Caylyn Carlson has become an outsider.

She has taken a step back, and for the first time in four years, she gets to watch everybody else grow the same way she did.

“It’s a different role when you’re a senior,” she said. “You get to see a lot more things. I actually haven’t been doing a whole lot this fall, so I’ve been able to watch. I’m kind of taking on an outsider’s perspective, so it’s fun for me to watch the girls grow. But at the same time, I want to get in there and grow with them.”

With the pride of their 2008 national championship looming, last season’s fifth-place finish wasn’t exactly what the ASU softball team had hoped for.

“Last year it was hard for a lot of the returners,” Carlson said. “To go from a national championship team to not even being in the championship game is hard — just having that championship, it’s hard to not get back to that same spot again.”

But maybe a fifth-place finish wasn’t all that bad.

“Coming from the national championship and then having not made it to the championship game, I think we have that fire under us,” Carlson said. “We are ready to get back. Now we know what it feels like to win, and we know what it feels like to not win.”

A 49-17 final record has given the team something to strive for, and the offseason has given it a chance to work up to a more satisfying 2009-2010 season.

“It’s been a lot of hard work in the fall,” Carlson said. “We’ve done a lot of extra work, a lot of heavy lifting and hard running — it’s been hard work, that’s pretty much what it takes to get back in the spring to where we were when we won the national championship.”

With the return of the Pacific Region All-American pitcher Hillary Bach, whose 31-11 record became the best freshman record in the history of ASU softball, comes a much more experienced pitcher and one of the Sun Devil softball team’s leaders.

“Last year was a lot of fun, so coming into this year, I felt much more prepared,” Bach said. “I’m excited because I know what it’s like — I know the success. The fire is there. It’s an opportunity to really step up and use all the knowledge that I gained last year and really put it into play. I’m smarter, stronger, and it’s definitely exciting.”

Bach will take the field this year with a team that welcomes four new freshmen and returns last year’s shortstop standout Katelyn Boyd (sophomore) and junior infielder Krista Donnenwirth.

“I think the team has stepped up, and we have some strong senior leadership that’s really just been huge in the process,” Bach said.
“Everybody’s just come together nicely. The workouts are very difficult. It’s challenging, but when you see the benefits, when you see girls getting stronger and faster, that’s when it pays off. We will be ready when the time comes.”

For now, the Sun Devils continue on in their fall season in games they feel are a way to mark the progress of the offseason.

“All the hard work and the practices are fun, but it’s not the same as a game,” Bach said. “These fall games are a chance to really get out in front of the fans and show them what we can do. It’s a good way for the coaches to see what you can do, and for me, as a pitcher, I enjoy facing live batters — it’s completely different than throwing in the bullpen.

It’s very helpful.”

Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.