Sun Devils Primed for Excellence in 1998
"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor" - Vince T. Lombardi
It is a simple yet powerful statement echoed by many coaches in different sports at all levels of the game. But what does it mean to Arizona State baseball?
Everything.
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| Junior third baseman Andrew Beinbrink was named a preseason second-team All-American. (File Photo) |
Commitment to excellence is a long standing tradition with the Sun Devil baseball team. To achieve excellence one needs dedication and the sheer will to succeed. Not to mention a strong arm or a sweet swing. Or simpy the desire to outhustle your opponent on the diamond.
The 1998 edition of the ASU baseball team has accepted the challenge to this commitment to excellence and should once again put themselves in contention for postseason accolades.
Arizona State returns six of eight position players and two of three starting pitchers. Not bad for a team that was two outs away from their 18th College World Series appearance last May.
With a couple key additions, the 1998 squad will be a force to contend with.
ASU will need to fill a big void in left field with the departure of All-American Dan McKinley who won the 1997 Six-Pac batting title with his .423 average at the plate. The Devils also lost righthanded starter Jeff Cermak who led the pitching staff in wins (7) last year. In addition, Arizona State also lost several key middle relief pitchers as well as closer Ryan Bradley. ASU will also be looking for a new first baseman with the graduation of Mike Grijalva.
Head coach Pat Murphy, in his fourth season at the helm of the program, is looking forward to some battles for starting positions and key role players.
"We have several different players who are all capable of starting at some key positions for us", said Murphy. "You may see some different players depending on who we are facing."
Although there will be some new faces sprinkled into this year's team, the objective remains the same.
"Our number one objective is to win a national championship," said Murphy. "That's been our objective every year. A lot of people have said we've been close, but close isn't what we're looking for. We play in a conference and play a schedule that prepare you for the level of competition you will face postseason. It's a huge challenge."
Some of the keys to success this season will be pitching and a tough mental attitude.
"Pitching depth is really going to be a key for us this season, Murphy noted. "We don't have a lot of depth so we need to stay healthy.
"We don't want to flinch when we lose a game. Because we play such a rigorous schedule -probably over 40 games against ranked opponents and we're going to have some losses. We need to stay focused on our goal."
THE PITCHERS
Although the Devils return two of three starters, the bullpen will be relatively young. Key roles will have to be defined early for Arizona State to be successful.
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| Junior lefthander Ryan Mills anchors the starting rotation for ASU. (File Photo) |
Lefties Ryan Mills and Phill Lowery return for their junior season and will carry the load of the pitching duties.
"With Mills and Lowery we obviously have two guys who can keep us in ball games," said Murphy.
Mills, an All-American, led the Six-Pac last season in ERA (2.88) and led the ASU pitching staff in strikeouts with 103. He also led the team in innings pitched with 97 on the year.
Lowery, a California native, pitched 85 innings in '97 with a 4.13 ERA and 79 strikeouts.
Junior Colin Call and sophomore Jay Gehrke will battle for the third starting job. Call, an Arizona native, had a 2.19 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched last season. Gehrke, who hails from North Dakota, turned in a 4.41 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts.
Junior transfer Chuck Crumpton (Northeast Texas CC) will play the critical role of the set-up pitcher. Crumpton was a member of '96 NJCB College World Series championship team and holds the Northeast Texas CC record for pitchers with a total of 23 wins, four losses and five saves.
The reliever role will fall to senior righthander Richy Leon. Leon, who also will see time in the infield, recorded a 2.01 ERA last season and two saves. In 31.1 innings pitched he notched 31 K's.
Other pitchers who will play vital roles as middle relievers or mid-week starters are sophomore righty Eric Valenzuela (Covina, Calif.), freshman righty Robby Milner (Phoenix, Ariz.), freshman lefty Drew Friedberg (Middleton, Wis.) and freshman righty Chad Pennington (Hamilton, Ohio).
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| Junior catcher Greg Halvorson emerged as a long-ball threat in 1997. (File Photo) |
THE CATCHERS
Arizona State is very solid at the position with plenty of depth.
"Greg Halvorson will be our starter," Murphy noted. "He came on strong in the second half on last season and can only get better."
Halvorson, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., batted a .295 with 23 doubles and 10 homeruns in 1997. He was third on the team in RBI (49).
Junior transfer Jeremy Jones (Mesa CC) will back Halvorson up.
"Jeremy might be our most complete defensive catcher," said Murphy. "His positioning and anticipation help strengthen our pitching staff from a defensive standpoint."
Rounding out the trio of backstoppers is freshman Casey Myers (Casa Grande, Ariz.).
"Casey might be the best catcher on our staff in handling of pitchers," Murphy said. "He shows a good knowledge of the game.
"All three will get the opportunity to contribute and play a big role for us."
THE INFIELD
Although there may be some rotating in the middle infield, this is a solid area for the Sun Devils.
Anchoring the infield at third base will be All-American Andrew Beinbrink. The junior from San Diego, California, hit .380 last year with a team-leading 72 RBI.
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| Junior Chip Gosewisch is part of ASU's talented middle infield. (File Photo) |
"Andrew is one of the team leaders", Murphy noted. "He's a hard worker and will continue to provide us with both offensive and defensive prowess."
At shortstop, the trio of Willie Bloomquist (Port Orchard, Wash.), Richy Leon (Yuma, Ariz.) and Michael Collins (Phoenix, Ariz.) will platoon.
"We're in a very positive situation," said Murphy. "We have three players that can handle the position."
Because of Leon's expanded roll as a closer, he will not be a full-time shortstop.
Bloomquist, who is ASU's shortstop of the future, will see significant time at the position. The sophomore hit .356 last season with 10 doubles and five triples.
Collins is the best defensive shortstop of the group and will play in all key situations in the late innings. The junior batted .277 last season with seven sacrifice bunts.
Junior Chip Gosewisch gets the nod at second base after a stellar performance at regionals last season. For his efforts, he was named to the Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team. The Arizona native hit .348 in 1997 with 10 doubles.
Bloomquist, Collins and Leon will back up Gosewisch at second.
Three players could see time at first base with sophomore Kevin Tillman, junior transfer Dan Meier and freshman Jeff Phelps in the running.
Phelps (Yuma, Arizona) will play against lefthanders with Tillman and Meier battling it out vs. righthanders at first base and DH.
Tillman (San Jose, Calif.), who had an exceptionally good fall, batted a .386 last year and was perfect in the field with 64 putouts and six assists.
THE OUTFIELD
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| Senior Rudy Arguelles will patrol centerfield for the Sun Devils. (File Photo) |
Seniors Rudy Arguelles (Corona, Calif.) and Mikel Moreno (Mesa, Ariz.) will anchor the outfield from center and right field respectively.
Arguelles, an incredibly gifted defensive outfielder who will be a catalyst for the team, batted .301 last season with a team-leading 10 sacrifice bunts and swiped 10 bases.
Moreno, solidly entrenched in right, will be a key to the fortunes of the team.
"A lot of the way Mikel plays is the way our team goes," said Murphy.
Moreno was hampered by a series of minor aches and strains last season, batted .313 with 70 hits and 67 runs scored. He swiped 10 bases as well. The outfielder was named to the '97 Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team.
"In left field you could see Bloomquist when he's not playing short," Murphy noted. "Jay Sitzman could see time there as well as Dustin Delucchi."
Delucchi, a sophomore from Burlingame, Calif., is Arizona State's centerfielder of the future and will take over that starting roll next year. Delucchi hit .255 in 1997 with eight doubles and 33 RBI.
THE DESIGNATED HITTER
Top candidates for the DH spot are Casey Myers versus lefties and Kevin Tillman or Dan Meier against righthanders.
THE SCHEDULE
The Devils will play arguably the toughest schedule in the nation with baseball powerhouses such as Florida State, Stanford, Oklahoma, Fresno State, USC and UCLA composing a bulk of the schedule.
"Five teams in our conference (Pacific-10) played in the Final 16 last season," noted Murphy. "That speaks for itself."
The Devils will kick off the regular season with the Louisville Slugger Classic which will feature a rematch of last year's regional game against Florida International.
Arizona State will then travel to Hawaii for a five game stint with Hawaii-Hilo before returning home to the much anticipated matchup with Florida State.
Conference play will open in late February with a trip to Evans Diamond to face California.