On a Tuesday, Caylyn Carlson saw a doctor and got an epidural to try to stop the pain of a nagging back injury that had plagued her since early in the fall.
The senior left fielder missed the next two days of practice for the then-No. 9 ranked ASU softball team, resting in hopes of recovering enough to compete against then-No. 5 UCLA the coming weekend.
On Thursday, the team traveled to Westwood, Calif., to meet the Bruins and prove that they were better than they appeared after losing two games to UA the previous weekend.
Carlson didn’t get back on the field until pregame warm-ups Friday, making it nearly a week since she had practiced after being pulled in the fifth inning during the series opener with UA.
Carlson played two innings in Game 1 against UCLA, grounding out in her only at bat.
But it was her performance on Saturday that mattered.
Despite playing at what she called about 70 percent, Carlson hit a decisive two-run home run that proved key to the Sun Devils taking their second straight game from UCLA en route to a series sweep.
The display of toughness was probably the best example of the team’s ability to play at a high level despite injury, but was ultimately just one display of the team’s durability that extends from the role players to the stars.
“We’re very tough,” senior infielder Ashley Muenz said. “We push through almost everything. Unless a doctor stops us, we’re pushing through it.”
The Sun Devils have faced a slew of injuries this season as they work toward their fifth consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance, and it all started during the fall season.
Muenz suffered a mysterious back injury the caused her to miss the entire fall season. Carlson’s back injury limited her through the fall and early regular season, as she was used strictly as a pinch hitter until the third week of the season.
With those exceptions, the team was mostly healthy and got off to a red-hot start, going 31-4 before Pac-10 play. Through that stretch, junior first baseman Mandy Urfer sat out two weeks with a stress fracture in her foot. After losing a ball in the sun during practice, Muenz suffered a concussion when the ball hit her face. She was out just one weekend.
“It’s really tough to come back and work very, very hard to get where you were before, but you just get through it,” Muenz said. ASU’s deep bench helped get the Sun Devils to a good place before conference play began, but it was then that the team started aching even more and had to toughen up.
“It’s a mindset,” ASU coach Clint Myers said. “You do what you have to do in order to get the job done.” The return of Carlson’s back injury came at a time when she was hitting .400 with 30 RBI and seven home runs. Carlson said going down against rival UA made the injury even tougher.
In the series opener with UCLA, standout sophomore shortstop Katelyn Boyd was hit by a pitch and learned later that she had two broken fingers in her non-throwing hand. She didn’t miss an inning and hasn’t since.
In what is almost certainly the nation’s most competitive conference, the Sun Devils understand the importance of playing through an injury. First-year team trainer Angie Hunter said on a weekly basis, at least three or four players are playing at less than 100 percent. It is a regular occurrence for Hunter to have a player tell her they are ready to play before they should.
“We had it come up earlier this season where a girl wanted to play, but it was doctor’s orders that she needed to sit for at least a week with zero activity,” Hunter said. “For these girls, softball is a part of their life, and when you take that away, it’s difficult for them.”
While the players frequently play through pain and injury, Hunter and the team’s coaching staff never allow anyone to play if there is a risk of further injury.
“There are times when we need these girls on the field to win,” Hunter said. “We learn to compromise. We do what’s best for these girls.”
Along with knowing their bodies’ physical limits, the players are aware of the effect their individual play has on the team as a whole. Muenz and Carlson both said that if their play reaches a level where it isn’t beneficial to the team for them to play, they take themselves out.
“Being tough is very, very important, but you need to be smart about it,” Muenz said. “At a certain point, if you can’t go out there 100 percent, you’re not helping the team and someone else can step up.”
With all the injuries the Sun Devils have faced, it would not have been surprising to see them slip. But they have fought through it, never dropping below No. 11 in the national rankings and building their reputation as a tough team.
“They know what it’s going to take,” Myers said. “You make a commitment and you’re willing to pay a price. Sometimes pain and agony go along with that price.”
Myers said he has been impressed with his team’s toughness, though he feels it’s unfortunate that injuries forced some of the players to toughen up.
The fifth-year head coach said every season brings injuries like this season has, but he’s been especially impressed with Carlson’s toughness for four seasons and Boyd’s willingness to adapt her game to her injury. The broken fingers prevent Boyd from holding the bat normally and she has had to shift her hitting style somewhat from power hitting to slap hitting.
“She’s got two broken fingers and she’s out there battling her tail off,” Myers said. “That’s just the type of player she is.” With four weeks left in the regular season and three top-25 teams on the schedule, the Sun Devils know more than ever that the team’s leaders have to be on the field. Myers said the toughness his players have displayed all season, whether an injury was big or small, is one of the qualities he values most.
“That’s the characteristic of a true champion — someone who is willing to endure personal pain to help the cause.”
Reach the reporter at tyler.lockman@asu.edu
