Arizona State came very close to reaching College World Series glory last season.

Then came a loss to California in the semifinals. Then came an offseason where the program lost seven seniors, including the entire Sun Devils' pitching staff. Then came coach Linda Wells' approach to the new season.

AROUND THE BASES

GAME TO WATCH The 2003 Kia Klassic Tournament: No. 4 Washington, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Cal State Fullerton and Hawaii all square off in Fullerton, Calif. A preview to the CWS? Upsets are guaranteed to happen. PLAYER TO WATCH Oklahoma State pitcher/outfielder Lauren Bay: She was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, and went 5-1 last week and was named MVP at the Speedline Inv'l. The senior leads OSU (17-6) into a five-game homestand this week. WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT HOT: No 12. Stanford (21-7), which is 8-1 in its last nine games. NOT: Softball fields. It's mid-March and Ohio State (too cold) and Maryland (too much snow) had games canceled because of poor field conditions

"I kept saying over and over 'Have patience. Have patience,'" Wells said. "I don't want to say I am pleasantly surprised, because they are great players. But the (younger players) have been able to put their own shoes on and tie them, and not play in the shadows."

Arizona State's young core of players have responded to the challenge quickly becoming leaders -- a result of watching last year's stars Erica Beach and Missy Hixon -- and the No. 12 Sun Devils (21-7) are back challenging the nation's elite teams.

Arizona State returned only three seniors this season, shortstop Kara Brun, catcher Adriana Garcia and outfielder Jennifer Forner. Sophomore pitcher Desiree Serrano is powering a young group that will give Wells a strong staff for the next few seasons.

But the two keys so far this season are Brun and Serrano, who each went through their own offseason transformations and have developed into role players.

Serrano was a redshirt freshman last season, and was what Wells called "a practice player." With a staff of Beach, Kirsten Voak and Kristen Swetel, Serrano didn't see any playing time last season. But that doesn't mean she didn't gain any experience.

"How frustrating must that have been for her," Wells said. But the reality is she learned so much by sitting out, learned so much from the seniors without even throwing a pitch. (This year) she's been outstanding, and she can carry complete games."

The results so far: Serrano is 14-4 with a 1.37 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched.

Then, there's Brun. Many of last year's seniors were her teammates from junior ball and club ball. They grew up together as friends and as players. But after they graduated, she was on her own. The shortstop has responded well and has turned into a leader that Wells can rely on.

"She could have been really frustrated, or been her own person," Wells said. "Last year she didn't have to provide the talk and the spunk … but she stepped up and has the freedom to have fun while winning too."

The result for Brun: she leads the team with a .448 batting average with eight home runs, 28 RBI and 31 runs in 29 games, and earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

Right behind Brun is Garcia, who has a .379 average with eight homers and 26 RBI. Junior third baseman Phelan Wright is third on the team with a .368 average, adding eight homers and 32 RBI.

And in a season of transition, the one thing that hasn't changed is Arizona State's difficult schedule. The Sun Devils' last 21 games are against ranked opponents, all from the talent-laden Pac-10.

"Every week, it's a battle," Wells said. "But it's really a choice. You're making a pick to come here and play (in the Pac-10) and have a really strong sense of pride and tradition in the conference and in the ASU program."

Wells and the Sun Devils are counting on that pride and tradition to carry them back to the College World Series -- and make some more changes from last season.

Joy Russo is a staff editor at ESPN.com. She can be reached at joy.e.russo@espn3.com.