Senior outfielder Annie Lockwood bats in the Kajikawa Classic on Thursday. Lockwood and the Sun Devils easily beat their first two opponents in the tournament. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)

Except for some first-game jitters causing some unease among the crowd early on, the No. 1 ASU softball team thoroughly dominated its first two opponents of the season.

The Sun Devils (2-0) pitching staff stood out, as neither Western Michigan nor San Jose State were able to plate a runner through 13 innings.

With top pitcher sophomore Dallas Escobedo only making a cameo appearance in one inning of the first game, the pressure of starting the season on a strong note fell onto the shoulders of sophomore Mackenzie Popescue and senior Hillary Bach.

Bach had the best night of the duo, allowing only one hit in the team’s closest game, a 4–0 win over San Jose State.

“Hillary pitched a masterpiece,” coach Clint Myers said. “(It was) one of the better games I have seen her pitch in her four years. She commanded well.”

Popescue had nearly as good of a night, escaping a few jams to end the first day of play with a win.

With the pitching as good as it was, it took some time for the Sun Devils’ offense to get going, as the team didn’t look menacing until senior shortstop Katelyn Boyd rocketed a pitch over the left field fence.

“Boyd’s home run really got the team going,” freshman catcher Amber Freeman said.

The home run sparked a four-run third inning, which carried the team to a 10­–0 win over Western Michigan.

In that inning both Freeman and senior outfielder Annie Lockwood hit home runs to deep centerfield.

After that inning, the Sun Devils looked a bit more comfortable, especially the three freshmen that started, including Freeman, third baseman Haley Steele and centerfielder Elizabeth Caporuscio.

All contributed to make their first night as Sun Devils a positive one.

“It’s always good to win,” Myers said. “We have a relatively young club. Those freshmen have to learn about themselves and what it’s like to be at Arizona State, to play in front of a thousand people every night. So I’m not disappointed at all.”

Caporuscio had the best night of the three, with a team-leading three RBI in her first game as a Sun Devil. She also had a double in the third inning right before Lockwood homered.

Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu

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Junior Micaela Pickens surveys the court in a game against Stanford on Feb. 2. Pickens finished with five points and a team-leading four assists in ASU’s 50–46 loss to Utah. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)

When the two best defensive teams in the Pac-12 compete, there is not going to be a lot of scoring.

Strong defense and struggling offense was the story for both teams when the ASU women’s basketball team played Utah on Thursday. The Utes (11-12, 4-8 Pac-12) were able to scrape together a close defensive win 50–46 over the Sun Devils (15-8, 6-6 Pac-12).

“Hats off to them. They did a great job,” coach Joseph Anders said. “It was a hard-fought game at our place, and it was another hard-fought game here today. They were able to come out on the plus end.”

From the start of the game, it seemed there were lids on the hoops.

Tenacious defense from both teams caused the weak offensive performances. In the first half, neither team got clean looks at the basket.

The Sun Devils only hit four of their 28 shots in the first half, shooting 16.7 percent from the field.

Utah was not much better, shooting 27.8 percent.

The Utes were successful from behind the 3-point line. They made three big shots to help them to a 20-15 lead at the end of the first half.

Early in the first half, the Utes could not hold on to the ball. Utah coughed up nine turnovers in the first half.

ASU was not able to change those turnovers into points as the Sun Devils only managed to create four points off of Utah’s turnovers.

Right before the end of the first half, junior guard Michaela Pickens and senior forward Kimberly Brandon made two baskets to jump-start the ASU offense.

The small spark appeared to carry over to the second half.

The Sun Devils’ shooting improved in the second half. ASU finished the night shooting 30 percent.

Anders said the team made some adjustments to open up the offense and Utah answered back.

“It was a lot better,” Anders said. “But every time we would get a little bit of momentum, they would come down and counter that with an offensive rebound or a foul, and that just strips the momentum out of the play.”

Junior guard Deja Mann stepped up in the second half for the Sun Devils. She led the team with 12 points and kept the team in the game.

The second half featured an exciting back-and-forth match. The score was tied four times and there were seven lead changes.

The poor shooting in the first half made it difficult to come back in the second.

“That first half for us was a disappointment because we know that we are better than 15 points, and of course, (that) set the tone for a very tough second 20 minutes where we were able to battle,” Anders said.

Late in the game, the Sun Devils were down 48–46 and had the ball with a chance to tie.

Mann put up a jumper that bounced off the iron, but Utah senior guard Janita Badon secured the rebound.

Badon was immediately fouled and iced the game with two clutch free throws.

Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu

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Jordan Bachynski looks to the sideline in a game against Utah on Thursday. Bachynski recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)

It took nearly the entire 40 minutes for the ASU men’s basketball team to pull out a win, despite the discrepancy in play.

Junior wing Carrick Felix sunk two free throws with 11.7 seconds left to seal the win over Utah on Thursday, 56–52. Felix finished with a game-high 15 points and added eight rebounds.

The Sun Devils (8-16, 4-8 Pac-12) shot 47.5 percent from the floor and 11 of their 19 field goals came from assists.

Turnovers hampered ASU’s play, as has been the case the majority of the season. The team committed 20 turnovers.

The Utes (5-19, 2-10 Pac-12) scored just 10 points off the mistakes.

“It continues to be nothing short of amazing at times,“ coach Herb Sendek said about the consistently high number of turnovers.

The Sun Devils did clamp down on defense, forcing the Utes to shoot just 30.4 percent. Only junior guard Chris Hines reached double figures for Utah. He had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

ASU outrebounded Utah 40-22 on the glass.

“When we made defensive stops, that’s when we gained momentum,” sophomore forward Jordan Bachynski said. “That’s when we gained energy.”

Even with Dayglow Night at Wells Fargo Arena, Bachynski continued to stand out for the Sun Devils. The neon green and hot pink hats given away in the student section couldn’t outshine his game.

Bachynski picked up his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He was also very aggressive on the defensive end with four blocks.

His string of impressive performances began at Utah almost three weeks ago.  In the past seven games, Bachynski has averaged 11 points and seven rebounds. He’s shooting 71 percent in that span.

“He’s definitely being a beast right now,” Felix said. “He’s going to have to continue that for us.”

The Sun Devils welcomed the return of junior guard Trent Lockett, who missed the past six games due to a sprained right ankle. Coach Herb Sendek did not know what to expect from Lockett, but the guard managed to log 36 minutes. Lockett had 12 points and six rebounds.

“He definitely brought a lot of energy and another voice on the court is always good,” Felix said. “He came out there and gave 100 percent and just encouraged us.”

ASU has now won its last two home games. It will try to make it three-straight home wins Saturday against Colorado.

It will be a tougher task defeating the Buffaloes, though. They blew out the Sun Devils in their first matchup, 69–54 in Boulder, Colo.

Colorado had four players in double figures in its victory over the Sun Devils. Sophomore forward André Roberson had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a jaw-dropping dunk over Bachynski.

Lockett thinks Colorado will have a similar game plan Saturday as Utah did Thursday.

“They’re going to try and get up in us, bring energy and be physical on the glass,” Lockett said. “They have a little bit better talent on their team as far as guard play, and their big men can finish well around the hoop. We’ll just have to step it up a notch.”

Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Arizona and 620 AM.

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The ASU baseball team rallies together before a game against New Mexico on Feb. 20, 2011. The Sun Devils' goal is to be the No. 1 team in the country although they cannot go to the postseason. (Photo by Lisa Bartoli)

May 27 at Hi-Corbett Field in Tucson against UA is a date the ASU baseball team is all too familiar with at the onset of its 2012 season.

In any other year, May 27 would only be the No. 17 Sun Devils’ regular season finale, as they prepare for another College World Series run. This year, it will be the team’s final game of 2012.

Due to NCAA sanctions stemming from a period of infractions under former ASU coach Pat Murphy, the Sun Devils are ineligible for the postseason.

It’s a fact the team acknowledges, but it doesn’t mean the Sun Devils are resigning their entire season because they know when their final game is. In their minds, there is still plenty to play for.

“We have a chip on our shoulder and we have nothing to lose,” sophomore pitcher Trevor Williams said. “If we come out with the No. 1 ranking, the whole college world will say, ‘Why isn’t the No. 1 team in Omaha now?’ That bulldog mentality of going after every team like it’s our last game, that’s what sparks our flame.”

The Sun Devils won four straight on-field conference titles from 2007-10 before falling a game shy of winning the Pac-10 title last year. The NCAA stripped ASU of one of those titles for its violations.

Without hope of reaching the school’s 23rd CWS and capturing its first national championship since 1981, ASU’s sights are set on winning the conference crown.

“That’s our College World Series this season,” junior shortstop Deven Marrero said. “That’s what we’re playing for and that’s on everybody’s minds. It stinks, but we’re still playing. They didn’t take that away from us.”

For the team’s juniors and seniors, 2012 will also be important, as they are eligible for the MLB Draft.

Meanwhile, the underclassmen want to use this season as a launching point for next year, when the postseason ban is lifted.

“It’s all about the mindset,” Williams said. “The guys before us had the mindset of ‘We go to Omaha’ not, ‘If we go to Omaha.’ We want to breed our guys like that so we’re prepared.”

For most programs, scholarship, recruiting and postseason sanctions — like the ones put on ASU — would take years to recover from.

However, with its rich tradition and its list of 99 former Sun Devils reaching the major leagues, ASU baseball hasn’t lost its footing.

“It’s an easy sell to sell young men to play at Arizona State,” coach Tim Esmay said. “That’s the beauty of the Sun Devil way, and it’s continuing. The quality of baseball player that has played in this program sells itself. I just felt like we weren’t going to go backwards. The history of the place is astounding.”

Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu

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Ryan Milus sprints in the Baldy Castillo Invite on Mar. 19, 2011. The Sun Devils track and field team will split up and compete in three tournaments this weekend. (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hawkes)

This weekend marks the first time this year the ASU indoor track and field team will split and travel to more than one location. The Sun Devils will send athletes to the Husky Invitational, the Boise Team Challenge and the Don Kirby Invitational.

Coach Greg Kraft doesn’t think the separation will affect his team, though.

“I think everybody understands what they have to get done, so we always just try to focus on what we control,” Kraft said.

Kraft will send the distance runners to Seattle for the Husky Invitational. This is the first true test for the distance team, and Kraft is excited to see how they compete.

“We are looking to get some guys qualified in the 3000-meters and 5000-meters, so that will be very interesting,” Kraft said. “Also, we are looking to see what we can get out of Darius Terry and Shelby Houlihan in the mile because after this, they will only have one more opportunity.”

Redshirt sophomore Nick Happe, who has a top 25 time for the 3000-meter event, is looking to improve upon his solid early season.

“Pretty much, I’m looking to go up to Seattle and hit a national qualifying time or, at the very least, (a personal record),” Happe said. “Hopefully I’ll use that momentum to go into the conference meet and then the national meet.”

Happe is extremely confident in his own abilities as well as those of his team.

“I feel like this year, we have a good group of guys who run 100 miles a week, which previously wasn’t being done quite as much,” Kraft said. “We’ve been doing it for about a year now, and it’s starting to pay off.”

The Sun Devils will only send the throwers to the Boise Team Challenge. Kraft is looking to get his stars redshirt junior Jordan Clarke and redshirt sophomore Anna Jelmini who are also looking for more experience before the national championships.

“We are looking for Jordan and Anna to become more comfortable in those circles,” Kraft said. “Obviously we would like to see Anna move up the descending order list.”

The Sun Devils will send the rest of their team to the Don Kirby Invitational. The goal for the weekend is simple.

“We would like to get people up on the descending order list and (get) people qualified,” Kraft said.

Junior Christabel Nettey is coming off an injury in the fall and is finally returning to her All-American form. Kraft realizes her importance not only to this meet, but also for the rest of the season.

“On the women’s side, we need Christabel to come back from injury and progress and get deeper on the list, and I think she will,” Kraft said.

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This will be Connelly’s third stint in the Pac-12 as he previously coached with UCLA and Washington State.

The State Press sat down with Connelly to discuss his move to Tempe and his thoughts on next year’s offensive line.

The State Press: You used to play football, but what do you like about coaching? What’s different from this side of things?

Bob Connelly: Going into the coaching profession is the next best thing to playing. Your playing days are going to be numbered, and the day that happened, I had the opportunity to visit with the head football coach that I played for in college, Eddie Vowell.

I played at East Texas State out of high school. He came and grabbed me, thought I would be a good football coach and asked if I would come out and help him. So, I graduated with my bachelor’s then went right into coaching with him. I went right from playing to being a graduate assistant at East Texas State, and the rest is history.

I’m very interested in touching the lives of the high school athletes, bringing them in and watching them develop over the four or five years and growing into young men and making proud fathers, proud husbands and winners in life.

SP: You used to be a player. Do you feel that gives you any sort of advantage or that it helps you relate to the kids versus someone that’s just been on the sidelines their whole career?

BC: Yeah, I think it does. The kids, once they learn that you have played, especially being a former offensive lineman coaching the offensive line, they have a little more respect for you as a coach when they know you’ve been in the trenches and have done the same things you’re asking them to do.

It gives you credibility more than anything and obviously it helps you as a coach.

SP: Is there any specific aspect where you feel that being a former player is a really big asset to you in your relationships or is it just everything as a whole?

BC: Personally, I’m a people person and my approach in coaching is family-based. It’s about having a good relationship and developing the trust and the belief system in those guys to let them know that this guy genuinely cares for me and has my best interest in his heart. That’s who I am.

I tell the guys, from the time I’m in the living room in their homes to the time they get here, my approach as their coach is their success is my success and their failure is my failure. We’re not here to fail. That’s the approach I take as the position coach, as I’m a prideful person.

As I said earlier, I’m a competitive person. I want to win at everything we do and that’s about winning at life, being accountable on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The easy, fun part comes on Saturday.

We have a lot expected of us. We’re not the average student. When you are a Division I college athlete, you have aspirations to be All-Conference and All-American and win Pac-12 championships and to compete in the classroom and have a great deal of success academically.

You can’t do that if you’re average. I’m not here to allow them to be average. I’m here to push them in every aspect of their lives and my goal and my objective is for them to be as successful as they possibly can be. Under my watch, I’m going to demand that they’re doing everything we ask of them — and then some.

SP: Why ASU? What enticed you to this job and what ultimately brought you to Tempe?

BC: From having previously coached in the Pac-10, now the Pac-12, two times at Washington State and UCLA, I’ve always felt like this is a job you should be able to be very, very successful at. I think the location is exceptional. I think they have great facilities. The unique thing about the area, or the geographic location being in the state of Arizona, being in a 4.5 million populated area and only having one major school to draw from, I think is a unique situation … I’ve always felt like you should be able to win at Arizona State, and when coach Graham called and offered me the opportunity to come on, I was fired up. I was ecstatic.

SP: In 2005, you were a rivals.com top 25 recruiter. What do you think makes a good recruiter? What do you try to do to build relationships and get people to commit to you?

BC: I think the number one thing in recruiting is relationships. The first thing I’m going to do as a recruiter is find out who has the most influence on that student athlete. In the society that we grow up in today, obviously there is a wide variety of socioeconomic families that we’re dealing with.

The most important thing you have to find out is, is it the high school coach, is it the position coach, is it a principal, assistant principal, a mother, a father, an auntie, an uncle or a mentor?

Once you identify the most influential person in their lives, I think it’s developing the trust and that relationship not only with the student athlete, but with that person who will help them with their decision making process when that time comes … It’s about developing the trust and providing the stability in both the athlete and the family so that they can feel very comfortable and confident knowing that we have a model of success that they can come to at Arizona State, and they know that their child or their brother or their son is going to be taken care of academically and athletically.

SP: In his signing day press conference, Graham used the word “excited” about five million times. For the offensive line, the biggest coup may have been Evan Goodman, but what are your thoughts on him and the signing class as a whole?

BC: I think we hit our needs. Obviously it’s tough to fill the seven that we lost, and obviously we fell a little short numbers-wise, but the quality of kids that we were able to get, I feel very good about. Evan Goodman (is a) top-50 recruit, and all the accolades that he’s been able to acquire in his high school career I hope will carry over when he gets here. I feel very good about all three (Stephon McCray and William McGehee) of those guys.

Who can play sooner? Time will tell. All the guys will be given the same opportunity when they get here to show what they can do. I don’t ever talk to recruits about redshirting. I want those guys to work their tails off mentally and physically to come in the best shape they’ve ever been in. I want them to mentally and physically prepare like they’re going to start. The redshirting takes care of itself. If they’re good enough to play next year and help us win, they’ll play. If they aren’t, then we’re going to know that and they won’t play. It’s my job to put the five most dependable guys on the field.

SP: You lost Garth Gerhart, center and captain of this team, but what are your thoughts on the people you do have coming back?

BC: I’ve had an opportunity to meet the guys. I think they’re very eager to get into the new system. They seem like they’re embracing the new staff, the new policies (and) the new rules. I haven’t had any issues with the guys. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them. I’ve talked to them more on phone than in person (because of recruiting).

I feel like they’re all motivated. They’re all excited. With change brings opportunity. I think there are some guys that haven’t played a lot in recent years and the change has rekindled some energy and motivation in them … I think our No. 1 issue going into this spring camp is going to be solidifying the center position.

Kody Koebensky is the guy that’s played there the most. He’s a guy that’s going to have to come in and really develop. He has some fundamental issues as a center (that) he needs to work on. The center-quarterback exchange out of the gun hasn’t been one of his better things.

We’re going to make a swap from defensive line to offensive line. Mo Latu is going to move over. He was a highly rated center coming out of high school. Brought him here last year and he’s been on the defensive side of the ball, but he’s going to be vying for the center spot. Then we have Devin Goodman, Evan’s brother, so we have those three guys.

SP: Graham and Norvell both want to run this “high-octane,” fast-paced offense. How much different is it playing offensive line in a no-huddle, rather than in a traditional pro set? How much more athletic and better-conditioned do you need to be?

BC: I think the biggest difference is going to be the pace of the game. It falls into my philosophy anyways. Personally, I’m not a “bigger is better” coach. I like my guys to be leaner, more athletic. I like guys that can move, protect the passer, pull on power, counter schemes, get out there on perimeter run plays and cover up safeties and linebackers.

I’m more of an athletic philosophy as an offensive line coach mindset as opposed to a big, earth-moving, slower-footed, bigger body mass guy.

I’ve never been part of a true no-huddle scheme. We’ve done some tempo things in offenses that I’ve been a part of and it’s really not been a big, big thing. You’re going to get what you emphasize. When we go out and develop them and show them what the expectations are going to be, (they will see) what it’s going to take in a 60-minute game. Our goal is to get 80-plus snaps a game, if that’s the case with the tempo of what you’re doing. Obviously, you’re going to have to be a well-conditioned athlete.

It’s new to me (and) it’s new to them to an extent, but I don’t see it being a big problem because I’m not going to allow our guys to be overweight and not in shape. I think the guys that we have will be capable of doing what we ask them to do.

Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu

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Thursday morning, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wrote on his official Twitter account about the league-wide surprise player of the week, Jeremy Lin.

“We should have kept @jlin7,” he tweeted. “Did not know he was this good. Anyone who says they knew misleading U.”

He continued to praise the New York Knicks’ rising star.

“Finally, really happy for @jlin7,” Morey wrote. “Very hard working, nice, & humble. He has a great, great future.”

Morey is one of the most active Twitter users among NBA front office executives.

He fielded an array of questions from fans, with topics ranging from the status of first round draft pick Marcus Morris to the difference between the team’s slow start and current level of production.

In an age where seemingly anything is available with the click of a mouse, swipe of a finger or touch of a trackpad, it’s refreshing to see high-level executives connecting with fans in a personal way.

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