Sun Devil Baseball honored its 1998 National Runner-Up team Friday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, prior to the start of the second game in a three game set against the UCLA Bruins.
ASU welcomed back 19 members of the 1998 squad which included 15 players, three All-Americans and an additional All-Pac-10 honoree, three coaches and two members of the immediate support staff.
The Sun Devils finished 41-23 in the Pac-10 and were the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional, hosted by Wichita State. ASU went 4-0, picking up wins over No. 4 Arkansas, the top-seeded hosts, No. 1 Wichita State, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Georgia Tech en-route to Omaha.
Phill Lowery, Sun Devil Baseball's 1998 Pitcher of the Year and All-Pac-10 selection, and Richy Leon, who pitched the Sun Devils in Regional and College World Series wins, threw out the ceremonial first pitches. They were caught by Greg Halvorson, a clutch .303 hitter throughout the 1998 postseason, and Chip Gosewisch, the 1998 Jim Henderson Courage Award winner.
The two pitchers combined for a 13-7 record regular and postseason record with a K/BB ratio of better than 2/1 (175/81). Lowery's 96 punchouts during the regular season were second-best on the squad.
"I shared something with the team before the game that the Sun Devil way is really about coming together as a unit, a band of brothers, handling the ups and downs this season has been," said Beinbrink. "At the end of the day, it comes down to whether you're willing to look to the left, to the right, believe in the guy next to you and be able to execute under pressure."
Sun Devil Baseball Head Coach Willie Bloomquist led the team in the regular season with a .414 average, leading the team with nine triples, 61 RBI, 88 runs, 109 hits and 153 total bases to go along with 14 doubles and four homers. He was one of three Sun Devils to play in all 64 games.
During the postseason, Bloomquist set a then-College World Series single-game hit record with five against Long Beach State. Overall, he smacked .405 with two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI in all nine postseason games.
A Sun Devil for life, Bloomquist has made a strong point in his two years as Head Coach to educate his student-athletes about the power of donning Maroon and Gold.
"I spoke to the team earlier in the week about the fact that this is a big week with the reunion," said Bloomquist. "There's a lot of similarities between this team and that team that I see. If I'm being perfectly candid, I think this team is more talented than that team top to bottom. The 1998 team also had some guts to them and you can't measure that. I think our team definitely has resiliency and an ability to bounce back."
It was the 18th appearance in Omaha for Sun Devil Baseball, taking the nation by storm as the sixth-best team in the field won against Florida State, Miami and Long Beach State before advancing to the national championship.
"I haven't seen a lot of those guys in 25 years," said Bloomquist the day before the reunion. "I'm looking forward to chopping it up with some of the guys I haven't seen in quite a while. I'm on the text thread with them and there's a lot of guys that are really excited to be here tomorrow and reconnect, so I'm anxious to see those guys."
Marking the 25th anniversary of the 1998 season, many of these Sun Devils had not seen each other in years. Life, in one way or another, had taken them in different directions. Lowery had multiple teammates, including Beinbrink, in his wedding. He had not seen them since.
No matter what, the occasion was a moment that became the prime focus of all of team members.
"My oldest son is in the middle of his playoffs for his high school season, so I didn't think I would be able to come," said Lowery. I told Graham (Rossini) that I wasn't going to be able to make it. But then when I saw the text thread of who was going to be here, some of the guys that I didn't know were going to be here, I realized that this is a once in a lifetime chance for me and I need to move mountains and oceans to get down here."
Full List of Honored Sun Devils
#28 Infielder & All-American Andrew Beinbrink
#30 Infielder & All-American Willie Bloomquist
#25 Pitcher Colin Call
#40 Pitcher Jay Gehrke
#39 Infielder Chip Gosewisch
#16 Catcher Greg Halvorson
#35 Pitcher Robby Milner
#11 Catcher Tyler Johnson
#3 Infielder & Pitcher Richy Leon
#13 Pitcher & All-Pac-10 Member Phill Lowery
#21 Pitcher & All-American Ryan Mills
#20 Infielder Jeff Phelps
#12 Outfielder Jay Sitzman
#29 Infielder Kevin Tillman
Assistant Coach Nino Giarratano
Assistant Coach Jay Sferra
Assistant Coach Chris Sinacori
Strength & Conditioning Coach; Baseball Letterwinner Jim Mancuso
Baseball Operations Assistant McKenna Calkins
ASU welcomed back 19 members of the 1998 squad which included 15 players, three All-Americans and an additional All-Pac-10 honoree, three coaches and two members of the immediate support staff.
The Sun Devils finished 41-23 in the Pac-10 and were the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional, hosted by Wichita State. ASU went 4-0, picking up wins over No. 4 Arkansas, the top-seeded hosts, No. 1 Wichita State, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Georgia Tech en-route to Omaha.
Phill Lowery, Sun Devil Baseball's 1998 Pitcher of the Year and All-Pac-10 selection, and Richy Leon, who pitched the Sun Devils in Regional and College World Series wins, threw out the ceremonial first pitches. They were caught by Greg Halvorson, a clutch .303 hitter throughout the 1998 postseason, and Chip Gosewisch, the 1998 Jim Henderson Courage Award winner.
"This is some of the best family comradery that I've ever been apart of and I'll probably never be apart of anything like it ever again," said 1998 All-Pac-10 honoree Phill Lowery. "It's understanding that when I was in the moment, and I did, so I cherished every minute of it. I know it now, 25 years later and I never took a second for granted. We always played our heart out knowing it could be our last time and what a great experience to come back."Special night celebrating the 25th Anniversary of @ASU_Baseball runner up finish at the CWS. Incredible team with memories to last a lifetime. Family for life ??
— jay gehrke (@jaygehrke) May 20, 2023
Thank you @williebloom and @GrahamRossini pic.twitter.com/rWTohQeK6o
The two pitchers combined for a 13-7 record regular and postseason record with a K/BB ratio of better than 2/1 (175/81). Lowery's 96 punchouts during the regular season were second-best on the squad.
ASU's All-American Andrew Beinbrink was also in attendance and echoed Lowery's sentiment.Honoring the 1998 team tonight and the 25th anniversary of their CWS finals appearance. #ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/FE5fzzbkRu
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) May 20, 2023
"I shared something with the team before the game that the Sun Devil way is really about coming together as a unit, a band of brothers, handling the ups and downs this season has been," said Beinbrink. "At the end of the day, it comes down to whether you're willing to look to the left, to the right, believe in the guy next to you and be able to execute under pressure."
Sun Devil Baseball Head Coach Willie Bloomquist led the team in the regular season with a .414 average, leading the team with nine triples, 61 RBI, 88 runs, 109 hits and 153 total bases to go along with 14 doubles and four homers. He was one of three Sun Devils to play in all 64 games.
During the postseason, Bloomquist set a then-College World Series single-game hit record with five against Long Beach State. Overall, he smacked .405 with two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI in all nine postseason games.
A Sun Devil for life, Bloomquist has made a strong point in his two years as Head Coach to educate his student-athletes about the power of donning Maroon and Gold.
"I spoke to the team earlier in the week about the fact that this is a big week with the reunion," said Bloomquist. "There's a lot of similarities between this team and that team that I see. If I'm being perfectly candid, I think this team is more talented than that team top to bottom. The 1998 team also had some guts to them and you can't measure that. I think our team definitely has resiliency and an ability to bounce back."
It was the 18th appearance in Omaha for Sun Devil Baseball, taking the nation by storm as the sixth-best team in the field won against Florida State, Miami and Long Beach State before advancing to the national championship.
"I haven't seen a lot of those guys in 25 years," said Bloomquist the day before the reunion. "I'm looking forward to chopping it up with some of the guys I haven't seen in quite a while. I'm on the text thread with them and there's a lot of guys that are really excited to be here tomorrow and reconnect, so I'm anxious to see those guys."
Marking the 25th anniversary of the 1998 season, many of these Sun Devils had not seen each other in years. Life, in one way or another, had taken them in different directions. Lowery had multiple teammates, including Beinbrink, in his wedding. He had not seen them since.
No matter what, the occasion was a moment that became the prime focus of all of team members.
"My oldest son is in the middle of his playoffs for his high school season, so I didn't think I would be able to come," said Lowery. I told Graham (Rossini) that I wasn't going to be able to make it. But then when I saw the text thread of who was going to be here, some of the guys that I didn't know were going to be here, I realized that this is a once in a lifetime chance for me and I need to move mountains and oceans to get down here."
Full List of Honored Sun Devils
#28 Infielder & All-American Andrew Beinbrink
#30 Infielder & All-American Willie Bloomquist
#25 Pitcher Colin Call
#40 Pitcher Jay Gehrke
#39 Infielder Chip Gosewisch
#16 Catcher Greg Halvorson
#35 Pitcher Robby Milner
#11 Catcher Tyler Johnson
#3 Infielder & Pitcher Richy Leon
#13 Pitcher & All-Pac-10 Member Phill Lowery
#21 Pitcher & All-American Ryan Mills
#20 Infielder Jeff Phelps
#12 Outfielder Jay Sitzman
#29 Infielder Kevin Tillman
Assistant Coach Nino Giarratano
Assistant Coach Jay Sferra
Assistant Coach Chris Sinacori
Strength & Conditioning Coach; Baseball Letterwinner Jim Mancuso
Baseball Operations Assistant McKenna Calkins