Senior outfielder Kaitlin Cochran has done it again.
Just one week after breaking ASU’s all-time career home-run record, she put her name in the books for the second time this season.
Over the weekend, she hit her 51st career double to surpass Kara Brun as ASU’s all-time career doubles leader, an accomplishment she didn’t recognize until the end of the game.
“I really didn’t realize it,” she said. “Once again, I was just really focused on our team and our play — especially for Pac-10; you have to be ready for anything.”
But Cochran’s landmark, complemented by the two home runs she hit over the weekend to push her all-time home-run record 63, wasn’t the only notable performance.
Freshman pitcher Hillary Bach threw her first career no-hitter in her first career Pac-10 game Friday night against Oregon to help the Sun Devils in their 8-0 win over the Ducks.
“I tell you what, as a coach you always like those no-hitters, and Hillary has really stepped up,” coach Clint Myers said. “She’s learning in the bulk of the season.”
The experience, and the win that improved her record to 16-1, gave Bach a reason to believe she could compete in the Pac-10.
“I gained composure and confidence,” she said. “I knew the Pac-10 would be tough and I would really have to focus every pitch. I just took it one inning at a time and looked up at the scoreboard at the end of every inning — it took care of itself.”
The Sun Devils followed Friday’s outing with a five-inning, 11-3 victory over Oregon State on Saturday and an 8-0 win against the Beavers on Sunday.
“[Yesterday] was a pretty good rehearsal for what we have to do to get the business taken care of for the rest of the season,” Myers said. “I thought all aspects of the game we played really well. We swung, the pitching was good — we didn’t strike a lot of people out but that’s where the defense came in.”
The Sun Devils improved their overall record to 31-5, and with the three wins over the weekend, enter the second week of the Pac-10 undefeated.
“We only had one error in three games — that’s not bad,” Myers said. “If we can play that way, it won’t give the opposition any extra opportunities. Those are the things that good teams do. Today, yesterday and Friday we were a good team. In order to continue to be a good team, we need to continue to do those things.”
Next weekend the Sun Devils are scheduled to face off against UCLA and Washington.
“We definitely have to maintain a certain level of play when we come out,” Cochran said. “We always want to get better and better each weekend, so we have to keep that mental focus. That’s something we have to work on and stick to our plan.”
Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.

