It has to be easy to return to hot weather, worn cleats and repetitive workouts when players know last season’s effort resulted in the University’s first national championship.

That’s the ASU softball squad’s mindset as it continues its fall schedule Friday with a doubleheader against Phoenix College.

“I feel so honored to be a part of this experience,” senior outfielder Kaitlin Cochran said. “Especially to come back and represent the team and help lead our new Sun Devils.”

Last season, Cochran batted .439 and recorded 14 homeruns in 71 games.

Thus far the Sun Devils have been absurdly proficient, winning all five of their games (a sixth was cancelled), by a combined run total of 78-4.

But the fall league isn’t about wins; it’s about getting the competitive gears rolling again. It also introduces collegiate softball to freshmen and reveals any team weaknesses before the 2009 schedule commences.

Coach Clint Myers said his focus is on teaching, mentioning the fact ASU carried four freshman in the College World Series against Texas A&M.

Myers said freshmen or sophomores could fill seven of nine positions on the field.

Nevertheless, Myers said he expects his juniors and seniors to take on leadership roles and aid the underclassmen’s adjustment to high-level softball.

Also, it doesn’t seem these veterans have let last season get to their heads. Returning players are using those spoils as motivation going into this season.

“Our team gets better every year, [as] every year we have more talent,” Cochran said. “Of course we’re going to have that target on our backs, but I think it’s a good thing, not necessarily a bad thing.”

Myers said he agrees.

“What we said we wanted to do here is compete for the national championship, every year,” he said.

Prior to their unforgiving Pac-10 Conference schedule this season, ASU is slated to face Florida, Oklahoma, Northwestern and Texas.

Myers called it his “toughest [pre-conference schedule] in the last four years.”

One of the vets does not seem to mind.

“We love competition,” junior pitcher Megan Elliott said. “It’s going to be a good test for us. Those teams are as good as any Pac-10 team and that’s going to help us prepare,” she said.

Elliott will be looked upon to be the catalyst of a Sun Devil team that went 66-5 last season.

“Megan was one of the top pitchers in the country out of high school and we’re excited to have her,” Myers said. “She now gets to step up and call it her team. We look for great things from her.”

Elliott now separates herself from the team’s 2007 ace, Katie Burkhart, who won 41 games for and sported ERA of 0.75.

“I know it sounds weird,” Elliott said, “But I don’t have as much pressure this year as I did last year. It’s more relieving knowing I’m number one and that everyone looks at me like that. It was harder being the shadow of somebody.”

To celebrate the success of last season and make the transition to next, the team will host its annual alumni game Saturday.

The festivities are slated to begin at 3 p.m., with the home run derby at 5 p.m. The game itself will start an hour later.

Reach the reporter at joshua.spivack@asu.edu.