March 10, 2004
ASU Baseball Links:
College Baseball Links:
Probable Pitching Rotation:
Mar. 12 vs. Tulane, 7 p.m. MST
TUL - Billy Mohl, RHP (3-0, 2.91 ERA)
ASU - Jeff Mousser, RHP (1-0, 2.57 ERA)
Mar. 13 vs. Tulane, 1 p.m. MST
TUL - J.R. Crowel, LHP (3-0, 1.82 ERA)
ASU - Jason Urquidez, RHP (5-0, 1.80 ERA)
Mar. 14 vs. Tulane, 1 p.m. MST
TUL - Cory Hahn, RHP (3-0, 0.50 ERA)
ASU - TBA
National Polls:
National Polls (Mar. 8, 2004)
Arizona State (15-2) enters the Tulane series as a consensus top 10 team in the nation in all four national polls. ASU ranks as high as No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 6 by Sports Weekly/ESPN. The Devils also moved up two spots to No. 8 by Baseball America and remained No. 7 by NCBWA. The Sun Devils have now been ranked in the national polls for 84 consecutive polls. Tulane (11-3) is ranked No. 11 by Baseball America, No. 12 by ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball.
Media Exposure:
All three of the ASU-Tulane games will be broadcast via the internet or local radio. Friday's game will be only on the internet only, while Saturday (KDUS 1060 AM) and Sunday (1440 AM) will also be on local radio in addition to the internet. All three games of the Tulane-ASU series will also be available via the statistical GameTracker on www.TheSunDevils.com.
Did You Know:
ASU is currently 8-0 against ranked opponents... Travis Buck has hit a home run in four straight games and leads the team with five on the year and 28 RBI... the Devils have won nine straight games and 19 straight at Packard Stadium... ASU's next victory will be No. 2000 dating back to the start of varsity baseball in 1959.
The Storyline:
The Sun Devils (15-2) will face another ranked opponent this weekend when No. 11 Tulane (11-3) comes to town for a three-game series. ASU has won nine straight and at 15-2 overall is off to the second best start during the Pat Murphy era (1995-P). Travis Buck leads the Sun Devils hitting .431 with five home runs and 28 RBI and has earned back-to-back Pac-10 POW honors.
What's On Tap:
The Sun Devil Baseball team (15-2) continues their 25-game homestand this weekend with a three-game series against No. 11 Tulane (11-3). The Sun Devils have won nine straight overall and are off to the second best start during the Pat Murphy era (1995-P). ASU's only better start was when they went 28-1 to begin the 2003 campaign. ASU is coming off a solid three-game sweep of previously unbeaten and No. 18 East Carolina in which they won three close games over the Pirates. The Devils will host Oklahoma State to a two-game, midweek series Mar. 16-17 before opening Pac-10 play. Including this weekend's series with the Green Wave, the Devils will play 13 games against ranked teams before opening Pac-10 play on Mar. 19 against California.
Streaking Devils:
The Sun Devils enter the weekend series against No. 11 Tulane (10-3) with a season-high nine-game winning streak. The streak started with a 7-0 victory over Memphis and also includes victories over No. 1 Rice (Feb. 22; 3-1), No. 16 Arizona (Feb. 26; 4-0) and a three-game sweep of No. 18 East Carolina. During ASU's nine -game win streak the Devils have combined to hit .351 at the plate with 86 runs scored and 16 of the season total 18 home runs. The pitchers have been especially hot during the winning streak, combining for a 3.11 ERA, giving up 28 earned runs and striking out 72 in 81.0 IP. Sophomore Travis Buck leads ASU hitting .531 (17-for-32) with five home runs during the streak. Junior starting pitcher Jason Urquidez is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA.
Quick Hits:
NCAA Record Consecutive Games Scoring Streak Ends at 506:
The Sun Devils had a piece of history come to an end when their NCAA record 506 consecutive games scoring streak came to an end Feb. 15 against Oklahoma. The Sooners ended a streak that began April 8, 1995, a day after the USC Trojans shut out the Sun Devils during Pat Murphy's first year at ASU. "The Streak" saw the Devils go 338-167-1 during the 506-game stretch, scoring 4,755 runs (9.40 per game average) from 1995-2004. The Devils made history on April 7, 2001 when they scored at least one run in their 350th consecutive game, breaking the 12-year-old NCAA record exactly six years to the day when they were last shut out. ASU was shut out 9-0 in that game on April 7, 1995 at Dedeaux Field by left-hander Randy Flores. Coastal Carolina previously held the NCAA record at 349 games set from 1983-1989. ASU also had a stretch of 278 games without being shut out from 1990 to 1994, meaning the program has only been shutout in four games dating back to the 1990 season. Notable pitchers the Devils have faced during the streak include Mark Prior (USC), Jeremy Guthrie (Stanford), Barry Zito (USC), Kirk Saarloos (CS Fullerton), Jason Young (Stanford), Ben Diggins (Arizona), Adam Johnson (CS Fullerton), Ryan Drese (Cal), Jeff Weaver (Fresno State), Chad Hutchinson (Stanford), Abe Alvarez and Adam Pettyjohn (Fresno State). Top prospect David Purcey and Jarod McAuliff led the Sooner to the shutout of the Devils. ASU has started a new streak and is currently at 11 games!
NCAA Record Consecutive Game Scoring Streaks: Arizona State 506 April 8, 1995 - Feb. 14, 2004 Coastal Carolina 349 April 16, 1983 - April 10, 1989 Wichita State 332 March 13, 1996 - Feb. 23, 2001 Nebraska 331 May 3, 1998 - June 1, 2003 Florida State 326 April 29, 1984 - Feb. 25, 1989Poll Mechanics:
Arizona State (15-2) moved up one spot in Collegiate Baseball poll from No. 6 to No. 5 after the three-game sweep of East Carolina. The Devils also moved up two spots from No. 10 to No. 8 in the Baseball America poll and remained at No. 6 by ESPN/Sports Weekly. With nine straight wins and a 8-0 record against ranked opponents, ASU is in its second week as a consensus top 10 team. The Devils have now been ranked for 84 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.
Preseason All-Americans:
Sun Devil juniors Dustin Pedroia and Jeff Larish earned preseason All-America honors from every publication. Pedroia earned first-team honors from the NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, CollegeBaseballInsider.com, and was a third-team pick by Baseball America. He was also selected as the preseason pick for Pac-10 Player of the Year by Baseball America. Larish, who moves to the outfield for the 2004 season, was a first-team pick by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, CollegeBaseballInsider.com, and was a second-team pick by the NCBWA. Larish was also selected as the preseason College Baseball Player of the Year by Street & Smith's.
Buck Continues Torrid Streak:
Sophomore right fielder Travis Buck could be the hottest hitter in college baseball. Buck is hitting .682 (15-for-22) over his last six games with 10 runs scored, five doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI and a 1.455 slugging percentage. He has hit home runs in four consecutive games and is riding a current six-game hitting streak. During his torrid stretch he has raised his season batting average 153 points from .278 on Feb. 24 to its current team-leading mark of .431 (25-for-58). Buck leads the team with five home runs and 28 RBI and also had three outfield assists and is 4-for-4 stealing bases. He has earned back-to-back Pac-10 Player of the Week awards and was honored as 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).
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).
Four Times The Fun:
Travis Buck has hit a home run in four straight games dating back to the Sunday victory over Connecticut (2/29). He is the first Sun Devil to hit homers in four straight since Casey Myers matched the feat during the 2000 Pac-10 Championship season. 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).
Pedroia Off To Another Torrid Start:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is off to a solid start in 2003 hitting .423 (30-for-71) with 27 runs scored, 10 doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI. He has hits in 15 of ASU's 17 games, including eight multi-hit affairs and four games with two or more doubles. Pedroia earned his second career Pac-10 Player of the Week award after hitting .688 during a four-game stretch against Gonzaga, Lamar, Memphis and Rice. 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 10 doubles, he now has 57 in his career, tying for sixth in the ASU career record books. A career .384 (232-for-602) hitter, Pedroia ranks tied for seventh in the ASU career record books. He has played and started all 143 games of his Sun Devil career and has recorded at least one hit in 122 games (85%). Additionally, the 2003 Collegiate Baseball Defensive Player of the Year has made only 16 errors in 610 total chances in the field for a career. 974 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.
Tuff Behind the Plate:
Junior catcher Tuffy Gosewisch is the epitome of his named behind the dish... tough. In his second year as a full-time starter, Gosewisch has taken ASU's young pitching staff by the reigns to help lead the Devils to success. Additionally, he is to a great start at the plate, hitting .356 (21-for-59) with 13 runs, five doubles, one home run and 11 RBI. He has recorded at least one hit in 13 of ASU's 17 games, including going 4-for-10 (.400) last weekend against East Carolina. The Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year candidate has thrown out seven of 16 attempted base stealers and has not recorded a passed ball this season.
Victory No. 2,000 Next Up:
ASU's next victory will be the 2,000th for the program since officially adopting the program as a varsity sport in 1959. Baseball has been played at ASU since 1907, but was not officially recognized as a varsity program until Bobby Winkles took over the program in 1959. The Devils head into this weekend with an all-time varsity record of 1,999-793-1 and is sixth in the NCAA with an all-time 2,332-1,138-6 record dating back to 1907.
Pedroia And Buck Lead It Off:
Dustin Pedroia and Travis Buck have hit No. 1 and No. 2 in the lineup in 15 of ASU's 17 games this year and have been the catalyst behind ASU's quick starts. The Devils have scored in the first inning in 10 of those games for 28 total runs. Pedroia and Buck have reached base in successive order in their first at-bats in 10 of those 15 games, including both getting hits in five games. Against FSU (2/8) and Cal State Northridge (2/13), Buck and Pedroia each led off the game hitting doubles to plate a run each time. Pedroia has a knack for getting on base while leading off a game (10 of 17), while Buck has reached base in 14 of his 15 first at-bats (8 hits, 2 HR).
Hitting Streaks:
Three Sun Devils are currently riding hitting streaks of three or more games. Junior Jeff Larish has ASU's longest current streak at eight games. Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia recently had his team-high 10-game hitting streak snapped going 0-for-5 against ECU (3/7). Pedroia hit .475 (19-for-40) during his steak. Here is a look at the streaking Devils:
Player Current Streak Statistics During Streak Jeff Larish 8 Games .344, 11-for-32, 7 R, 10 RBI, 4 2B, 1 HR Travis Buck 6 Games .682, 15-for-22, 10 R, 5 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI Zechry Zinicola 3 Games .444, 4-for-9, 3 R, 6 RBI, 2 HR, 2 BB
Throwbacks Are Classic:
The Sun Devils unveiled a new 'Throwback' uniform for the 2004 season and it has gotten rave reviews. Originally slated to be the designated Sunday uniform, the Devils have worn the classic threads in 14 of the 17 games this season and gone 13-1. The off-white uniform features a baggier look and an old-school 'Devils' script across the chest. The Devils wear black spikes and high socks to compliment the 'old school' look. ASU is also 2-0 in the all white uniforms and 0-1 in the road gray sleeveless jersey.
Bresnehan On Fire On The Mound:
Freshman pitcher Pat Bresnehan (Sherborn, Mass.) has been impressive in his last five outings picking up a pair of wins and three saves. The hard-throwing right-hander has recorded 20 strikeouts and allowed only seven hits in his last five appearances. During that stretch of 15 innings he has not given up an earned run. He picked up the win with a career high seven strikeouts in five innings against Gonzaga (2/16) and recorded the save against Arizona (2/24) with five strikeouts in three scoreless innings. He also had a pair of saves against No. 18 East Carolina last weekend. For the season, Bresnehan is 3-0 with three saves and leads the team with a 1.69 ERA in a team-high eight appearances. He was 23rd round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals out of Dover-Sherborn High School and played for the USA Baseball Junior National Team during his prep career.
Tough Against Ranked Teams:
The Sun Devils are off to an impressive 15-2 start after the three-game sweep of No. 18 ECU, but also hold an even more impressive 8-0 record against ranked opponents. ASU is scheduled to play 22 non-conference games before heading into conference play against California (Mar. 19-21) and will have played 13 of those games against teams that have appeared in the national rankings. ASU has already swept No. 18 Florida State (Feb. 6-8) to open the season and also beat No. 1 Rice (3-1, Feb. 22), No. 16 Arizona (4-0, Feb. 26) and swept No. 18 ECU (Mar. 5-7). Both of ASU's losses have also come against teams that have appeared in at least one top 25 polls this year (Oklahoma and Lamar). ASU is also 11-2 against teams with a record above .500.
Scouting Tulane:
Tulane Baseball | 2004 Stats | Roster
The Tulane Green Wave head to Tempe with an 11-3 record after winning two-of-three in a home series against Pepperdine and defeating New Orleans on Tuesday. They are ranked No. 11 (BA), No. 12 (SW) No. 16 (CB) heading into the series with the Sun Devils. ASU leads the all-time series against Tulane 1-0; beating the Green Wave 9-2 on March 27, 1974 at the Riverside Baseball Invitational in Riverside, Calif. Tulane has advanced to the NCAA Tournament six straight years, including playing in the 2001 College World Series. Tulane is coming off a 44-19 season in 2003. A strong pitching staff that bolsters a 2.72 team ERA leads the 2004 squad. Senior right-hander Cory Hahn is 3-0 with a 0.55 ERA.
Bring On Conference USA:
The Devils are in the midst of a stretch of six straight against schools from Conference USA. ASU swept East Carolina last weekend and also played and beat Memphis (7-0) in the Rice Coca-Cola Classic on Feb. 21 in Houston. ASU had not met a Conference USA member team in the regular season since 2001 when they hosted South Florida to a three-game series. ASU also played the University of Houston twice at Hohokam Park in Mesa during the 2002 NCAA Regionals. ASU is 19-3 all-time against Conference USA member schools.
A Tale of Two Sundays:
From one Sunday to another, the Arizona State baseball program was the buzz of the college baseball world. On Sunday, Feb. 15, the Devils saw their NCAA record 506 consecutive games scoring streak come to an end in a 6-0 shutout by the University of Oklahoma at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz. The streak spanned parts of nine seasons dating back to April 7, 1995 and blew away the old record of 349 set by Coastal Carolina. Just one week later, on Feb. 22, the Devils stunned No. 1 Rice in a 3-1 victory at Reckling Park, ending an 18-game winning streak by ace pitcher Jeff Niemann. Niemann, regarded as the top-pitching prospect in the nation, had not lost a decision dating back to the end of the 2002 season, including a 17-0 record as a sophomore. ASU pitcher Jason Urquidez was named the National Pitcher of the Week for his complete-game, three-hit victory over the defending national champion Owls.
Fast Starts:
For the third year in a row the Sun Devils started the season with a perfect 3-0 record and with a 15-2 record the Sun Devils are off to the second best start during the Pat Murphy era. Since Murphy took over the program in 1995, the Sun Devils have won nine of 10 season openers and have swept the first three games in eight seasons. The Devils set a school record last year when they opened with a 28-1 record. This season's 15-2 start trails only the 2003 season. Here is a look at how ASU has fared in games 15-25 during the Murphy era:
Games 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 15 12-3 12-3 9-6 12-3 12-3 11-4 13-2 10-5 14-1 13-2 16 13-3 13-3 9-7 12-4 12-4 12-4 13-3 11-5 15-1 14-2 17 14-3 13-4 9-8 12-5 13-4 13-4 13-4 12-5 16-1 15-2 18 14-4 13-5 10-8 13-5 14-4 14-4 13-4-1 13-5 17-1 --- 19 15-4 13-6 11-8 13-6 15-4 15-4 14-4-1 14-5 18-1 --- 20 16-4 14-6 12-8 14-6 16-4 16-4 15-4-1 15-5 19-1 --- 21 16-5 15-6 13-8 15-6 17-4 17-4 16-4-1 15-6 20-1 --- 22 17-5 15-7 14-8 16-6 17-5 18-4 17-4-1 15-7 21-1 --- 23 18-5 16-7 14-9 16-7 18-5 19-4 18-4-1 16-7 22-1 --- 24 18-6 16-8 14-10 16-8 19-5 20-4 19-4-1 16-8 23-1 --- 25 19-6 16-9 15-10 16-9 19-6 20-5 19-5-1 17-8 24-1 ---Pedroia and Urquidez Sweep Pac-10 Awards:
Arizona State juniors Dustin Pedroia and Jason Urquidez swept the weekly Pac-10 Baseball Awards (Feb. 24) after helping the No. 7 Sun Devils to a 3-1 record with wins over Gonzaga, Memphis and Rice. Pedroia (Woodland, Calif.) earned his second Pac-10 Player of the Week award in his career after hitting .688 (11-for-16) with six runs, three doubles, one home run and five RBI. He had three doubles in a 4-for-5 performance against Gonzaga (2/16) and hit his first home run of the year to lead off the game against Lamar (2/20). Urquidez (Simi Valley, Calif.) swept the national awards, also earning Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly and College Baseball Insider National Pitcher of the Week honors with his victory over No. 1 and defending national champion Rice. He struck out seven and walked only two in a complete-game, three-hit victory over the Owls. The Player of the Week honor is the second for Pedroia in his career, and Urquidez earned his first Pac-10 weekly award in only his third start as a Sun Devil.
Urquidez Named To Clemens Award Watch List:
Arizona State starting pitcher Jason Urquidez is part of a list of 40 hurlers who are included in the first Roger Clemens Award Watch List. The list is comprised of all Division I pitchers who were named as pre-season All-Americans by either Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball, in addition to those pitchers who have been honored so far this season as National Pitchers of the Week. Urquidez earned national POW honors from Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Sports Weekly and CollegeBaseballInsider.com. He was also named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week after his complete-game three-hitter against No. 1 and defending national champion Rice Owls at Reckling Park in Houston last weekend. A junior college transfer from Central Arizona College, Urquidez is off to a perfect 5-0 start with a 1.80 ERA. He has 28 strikeouts in 30.0 IP and opposing hitters are batting only .192 off him. In its inaugural year, The Roger Clemens Award will be presented to the nation's top college pitcher at the conclusion of a gala dinner in Houston on July 15.
A Perfect Start For Urquidez:
Junior starting pitcher Jason Urquidez is perfect in a Sun Devil uniform. The right-hander has won each of his five starts to build a 5-0 record with a 1.80 ERA. He is the first Sun Devil since 2001 to win the first five appearances in a Sun Devil uniform since Andy Torres started 5-0 in 2001. Torres had four wins in starts and one win out of the bullpen to start his only year at ASU. The current Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguer finished the year 13-4 with a 4.30 ERA.
Pedroia Times Two:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a doubles machine. Through ASU's first 17 games, Pedroia has 10 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 140 career games, the Woodland, Calif., native has 57 doubles to rank tied for sixth in the ASU record books. He has averaged .40 doubles per game over his career and has a career batting average of .384 (7th best in ASU record books).
Urquidez Tames No. 1 Rice To Earn National Pitcher of the Week Honors:
Junior starting pitcher Jason Urquidez was named the Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week after his complete-game three-hitter against No. 1 and defending national champion Rice on Sunday. Urquidez, a junior college transfer from Central Arizona, limited the top-ranked Owls to only one run on three hits, while striking out seven and walking only one. He gave up his only run in his 138-pitch effort with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning. With his third victory of the year, Urquidez went head-to-head with and beat the nation's top pitching prospect in Rice ace Jeff Niemann. Niemann recorded his first loss since late in the 2002 season after going 17-0 as a sophomore in 2003.
Larish Looking To Find Groove:
It will be hard for junior left fielder Jeff Larish to match his sensational 2003 season when he hit .372 (87-for-234) with 18 home runs and 95 RBI. Larish, who is at his third position as a Sun Devil in as many years (3B in 2002, 1B in 2003), is trying to find his groove, hitting .265 (18-for-68) with seven doubles, 16 RBI and is second on the team with 15 walks. He has ASU's longest current hitting streak at eight games, batting .344 (11-for-32) with 10 RBI and one home run during that stretch. Last season, Larish became only the second Sun Devil to join the 70-70 club (RBI-BB) when he had 95 RBI (fifth most in ASU history) and led the NCAA with 78 walks. The Tempe native is a career .348 (135-for-388) hitter with 125 RBI and 116 walks (.495 on-base percentage and 1096 OPS). The 2004 preseason All-American is listed as a top prospect for the annual June Amateur Draft by Baseball America.
Going Past The Fifth:
Arizona State's starting pitching has been rock solid through 17 games in 2004. The six players that have made starts have combined to go 8-1 with a 3.07 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 85.0 IP. Of the 17 starts, 11 have gone five or more innings (65%). Junior RHP Jason Urquidez leads the team with five wins, while freshman Pat Cassa, senior Jeff Mousser and sophomore Brett Bordes also have wins as starters. Last year the Devils had a starter go five or more innings in 35 of 68 games (51%).
Pitching Staff Answers Tall Task:
The Sun Devil pitching staff has been a big reason behind ASU's solid 15-2 start to the season. Returning only two pitchers from last year's staff that ranked first in the Pac-10 and eighth in the nation with a 3.32 ERA, ASU has relied primarily on its younger pitchers to build a solid 3.49 ERA. Junior Jason Urquidez leads the team with a 5-0 record and a 1.80 During ASU's current nine-game winning streak, the pitching staff has combined for a 3.11 ERA giving up 28 earned runs and striking out 72 in 81.0 IP.