April 1, 2004
ASU Baseball Links:
Career Summary:
College Baseball Links:
Probable Pitching Rotation: Apr. 2 vs. USC, 7 p.m. MST USC - Ian Kennedy, RHP (4-0, 1.88 ERA) ASU - Jason Urquidez, RHP (6-2, 2.83 ERA)National Rankings:Apr. 3 vs. USC, 1 p.m. MST USC - TBA ASU - Brett Bordes, LHP (2-0, 6.75 ERA)
Apr. 4 vs. USC, 1 p.m. MST USC - TBA ASU - TBA
All-Time Series: All-Time Record vs. USC:.......84-85 Last Year (in LA):.............ASU, 2-1 (11-4, 5-6, 7-5) Last Time in Tempe:............1999 (USC takes 2 of 3)
National Polls (Mar. 29, 2004)
Arizona State (21-7) enters the Pac-10 series against USC ranked No. 10 by Sports Weekly and No. 14 by Baseball America. The Devils are also ranked No. 17 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 9 by the NCBWA. The Sun Devils have now been ranked in the national polls for 87 consecutive weeks, including 29 straight in the top 10 (at least one poll). USC (13-14) is not currently ranked, but appeared as high as No. 16 in the preseason rankings (CB).
Media Exposure:
All three games of the USC series will be broadcast on the radio or internet with Tim Healey and Bob Eger calling all the action from Packard Stadium. Friday and Sunday will be on KDUS 1060 AM, while Saturday will be on 1440 AM. Friday's series opener will also be televised locally on AZ-TV with George Allen and Doug Gerlach calling the action. Every game during the 2004 season will also have the statistical GameTracker on www.TheSunDevils.com.
Did You Know?
Arizona State and USC have combined for 17 national championships in baseball... as one of college baseball's greatest rivalries, USC leads the all-time series by a small margin of 85-84... USC and ASU played in the national championship game in 1998 with the Trojans winning 21-14... ASU junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia leads the Pac-10 hitting .443 (51-for-115) with 16 doubles and five home runs... sophomore right fielder Travis Buck is tied for the league lead with seven home runs and is first with 36 RBI... ASU has advanced to the CWS in two of the last three seasons in which they started 2-4 in the Pac-10 (1988, 1993, 1997).
What's On Tap:
The Sun Devil Baseball team (21-7, 2-4 Pac-10) continues their 25-game homestand this weekend with a three-game conference series against the University of Southern California Trojans. The Devils are 13-5 during the current homestand. USC (13-14, 0-0 Pac-10) has won five of their last seven games after defeating Cal State Fullerton 6-4 on Wednesday. Following the USC series, ASU will host Oral Roberts (Apr. 8-10) and Arizona (Apr. 12) before heading back on the road at UCLA (Apr. 16-18). The Devils will play 16 of their final 21 games on the road this season, including four of the last five Pac-10 series.
Recapping Last Week:
The Sun Devils went 1-2 last weekend dropping a Pac-10 Conference series to the University of Washington. The Huskies won the opener 11-1 and ASU answered with a 9-4 victory on Saturday to set up the rubber match. ASU lead 5-2 after six innings, but UW answered with a Zach Clem (Pac-10 Player of the Week) grand slam in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. After Nick Cadena homered in the seventh to tie the game, Clem gave UW the lead for good with a two-run single in the ninth for the 8-6 victory. Junior catcher Tuffy Gosewisch led ASU at the plate in the series going 4-for-9 (.444) with three runs and one RBI.
Quick Hits:
Pedroia Off To Another Torrid Start:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a leading candidate for Pac-10 and National Player of the Year honors. He leads the Pac-10 hitting .443 (51-for-115) with 40 runs scored, 16 doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI. He has hits in 25 of ASU's 28 games, including 14 multi-hit affairs and four games with two or more doubles. He also has a current 10-game hitting streak in which he is 21-for-41 (.512). As a sophomore, Pedroia hit .404 (120-for-297) and was named the Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year. He led the NCAA with 34 doubles, setting the ASU and Pac-10 single-season record and tied for third all-time in the NCAA record books. With 16 doubles this season, Pedroia now has 63 in his career, ranking fifth in the ASU career record books. He also had 253 hits to rank 9th and his career .390 batting average (253-for-648) ranks fifth. He has played and started all 154 games of his Sun Devil career and has recorded at least one hit in 132 games (86%). He has also recorded 82 career multi-hit games and is a .400 career hitter in 54 Pac-10 games (96-for-240). Additionally, the 2003 Collegiate Baseball Defensive Player of the Year has made only 17 errors in 668 total chances in the field for a career .975 FLD%. He was a two-year starter for the USA Baseball National Team and was named to the all-tournament team in the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Here is a look at Pedroia's career highlights and statistics:
- Leads the Pac-10 in hitting (.443), hits (51), doubles (16), on-base percentage (.543), runs (40) and total bases (82). - Currently riding a 10-game hitting streak (.512, 21-for-41), his seventh career hitting streak of 10 or more games. - Broke a rare 0-for-10 streak by going 4-for-4 with a home run and a career-high five RBI against No. 11 Tulane (3/13). - Second on the team and tied for seventh with five home runs. Entered the season with only five career homers. - Has recorded 14 multi-hit games this season and 82 in his career. Has six three-hit games and three four-hit contests. - Rated as the No. 28 overall position player by Baseball America for the 2004 MLB Draft. - A career .390 (253-for-648) hitter to rank ninth in hits (253) and fourth in batting average in the ASU career record books. - Hitting .400 (96-for-240) in his career in Pac-10 play, including .440 (11-for-25) in six games this season. - Has recorded at least one hit in 132 of 154 career games (86%) and has started every game of his career. - Has hit 63 career doubles, ranking fifth in the ASU career record books. With one more double he will move into fourth place. - Set the ASU and Pac-10 single-season record with 34 doubles in 2003. Old ASU record was 30 by Chris Bando in 1978. - Named the 2003 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year with Stanford's Ryan Garko and was a first-team All-American. - Played for the USA Baseball National Team in 2002 and 2003, leading Team USA to a bronze medal in the Pan Am Games.
Year Avg GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB-ATT 2002.... .347 58-58 236 51 82 13 2 1 45 24 19 5-9 2003.... .404 68-68 297 83 120 34 3 4 52 36 13 3-7 2004.... .443 28-28 115 40 51 16 0 5 27 23 6 3-5 TOTAL... .390 154-154 648 174 253 63 5 10 124 83 38 11-21Pedroia Times Two:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a doubles machine. Through ASU's first 28 games, Pedroia has 16 doubles. He has picked up right where he left off in 2003, setting an ASU and Pac-10 record while leading the NCAA with 34 doubles. In 154 career games, the Woodland, Calif., native has 63 doubles to rank fifth in the ASU record books. He has averaged .41 doubles per game over his career.
Pedroia Passes Barry Bonds:
With 253 career hits in his career, junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia recenlty moved into ASU's career top 10 list. He passed Barry Bonds (1983-85), who had 247 during his three years in Tempe. After recording five hits against UW, Pedroia is now ninth after passing Rick Peters (251, 1974-77). The all-time school record is 322 set by Clay Westlake from 1973-76.
Poll Mechanics:
After going 1-2 last week against Washington, Arizona State (21-7) moved a little in the national polls. The Devils dropped one spot from No. 9 to No. 10 by ESPN/Sports Weekly and five spots from No. 9 to No. 14 by Baseball America. The Devils are also ranked No. 17 in the recent Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 9 by the NCBWA. ASU is in its spent the previous four weeks as a consensus top 10 team (all four polls) and is in its 29th straight week ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll. The Devils have now been ranked for 87 consecutive weeks dating back to the start of the 2000 season. ASU entered the 2004 season ranked in all four of the national preseason polls (#7 CB, #10 SW, #11 NCBWA, #18 BA). ASU finished the 2003 season with a 54-14 record and earned a consensus top 10 ranking in all four national polls.
The Best College Baseball Rivalry in the Nation:
When USC and Arizona State take the field this weekend at Packard Stadium, 17 national championships will be represented. USC has won a record 12 national championships, while ASU is tied for second with five (1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1981). The Devils and Trojans first met in 1961, and 43 years and 169 games later, the all-time series is nearly deadlocked at 85-84 (USC leads). The Devils and Trojans are also among the elite college programs in the nation when it comes to producing major league talent, with USC furbishing 89 eventual big leaguers and ASU 79. ASU has won five of the last seven in the series, including two of three last year at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles. ASU and USC last met at Packard Stadium in 1999.
Travis Buck Going For Triple Crown:
Sophomore right fielder Travis Buck leads ASU in two of the three Triple Crown categories with seven home runs and 36 RBI. He is tied for the Pac-10 lead in home runs and paces the league race with his 36 RBI. Buck is hitting .364 (36-for-99) with eight doubles and a .657 slugging percentage. He is third on the team with eight multi-hit games and leads the Devils with nine multi-RBI contests. He also leads the team with four outfield assists and is 6-for-6 stealing bases. He was named Pac-10 Player of the Week and the Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week after going 10-for-12 (.833) with 13 RBI in the three-game series against UConn (2/27-29). The sophomore outfielder is a career .337 (114-for-338) hitter with 11 home runs and 93 runs scored.
Buck Repeats As Pac-10 Player of the Week:
After going 5-for-10 with home runs in all three games against East Carolina, Travis Buck earned his second consecutive Pac-10 Player of the Week award. With his third career Pac-10 POW award, he became the 16th conference player and first since 1998 to repeat since Cal's Xavier Nady earned the award in consecutive weeks in 1998 (Apr. 27, May 4). He is the first Sun Devil since Oddibe McDowell in 1984 to earn back-to-back conference honors.
Five Times The Fun:
Travis Buck had a string of hitting a home run in five straight games dating back to the Sunday victory over Connecticut (2/29). He is the first Sun Devil to hit homers in five straight since single-season home run record holder Mitch Jones cleared the fences in five straight games during that save 2000 season against Florida State (2/6), Duke (2/11-13) and LSU (2/18).
The Last Time ASU Was 2-4 In Pac-10 Play:
The Devils have gotten off to a sluggish 2-4 record to start the Pac-10 season, but if history as anything to say about it ASU is sure to rebound. ASU entered the Pac-10 slate having cruised through a brutal 22-game non-conference schedule going 19-3, including a 10-1 record against ranked opponents. ASU has lost a pair of home conference series, dropping two of three games each to California and Washington. ASU was also 2-4 to open the conference season in 1988, 1993 and 1997. Each season the Devils advanced to postseason play and in 1988 and 1993 the Devils advanced to the College World Series. ASU also opened the 1987 season with a 1-5 record in the Pac-10 and advanced to the CWS.
The Half Way Point:
The Sun Devils hit the half way point in the 2004 season after Sunday's 8-6 loss to Washington. Through 28 games the Devils have built an impressive 21-7 record against arguably the toughest schedule in the nation. Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia leads the Pac-10 in several offensive categories, including batting average (.443), hits (51), doubles (16) and total bases (82). The Devils lead the Pac-10 hitting .315 and are fourth with a 4.05 ERA. ASU was 29-2 at the half way point of last season's 62-game regular season.
Bresnehan Inching Towards Freshman Saves Record:
Only 28 games into his ASU career, freshman relief pitcher Pat Bresnehan is on the fast track to demolish the ASU freshman record for saves in a season. Bresnehan already has five saves to rank third in the freshman annals. He trails only Mitch Dean (8 in 1976) and Ryan Bradley (6 in 1995). The hard-throwing right-hander is 3-1 with five saves and leads ASU with a 2.73 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.
Two-Way Zinicola:
Freshman Zechry Zinicola is becoming a regular in the Sun Devil lineup, whether as a starting pitcher on Sunday or the designated hitter on Friday and Saturday. Zinicola has moved in the starting pitching rotation and has built a 2-1 record with a 3.91 ERA. He recorded a strong seven-inning effort against California (3/21) in which he scattered two runs and six hits to pick up the victory. He had to leave his last start against Washington after aggravating a groin injury. At the plate, Zinicola has made 10 starts at designated hitter and has recorded hits in nine of his 12 games played. He is hitting .300 (12-for-40) with two home runs and 13 RBI (.500 SLG%). He is ASU's first full-time two-way player since Richy Leon (1995-98). Leon was a career .298 hitter as an outfielder and was 8-3 with a 4.67 ERA in 48 pitching appearances.
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