**Tuesday, June 7 - **The 1972 Miami Dolphins, the Michael Jordan led Bulls, and the 2009 New York Yankees are arguably some of the most dominant sports teams in history. Well the women of Arizona State’s softball team took a shot at adding their name to that list as they closed out the 2011 women’s world series with a 7 to 2 win over the Florida Lady Gators. In fact, the Gators never looked as though they had a chance in the finals, save their 1 – 0 lead after the first inning of Game 2. That lead didn’t last long as 2 runs crossed the plate in the top of the second thanks to the bat of Katelyn Boyd. Though the Sun Devils’ second inning lead of 3 runs to 1 was nothing like their game 1 performance when the score was 10 – 0 in their favor after three innings of play, it still seemed quite commanding. Perhaps “commanding” doesn’t give ASU enough credit in describing their finals performance, or their entire season for that matter; utterly superior might be a better way to illustrate the way in which they took down nearly every team they faced in their march to a final record of 60 – 6. Dallas Escobedo, the Lady Sun Devil anchor, went through opposing lineups this year like a steak knife through a soft block of cheese; she looked as if she’d been striking out division I softball players for years, though that’s not the case at all – Dallas Escobedo is a freshman, a freshman who stands six feet one inches tall and throws a rise ball that avoids opposing bats at speeds close to 70 mph, which translates to Nolan Ryan like velocity at the MLB level. Therefore, her spot on the All-American first team seems rather fitting. The ASU pitching was stellar, no doubt, but scoring 14 runs in game 1 and seven in game 2 of the finals had more to do with the batting practice like exposition of the Sun Devil offense; this is to say that the Lady Gators were responsible for shagging balls rather than playing defense. In the game 1 onslaught ASU’s three, four, and five batters went 7 for 10 with three homeruns and many more RBIs. Annie Lockwood had a heavy bat, hitting a 2-run shot in game 1 and another solo dinger in game 2, this alongside Krista Donnenwirth who recorded two game 1 homers. The Florida outfielders became quite familiar with the warning track at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Of those outfielders, Florida had a bright spot in the play of their center fielder, Michelle Moultrie, the speedy leadoff hitter with seemingly unlimited range in center. That early 1 – 0 lead that the Gators had was credited to Moultrie and her leadoff double that eventually brought her home to score. Senior outfielder and first team All American, Kelsey Bruder, was the leader of the Florida team that could have used more of the firepower she showed late in game 1 with a huge fly ball that cleared the bleachers behind the outfield wall. Other than that, not much else happened to put any pep in the steps that walked the Florida dugout. It was simply Arizona State’s year, which could easily turn into a couple of years if Dallas Escobedo doesn’t get signed by the Yankees in the very near future. This being unlikely, the lady Sun Devils will most certainly be back next year, the year after that, and the year after that; sounds almost like the makings of a dynasty.
Arizona State’s Dallas Escobedo