For the past five years, the Pac-10 conference has dominated the national softball scene.
Starting in 2006 with Arizona’s victory over Northwestern in the Women’s College World Series, five consecutive NCAA National Championships have been won by a Pac-10 team.
With seven teams garnering preseason top-25 rankings, the Pac-10 is set to be one of softball’s elite conferences yet again in 2011.
The ASU softball team enters the new season projected to finish in the top half of the conference, and rightfully so. The Sun Devils return with an experienced roster that has spectators and other teams taking notice.
In the Pac-10 coaches preseason poll, ASU was tabbed third behind only UCLA and UA. On the national level, ASU was picked No. 13 in the USA Today/NFCA Division 1 poll and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.
In the Pac-10 coaches poll, UCLA and UA tied for first place with each team receiving 46 points and four first place votes. After ASU, California and Washington were knotted at fourth place, and rounding out the poll were Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State, who were voted Nos. 6, 7 and 8, respectively.
Even with the elite competition, the Sun Devils believe their experienced roster will benefit them when they compete among the nation’s best.
“Definitely, because both juniors and seniors, we’ve been to the World Series,” senior infielder Michelle Nulliner said. “All the seniors, we’ve won a National Championship so we know what it takes to get there, we know what it feels like so being our last year we really want to get out there and be on top again.”
In order for ASU to reach the top of not only the Pac-10, but also the nation, it will have to compete well against 2010 National Champion UCLA, who is widely expected to be a strong team again this season.
Senior pitcher Donna Kerr returns for the Bruins as the leader of the pitching staff. Kerr posted an 18-7 record last season along with 185 strikeouts and limited her opponents to a .192 batting average.
UCLA senior infielder and first team NFCA All-American GiOnna DiSalvatore looks to build upon her success this season. DiSalvatore was a force in the batters’ box in 2010 with a red hot .391 average, 81 hits and 19 doubles.
Atop the Pac-10 and national polls with UCLA is 2010 runner-up UA. Led by coach Mike Candrea, the Wildcats are searching for their ninth national championship, and first since 2007.
UA will once again rely on talented sophomore pitcher Kenzie Fowler, who returns after an impressive freshman season in the circle. Fowler notched a 38-9 record with a 1.53 ERA in her 52 appearances last year, and her efforts earned her first team NFCA All-American honors.
The Sun Devils and Wildcats will square off in a three game series beginning April 21 at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson.
Competing against UA is difficult enough, but the challenging road environment makes it even tougher to play the Wildcats in Tucson.
“Their fans are pretty brutal,” Nulliner said. “They’ve got stands I think in left field. I’ve never played in the outfield or been out there, but I’ve heard from some of our girls that their fans out there are pretty brutal. It’s a very hostile environment with their fans.”
Of course, the talent in the Pac-10 does not stop there.
Both Cal and Washington could be sleeper teams in the conference. Last year’s Pac-10 champion, the Huskies, embark on the new season without former star pitcher Danielle Lawrie, who graduated last year.
Cal, meanwhile, boasts a roster mixed with young and experienced players. Among them is senior utility player Valerie Arioto, who is not only a capable pitcher, but also a threat at the plate.
Arioto registered a 21-9 record last year with a 1.43 ERA, and in the batter’s box she belted 19 homers and led the conference with 81 walks.
Then there is UO, who is coming off a highly successful season in which the Ducks earned a 36-21 record and a Super Regional appearance.
The entire Ducks pitching staff returns this season, including sophomore Jessica Moore. As a freshman in 2010, Moore’s 238 strikeouts made her UO’s single season strikeout record holder.
Stanford was the final team ranked in the preseason polls at No. 20. The Cardinal are led by junior infielder Ashley Hansen, who was an All Pac-10 Conference first team selection as well as All-West Region second team a year ago.
Stanford finished 2010 with a strong 37-19 record, but struggled in the Pac-10 at 8-13.
Near the bottom of the Pac-10 is OSU, who is the only team in the conference to not receive a preseason national ranking. The Beavers finished the 2010 season with a record of 24-31.
Teams such as UO, OSU and Stanford are bound to improve, just as UCLA and UA are going to be as good as advertised.
As the conference only gets tougher, the Sun Devils are confident that they are prepared for another grueling season.
“I feel like we’ve never worked this hard before,” senior catcher Kaylyn Castillo said. “We’ve really motivated each other to push ourselves not only in our same positions, but in workouts and running. We’ve really been there for each other.”
While there are clear frontrunners in the conference, ASU coach Clint Myers believes that several teams could surprise this season.
“Any of them,” Myers said. “I say that because the fact that you look at what Oregon was able to do with a first year coach. Oregon State is going to be much better. Cal has always been in the middle of the Pac. All of our teams go to the postseason, and in postseason you never know what is going to happen.”
Reach the reporter at greagory.dillard@asu.edu
