Arizona State Sun Devils softball

The Arizona State Sun Devils softball team represents Arizona State University in NCAA Division I College softball. The team competes in the Pac-12 Conference, and plays its home games at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Clint Myers, former head coach of the Sun Devils, guided the team to the Women's College World Series in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The 2008 Sun Devils team won the National Championship for the third time in school history and first in 25 years.[3]

Arizona State Sun Devils
Founded1967
UniversityArizona State University
Athletic directorRay Anderson
Head coachTrisha Ford (3rd season)
ConferencePac-12
LocationTempe, AZ
Home stadiumAlberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium (Capacity: 1,535)
NicknameSun Devils
ColorsMaroon and Gold[1]
         
NCAA Tournament champions
2008, 2011
AIAW Tournament champions
1972, 1973
NCAA WCWS appearances
1982, 1987, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018
AIAW WCWS appearances
1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979[2]
NCAA Tournament appearances
1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference championships
2008, 2011

History

1960s and 1970s

The Sun Devil softball team began in 1967. By the 1970s, the team had been established under head coach Mary Littlewood as a power. Some of the best players in the country became Sun Devils in the early 1970s. Among them were: Paula Miller; Marilyn Rau; Ginger Kurtz and Judy Hoke. All of these women at one time during their playing careers were selected as Amateur Softball Association All-Americans.[4] The 1972 and 1973 teams won the Women's College World Series, which at the time was not organized by the NCAA but by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and the Division for Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS). The softball team continued to grow throughout the 1970s. They joined the Intermountain Conference in 1975. From 1976 to 1979, the Sun Devils made the AIAW Women's College World Series every year including a fourth-place finish in 1976 and 1977 and two ninth-place finishes in 1978 and 1979. The Sun Devils also finished first in the Intermountain Conference in 1977 and 1978 for the school's first conference championships.[5]

1980s and 1990s

Mary Littlewood continued to guide the Arizona State softball team throughout the 1980s. Arizona State joined the Western Collegiate Athletic Association in 1980 and won the conference in 1980. In 1982, the NCAA officially began to sponsor softball. The 1982 Sun Devil softball team went to the NCAA Women's College World Series in its first year organized by the NCAA. They finished fourth that year. From 1984 to 1987, ASU made four straight trips to NCAA Regionals and returned to the Women's College World Series in 1987 where they finished 7th. In 1986, the Pac-10 Conference began softball play with Arizona State as one of its members. They finished second in the conference in their first two seasons with the new conference. Mary Littlewood retired in 1989 after a long, successful run of coaching. She finished with 493 wins, won three conference championships, and made 13 trips to the postseason, nine of which were Women's College World Series appearances.

Linda Wells, who came to Arizona State from Minnesota, was chosen to replace Littlewood for the 1990 season. In her first two seasons with the Sun Devils, the team won 43 both years and made NCAA Regionals both years also. The 1991 team went 15-5 in the competitive Pac-10 conference, which was good enough for a second-place finish. However, in the years following the 1991 season, the Sun Devils softball team began to slide slightly. The made a Regional in 1993, but failed to do so again until 1997. The program began to rebound in 1999 when they finished 7th at the Women's College World Series and finished the season with a 41-28 record.

2000s

Despite struggling to finish above .500 in a very competitive Pac-12 conference, Arizona State continued to receive bids to the NCAA Tournament from 2000 to 2003, including an appearance in the Women's College World Series in 2002, again barely missing out on a chance to play for the national championship. Following a loss to Hofstra in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Wells announced her retirement. She finished her career with the Sun Devils with 563 wins, surpassing Mary Littlewood for the most wins in school history, and two Women's College World Series appearances.[6]

Clint Myers, who came from the junior college ranks, was hired to replace Linda Wells as head coach and has elevated the program to new level. His first season in 2006 saw the Sun Devils win a then school record 53 games and make a trip to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series. The Sun Devils have made the Women's College World Series in five of his first six seasons. Myers has also guided the Sun Devil program to its first ever Pac-10 Conference championship in 2008. The Sun Devils finished off the 2000s making four straight appearances in the Women's College World Series. The 2008 softball team captured the first ever NCAA Championship for softball for the school.[7]

2008 National Championship

The 2008 Sun Devil softball team finished the season with a school record 66 wins with only 5 losses. They also earned a school record 18 wins in the Pac-10 on their way to the conference championship. They earned a number six national seed to begin the NCAA tournament and hosted both the Regional and Super Regionals. The team shut out Stony Brook and Hawaii twice to earn a spot in Super Regionals. They played the 11-seeded Northwestern Wildcats in the Tempe Super Regional where they won the first two games of the series 3-1 and 9-0. In the first game of the 2008 Women's College World Series, Arizona State defeated Alabama, who was the tournament's three seed, 3-1. The Sun Devils had to score three runs in the 7th inning to beat the Crimson Tide. They then faced the UCLA Bruins, who they defeated 4-0 for a spot in the National Semifinals where they had to face Alabama again. The Sun Devils again defeated Alabama 3-1 for a spot in the National Championship three game series against the Texas A&M Aggies. The first game saw the Sun Devils defeat the Aggies 3-0. In game two, the Arizona State clinched the school's first national championship by beating the Aggies 11-0, which was one of the largest defeats in a championship game in the history of the Women's College World Series.[8]

2010s

Arizona State softball continues to be ranked among the best in the country. In 2010, the Sun Devils won 44 games and lost to the Florida Gators in the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional, which was the first time in the Clint Myers era the Sun Devils did not make the Women's College World Series. In 2011, the Sun Devils won their second Pac-10 championship and earned the number one seed in the NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils again earned a spot in the 2011 Women's College World Series by winning the Tempe Super Regional against Texas A&M.[9] The Sun Devils subsequently swept the WCWS and defeated the Florida Gators in two games for the 2011 NCAA national championship. The championship marked the 400th national championship in Pac-10 conference history and at the time Arizona state would become only the fourth softball program to win multiple NCAA titles joining Arizona, Texas A&M, and UCLA.[10]

Head coaches

Name Years Seasons Won Lost Tie Pct.
No Coach 19681969 2 0 0 0 .000
Mary Littlewood 1967/1970 1989 21 509 223 1 .695
Linda Wells 19902005 16 561 415 0 .575
Clint Myers 20062013 8 427 102 0 .807
Craig Nicholson 20142015 2 82 34 1 .705
Trisha Ford 2017present 1 31 22 0 .585
All-Time 50 1,642 822 2 .666

Year-by-year results

Season Coach Record Notes
OverallConference
Independent
1967 Mary Littlewood 5-1
1968 No Records
1969 No Records
1970 Mary Littlewood 10-2
1971 Mary Littlewood 12-3 DGWS Women's College World Series
1972 Mary Littlewood 13-2 DGWS Women's College World Series Champions
1973 Mary Littlewood 13-2 AIAW Women's College World Series Champions
1974 Mary Littlewood 8-4
Intermountain Conference
1975 Mary Littlewood 15-3 9-2 Regional
1976 Mary Littlewood 22-7 13-4 AIAW Women's College World Series
1977 Mary Littlewood 26-7 13-1 AIAW Women's College World Series
1978 Mary Littlewood 29-5 13-3 AIAW Women's College World Series
1979 Mary Littlewood 28-7 10-0 AIAW Women's College World Series
Western Collegiate Athletic Association
1980 Mary Littlewood 33-11 15-3 Regional
1981 Mary Littlewood 35-17 6-6 Regional
1982 Mary Littlewood 34-18 11-9 NCAA Women's College World Series
1983 Mary Littlewood 22-19-1 9-12-1
1984 Mary Littlewood 33-15 6-4 NCAA Regional
1985 Mary Littlewood 38-17 6-6 NCAA Regional
Pac-12 Conference
1986 Mary Littlewood 32-17 7-4 NCAA Regional
1987 Mary Littlewood 41-15 6-4 Women's College World Series
1988 Mary Littlewood 26-25 8-12
1989 Mary Littlewood 34-26 7-13 NCAA Regional
1990 Linda Wells 43-32 10-10 NCAA Regional
1991 Linda Wells 43-18 15-5 NCAA Regional
1992 Linda Wells 27-21 7-9
1993 Linda Wells 34-26 13-11 NCAA Regional
1994 Linda Wells 22-41 7-17
1995 Linda Wells 29-26 10-18
1996 Linda Wells 34-27 10-18
1997 Linda Wells 32-25 9-19 NCAA Regional
1998 Linda Wells 38-27 9-19 NCAA Regional
1999 Linda Wells 41-28 8-20 Women's College World Series
2000 Linda Wells 43-20 8-13 NCAA Regional
2001 Linda Wells 36-22 9-12 NCAA Regional
2002 Linda Wells 46-20 10-11 Women's College World Series
2003 Linda Wells 32-25 7-14 NCAA Regional
2004 Linda Wells 33-31 3-17
2005 Linda Wells 30-26 4-17 NCAA Regional
2006 Clint Myers 53-15 11-10 Women's College World Series
2007 Clint Myers 54-17 13-8 Women's College World Series
2008 Clint Myers 66-5 18-3 Pac-10 Champions, Women's College World Series Champions
2009 Clint Myers 47-19 10-11 Women's College World Series
2010 Clint Myers 44-17 10-11 NCAA Super Regional
2011 Clint Myers 60-6 17-4 Pac-10 Champions, Women's College World Series Champions
2012 Clint Myers 53-11 18-4 Women's College World Series
2013 Clint Myers 50-12 16-8 Women's College World Series
2014 Craig Nicholson 46-12-1 15-7-1 NCAA Regional
2015 Craig Nicholson 36-22 12-11 NCAA Regional
2016 Robert Wagner & Letty Olivarez 32-26 6-17 NCAA Regional
2017 Trisha Ford 31-22 9-15 NCAA Regional
2018 Trisha Ford 48-11 16-8 Women's College World Series

See also

References

  1. "ASU Logos | Arizona State University official logo". Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  2. Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  3. Mary L. Littlewood (1998). Women's Fastpitch Softball - The Path to the Gold, An Historical Look at Women's Fastpitch in the United States (first ed.). National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Columbia, Missouri. pp. 145, 208. ISBN 0-9664310-0-6.
  4. "TheSunDevils.com - Arizona State University Athletics". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. "Arizona State University Official Athletic Site - Softball". 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  6. Sun Devil Softball's Season Comes to an End with 2-1 Loss to Hofstra Archived 9 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "azcentral.com - members". www.azcentral.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  8. Sun Devils Are National Champions Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "ASU softball moves on to Women's College World Series". www.azcentral.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. "Pac-12". Pac-12. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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