The ASU softball team learned a valuable lesson last weekend: Finish what you start.
During the Fiesta Bowl Tournament a week ago, the Sun Devils enjoyed strong showings Friday and Saturday before dropping a pair of games to opponents they were favored to beat on Sunday.
This weekend, ASU hosted a tournament for the second weekend in a row, but they played their best ball in the end this time. The Sun Devils won the four-team Louisville Slugger Tournament, going 5-0 in three days.
"I did not want to get into a habit of a Sunday slump," head coach Linda Wells said. "That's one thing I mentioned in the locker room. I just felt strongly coming off of last weekend that we needed to remember what that was like and we for sure didn't want to repeat it."
On Sunday, the Sun Devils' bats boomed the loudest they have all season during an 8-0 win over Iowa and a 12-2 win over Utah State.
The initial game was scoreless until the fourth inning when Brun bashed a homerun past the flagpole in left field to give ASU a 1-0 lead. Then in the fifth, the Sun Devils offense exploded as they scored seven runs in the inning.
The scoring in the inning began with a suicide squeeze by junior pinch runner Katie Cobos after a bunt by freshman designated player Kim Zadrozny.
After a barrage of Sun Devil hits, junior third baseman Phelan Wright stepped into the batter's box with the bases loaded and blasted a grand slam homerun over the center field fence.
"[The pitch] was fat," Wright said. "It was in the middle, but kind of outside too. I have a hard time hitting outside pitches so I was happy about that. I was like 'just get a base hit' because I hadn't gotten a hit off [Iowa's pitcher]."
Lost in the offensive statistics was the fact that freshman pitcher Desiree Serrano had thrown a no-hitter in the game, which was called after five innings. Serrano's no-hitter was the first of her young career despite suffering from a cold. It was the first no-hitter by a Sun Devil since Kirsten Voak accomplished the feat on Feb. 9, 2001.
"It was exciting," Serrano said. "I was a little nervous towards the end...but I knew I was on so I just had to do what I was doing the previous innings. To throw a no-hitter means a lot to me being a freshman. I've worked for it."
Later that afternoon, the offense stepped it up another notch as freshman pitcher Ashley Werschky and junior right fielder Keri Pulcifer each hit two home runs apiece.
The Sun Devils rewarded one another with a Valentine on Friday night in the form of a 4-1 victory over Illinois State.
Senior shortstop Kara Brun belted a two-run double in the fifth to put the game away. The double was Brun's 40th of her career, setting a new school record. Serrano went the distance on the mound, giving up just five hits while striking out 10.
On Saturday the Sun Devils defeated Iowa 5-1 and Illinois State for the second day in a row, 3-1.
In the first game, the Hawkeyes began the scoring in the second inning. ASU answered when senior catcher Adrian Garcia hit a two-run homer into deep center field in the fourth. ASU then scored three runs in the fifth.
Against Illinois State, Werschky made her debut on the mound as she started the game, allowing four hits in four innings pitched. ASU head coach Linda Wells had kept Werschky off the mound due to a knee injury. Serrano pitched the last three innings to earn the win.
ASU scored one run in the fourth and two in the sixth to gain the victory. Werschky had two RBI while batting in the game.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.