-set her single-season mark at ASU, and 268 strikeouts for the all-time record ... Missy Hixon needs 17 more doubles for the all-time record ... Kara Brun needs seven more doubles for the single-season record ... Arizona State, as a program, needs 36 more wins to reach 900 in its history.

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 44 games with Thompson starting and playing in 41 ...Thompson's hitting .373, Hixon .326 ... Thompson has 47 hits, Hixon has 47 ... Thompson has scored 37 times, Hixon 25 ... Hixon has 16 RBIs, while Thompson has produced 14 ... Hixon has 10 doubles, Thompson has seven ... Thompson and Hixon each have 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 23 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 221-68, including 73-16 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 .191 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 not allowed a sacrifice fly this season, while the Sun Devils have posted 12 ... ASU is averaging over five runs a game, while holding opponents to just over one run ... ASU has recorded 17 games with double-digit hits.

MEDIA INFORMATION: All publicity for the ASU softball team are coordinated by Assistant Media Relations Director Will Phillips at (480) 965-1237. Any interviews with ASU softball players or coaches should be arranged through Phillips with at least 48 hours notice.