March 29, 2000
ON TAP: After closing out non-conference action with a three-game sweep over UNLV, the fifth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (32-5, 0-0 Pac-10) will begin Pac-10 Conference play, hosting 11th-ranked Oregon State (26-6-1, 0-0 Pac-10) on Friday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m. and 23rd-ranked Oregon (23-11, 0-0 Pac-10) on Saturday, April 1 at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
NEW PAC-10 FORMAT: Except for the Sun Devils last conference match up against Stanford on May 13, this season all Pac-10 Conference games wil be single games (on three different days) 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 completed a successful weekend by sweeping a three-game series from UNLV. In the first game, sophomore pitchers Erica Beach and Kirsten Voak combined for the shutout, as well as Beach earning her first career save. Voak pitched four scorless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four. Beach finished off the last three innings, limiting the Rebels to one hit with three strikeouts. ASU scored the lone run of the game in the second inning. Shortstop Kara Brun scored the run when third baseman Stacey Farnworth drilled a double to deep center field. ASU tallied three doubles in the game by Farnworth, Brun and Voak. In the second game, the Sun Devils recorded two runs in the first and never looked back. Beach (11-3) went the distance in the circle, allowing eight hits and striking out four batters. Additionally, Beach also went 1-for-3 at the plate scoring once. In her second start of the season, Arizona State catcher Andrea Rodgers went 1-for-2, knocking in two of Arizona State's four runs with her first double in the first inning. Also hitting well for Arizona State was pinch hitter Sara Kahler, designated hitter Voak and third baseman Devyn Braga, who all went 1-for-1, with Kahler tallying one RBI. In the finale, Voak (21-2) finished all seven innings of the game, allowing four hits while striking out 12 batters. The 12 strikeouts not only gave Voak her 14th career double-digit game, but also 181 strikeouts on the season. Voak also went 1-for-2 at the plate. Additionally, the win is Voak's 45 career, good for seventh all-time in ASU's history. ASU center fielder Nichole Thompson led the team at the plate going 2-for-3, with two runs and one RBI. Thompson scored once in the fourth and again in the sixth, both by Beach singles. Beach's two RBI's for the game increased her total to 39, tying her mark set last year. Right fielder Jamie Hlebechuk went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
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 726-570-1 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 375-276 and has had five players earn a total of seven All-American awards. Under Wells' watchful eye in '99, five ASU players garnered All-Pacific-10 Conference acclaim, while three Sun Devil players earned a total of five Pacific-10 Conference Pitcher/Player of the Week honors, one of the tops in the conference. Competing in the toughest conference in the county, Wells also placed two players on All-American teams, bringing her total to five (six occasions) during her tenure at ASU.
LIFE'S A BEACH: Sophomore pitcher/designated player Erica Beach is already building on her successful freshman campaign that saw her garner NFCA first-team All-American honors. This year in the circle, Beach is 11-3 with six shutouts, a 0.80 ERA and 51 strikeouts. Against Portland State, Beach set a new career-high in strikeouts with seven. At the plate, Beach is batting .382 with seven home runs, including TWO grand slams and a team-high 39 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 78 career RBIs is good for ninth all-time. Additionally, Beach's 39 RBIs has already tied her RBI production from last year.
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 holds a 21-2 record this season with 10 shutouts, a 0.61 ERA and 181 strikeouts. Voak fired her first no-hitter of the season (third career) against Simon Fraser and struckout a season-high 13 against Santa Clara. Voak has also earned two Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (2/22), (3/17) honors, once after recording four wins in the Louisville Slugger Tournament where she pitched 24 innings, allowed only three runs, no walks, while striking out 30, and again after posting a 5-0 record, including three shutouts at the NIST. 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 .160 batting average. At the plate, she is batting a team-high .396 with one home run, six doubles, 23 runs scored, 15 RBIs and has walked 22 times. Voak now has a career total of 495 strikeouts, good for second all-time in ASU history and 45 wins, good for seventh all-time.
Voak's Career Double-Digit Strikeout Games (14):
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 earned-run average. 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. Additionally, Voak posted a save against New Zealand, pitching three innings of no-hit ball.
CAREER MILESTONES: Head Coach Linda Wells needs 24 wins to reach 750 ... Erica Beach needs three more home runs to move into second all-time ... Beach needs seven RBIs for the single-season record ... Voak needs five strikeouts to reach 500 and 328 strikeouts for the all-time record ... Voak needs four more wins to break last year's single-season record ... Missy Hixon needs 20 more doubles for the all-time record ... Arizona State, as a program, needs 45 more wins to reach 900 in its history.
DYNAMIC DUO: Sophomores Missy Hixon and Nichole Thompson, who play second base and centerfield respectively, each contribute in similar ways. Hixon has started and played in all 37 games with Thompson starting and playing in 34 ...Thompson's hitting .396, Hixon .314 ... Thompson has 42 hits, Hixon with 38 ... Thompson has scored 34 times, Hixon 22 ... Hixon has 16 RBIs, while Thompson has produced 14 ... Each have hit seven doubles ... Thompson has 13 multi-hit games, while Hixon has 11 ... 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.
TOUGH SCHEDULE/TOUGHER CONFERENCE: As in any season, Arizona State will face some of the nation's top programs. So far, ASU has posted a 11-5 record against top-25 teams. The Sun Devils have also played in five tournaments this season. After hosting the Fiesta Bowl and Louisville Slugger Tournaments, ASU played in the NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.), National Invitational Softball Tournament (San Jose, Calif.) and the KIA Klassic (Fullerton Calif.). Within the toughest conference in the nation, the Pacific-10, ASU will face a nationally-ranked ranked team every time out. All eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-25, including the top five positions, while six of the eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top-10. Pac-10 teams hold a 243-41-1 (.854) record against non-conference opponents and have won 16 tournament titles. Last year all eight Pac-10 teams made it to regional action, with five of the teams advancing to the College World Series.
DEVIL NOTES: ASU has hit 20 home runs (including four grand slams) this year by eight different players (26 total HRs in '99) ... ASU has outscored its opponents 203-45, including 69-9 in the first and second innings combined ... Beach and Voak are combining to limit opponents to less than one walk a game, while striking out 6.6 ... opponents are batting only .179 against ASU ... 13 players have at least two RBIs, including nine in double-digits ... ASU has started eight underclassmen at one time ... 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 11.
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.
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | B/T | Avg. | ||
| Erica Beach | So. | P/DH | L/L | .382 | ||
| Kirsten Voak | So. | P/DH | R/R | .396 | ||
| Sara Kahler | Fr. | C | L/R | .348 | ||
| Erin Wardein | So. | 1B | R/R | .188 | ||
| Missy Hixon | So. | 2B | L/R | .314 | ||
| Kara Brun | Fr. | SS | R/R | .365 | ||
| Stacey Farnworth | Jr. | 3B | R/R | .264 | ||
| Nichole Thompson | So. | OF | L/R | .396 | ||
| Jamie Hlebechuck | Sr. | OF | R/L | .352 | ||
| Jen Langenhuizen | Jr. | OF | L/R | .222 | ||
| Lesley Murphy | Sr. | 1B | L/L | .188 | ||
| Dee Wathen | Jr. | SS | R/R | .200 | ||
| Devyn Braga | Jr. | OF/3B | R/R | .167 | ||
| Jennifer Forner | Fr. | OF | L/L | .222 | ||
| Andrea Rodgers | Sr. | C | R/R | .304 | ||
| Bonnie Brannen | So. | C | R/R | .091 | ||
| Carly Grainger | Jr. | OF | L/L | .000 |