April 11, 2000
Friday, April 14 Washington State 3 p.m. PT
Saturday, April 15 Washington State (TV) 1 p.m. PT
Sunday, April16 Washington State 1 p.m. PT
ASU -- Arizona State (30-9, 6-3 Pac-10 and ranked No. 4 Baseball America, No. 4 USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and No. 4 Collegiate Baseball) travel to Pullman, Wash. to take on Washington State (14-22, 2-7 Pac-10) in a three-game conference series at Bailey Field.
SATURDAY GAME ON T.V. -- Friday night's game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net. Barry Tompkins and Jerry Kindall will provide the play-by-play and color commentary for the broadcast.
On the radio -- This weekend's series with the Cougars can be heard on KGME 550 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com. Friday's game will be tape delayed at 5 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday will be live broadcasts. Tim Healey and Bob Eger will handle play-by-play and color commentary duties respectively.
EXTRA INNINGS -- The Devils are averaging 10.69 runs per game and as a team, are batting at a .339 clip ... Casey Myers is listed by Baseball America as a player to watch for their National Player of the Year award ... The Sun Devils are holding their opponents to a .242 average at the plate ... ASU's three grand slams vs. Southern Utah (Feb. 25) ties the NCAA record for a single game ... five out of ASU's nine losses have been by two runs or less ... the Devils have recorded an extra base hit in 38 of 39 games to date ... Arizona State players have been hit 74 times this season (1.90 HBP per game) ... ASU head coach Pat Murphy ranks first in career wins among active Div. I baseball coaches 43 and younger (561-279-3) ... Arizona State has not been shutout in its last 293 games (last time shutout was a 0-9 loss to USC on April 7, 1995) ... the NCAA record for consecutive games played without being shutout is 349 (held by Coastal Carolina) ... ASU and Wichita State are both at 293 games without being shutout which is the longest active Div. I streak ... the 293 games ranks fourth all time in NCAA Div. I history and is the Pac-10 record ... ASU has had more players drafted in the past two years than any other Pac-10 school ... the 1999 squad led the nation in batting average (.356) and runs per game (11.4) ... among current Pac-10 coaches, no one has led a team to the national championship game faster than ASU's Pat Murphy (four years) ...Jonah Martin tied the single season hit by pitch record held by Rick Peters who was hit 18 times in 1977 ... Peters (1974-77) also holds the career record for most hit by pitches with 37.
ABOUT THE COUGARS -- The Cougars are 14-22 overall, 2-7 Pac-10 heading into this weekend's matchup ... they are coached by Steve Farrington (in his 6th season at the helm) ... last week Washington State was swept by Stanford in Pullman (L, 3-14, L, 3-11, L, 0-16) ... probable pitching rotation for the Cougars: Fri., Todd Meldahl (1-4, 4.68 ERA), Sat,. TBA, Sun., TBA ... they are led by Ray Hattenburg (.354-3-19) and Stefan Bailie (.341-8-25) ... last year ASU won allthree games vs. WSU in Tempe ... ASU leads the all-time series 16-3.
SWITZER HONORED AS PAC-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK -- Sophomore lefty Jon Switzer turned in another solid performance on Friday night pitching eight shutout innings to pick up Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors. Switzer scattered six hits over the eight innings while tying his career high in strikeouts with 10. He got out of two bases loaded situations during the game to preserve the win and shutout. It is the second time this season, he has been honored as pitcher of the week by the conference. Switzer has a 7-1 record with an impressive 2.63 ERA. He leads the team with 82 strikeouts and is holding opponent batters to a .180 average at the plate. He is ranked third in the conference in ERA (2.63, strikeouts (82) and opposing batting average (.180) and second in innings pitched (78.2).
CASEY AT BAT -- Junior Casey Myers (Casa Grande) has been added to Baseball America's players to watch for their National Player of the Year award. The catcher has certainly put up impressive numbers in 2000, leading the conference in batting average (.416), RBI (63), hits (62) and on-base percentage (.513). Myers has quietly done an excellent job behind the plate as well, calling the pitches himself. He has been named conference player of the week three times during his career at ASU. Myers is leading the squad in multiple-hit games (20) and multiple-RBI games (18). He has hit safely in 33 of 39 games this season. Myers has notched 12 two-out RBI this year. He is hitting .460 with runners in scoring position and .466 with runners on base. Myers has 172 career RBI and needs just 19 more to enter the top 10 in the league.
Jones leads NATION with 21 homeruns -- Senior outfielder Mitch Jones (Orem, Utah) hit homeruns No. 20 and 21 in ASU's 8-7 win over Oregon State on Sunday. The slugger leads the team and conference in runs scored (58), homeruns (21), total bases (125) and slugging percentage (.833). Jones has tallied 18 multiple-hit games as well as 15 multiple-RBI games. His 21 homeruns is the most by a single ASU player since 1994 when Scott Shores hit 21. Jones is currently hitting at a .369 clip and is second in doubles (12) and RBI (62). He leads the conference and nation with 21 homeruns and ties him for sixth at ASU in a single season. Over half of his hits (35) have been for extra bases. Jones has notched a team-leading 17 two-out RBI.
DOBLE tallies two saves over weekend -- Junior Eric Doble picked up two saves vs. Oregon State - one on Friday night and the second on Sunday afternoon. The right-hander pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the 1-0 victory on Friday . Doble came back on Sunday to close out the game going 4.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts. For the year, Doble is now 3-1 with a team-leading five saves and a 3.55 ERA. He is tied for first in the league in saves (5).
PHELPS STEADY IN THE INFIELD -- Junior first baseman Jeff Phelps (Yuma, Ariz.) has proven to be a steady force in the infield for ASU providing excellent defense. Offensively, Phelps is on pace for his best season as a Sun Devil. He is third on the squad with a .362 average and has an on-base percentage of .477 (third in Pac-10). His 28 walks also ranks third in the league. Phelps is batting at a 387 clip with runners on base. He has notched nine two-out RBI as well as 15 multiple-hit games.
LAST HOMERUN --
Brooks Conrad vs. California (March 26, 2000)
Phil Downing vs. Stanford (April 1, 2000)
Jeff Duncan vs. Maine (March 17, 2000)
Brendan Hines vs. LSU (February 19, 2000)
Mitch Jones vs. Oregon State (April 9, 2000)
Mike Lopez vs. Maine (March 18, 2000)
Jonah Martin vs. Arizona (March 4, 2000)
Casey Myers vs. Stanford (April 2, 2000)
Jeff Phelps vs. Stanford (April 1, 2000)
Trent Pratt vs. Arizona (March, 4, 2000)
AIN'T LOVE GRAND -- Right-handed pitcher Luke Field (Littleton, Co.) proposed to his girlfriend in a very unique way over the holidays. On New Year's Eve, Field and his girlfriend, Casse Watkins (Ellinwood, Kan.), went to Packard Stadium. None of the stadium lights were on as they made their way to the press box. Field had made arrangement with a manager to be there. When the couple got to the press box, the manager turned on the field lights. Spelled out in bats and baseballs were the words "Will you marry me?". Field's girlfriend said yes. No date has been set yet.
DRAFTED DEVILS -- A total of seventeen current players on the 2000 Arizona State squad have been taken in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
| Paul French | 1998 | Anaheim Angels | 3rd | round | |
| Mike Esposito | 1999 | Cincinnati Reds | 5th | round | |
| Robby Milner | 1997 | Texas Rangers | 13th | round | |
| Dennis Sarfate | 1999 | Texas Rangers | 15th | round | |
| Jason Fingers | 1997 | Boston Red Sox | 23rd | round | |
| Drew Friedberg | 1997 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 25th | round | |
| Mitch Jones | 1999 | Baltimore Orioles | 25th | round | |
| Jon Switzer | 1998 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 26th | round | |
| Mitch Jones | 1997 | Texas Rangers | 33rd | round | |
| Dennis Wyrick | 1999 | Detroit Tigers | 35th | round | |
| Jeff Phelps | 1997 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 36th | round | |
| Trent Pratt | 1998 | Texas Rangers | 38th | round | |
| Jeff Duncan | 1997 | Chicago Cubs | 41st | round | |
| Jason Fingers | 1998 | Boston Red Sox | 41st | round | |
| Ryan Coffin | 1999 | Boston Red Sox | 43rd | round | |
| John Gusich | 1998 | Chicago White Sox | 45th | round | |
| Jered Liebeck | 1999 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 45th | round | |
| Luke Field | 1999 | Minnesota Twins | 47th | round | |
| Mitch Jones | 1998 | Baltimore Orioles | 49th | round | |
| Mike Lopez | 1996 | Toronto Blue Jays | 52nd | round |
KGME TAKES OVER ASU BASEBALL ON THE AIRWAVES -- Last spring, ASU Athletics agreed to a five year partnership with a new multimedia rights holder, the Sun Devil Sports Network. This group, owned by Outdoor Systems Sports Marketing, will manage, produce and market ASU's radio and television network. The Sun Devil Sports Network signed a three year radio flagship deal with KGME (550 AM). The most powerful AM signal in Arizona. Tim Healey, Voice of the Sun Devils, and Bob Eger will provide play-by-play and color commentary respectively. KGME will broadcast all Pac-10 games as well as selected non-conference games. The games can also be heard via the internet at www.thesundevils.com
INJURY REPORT -- Senior Will Waldrip is experiencing soreness in his left elbow and had an MRI on April 10. He is out indefinitely. Freshman RHP Mike Esposito had successful Tommy John surgery on March 30 and is out for the rest of the season.
THE BEGINNING AND END OF IT -- Here are the pitching lines on ASU starters and relievers.
| IP | W-L | ERA | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |
| Starters | 187.2 | 18-4 | 4.32 | 168 | 106 | 90 | 76 | 188 |
| Relievers | 156.1 | 12-5 | 3.92 | 145 | 79 | 68 | 81 | 154 |
| Total | 344.0 | 30-9 | 4.13 | 313 | 185 | 158 | 157 | 342 |
PLAYER BIO Jered Liebeck ? Fr. ? RHP ? Glendale, Ariz. (Mountain Ridge) High School: A 1999 graduate of Mountain Ridge High in Glendale, Ariz. ... all-conference selection in 1998 and '99 ... four-year letterwinner in baseball ... coached by Tony Cirrellie ... captained the baseball team his senior year ... pitched a no-hitter with 18 strikeouts against Lake Havasu HS ... participated in the Babe Ruth World Series ... holds the record for most strikeouts in school history ... 45th round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Personal: Major is undecided ... parents are Michael Liebeck and Jere Hill ... has one sister, Michele (21) ...born on January 27, 1981 in Mission Viejo, Calif. ... likes to golf ... full name is Jered Michael Liebeck.
THE DEVILS ON TV -- Arizona State baseball will be making many television appearances in 2000. The following is a list of appearances on COX Sports (local Ch. 9): Friday, Feb. 4 vs. Florida State, 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Florida State, 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 11 vs. Duke, 7 p.m., Friday, March 3 vs. Arizona, 7 p.m., Sunday, March 5 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., Saturday, March 11 vs. Oklahoma, 7 p.m., Friday, March 31 vs. Stanford, 7 p.m., Friday, April 7 vs. OSU, 7 p.m., Thursday, April 20 vs. UCLA, 7 p.m. and Friday, May 12 vs. Washington, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Net will broadcast the April 15 game at Washington State live at 1 p.m. College Sports Southeast will broadcast the February 18 game at LSU live at 6 p.m. CT. FOX Sports Bay Area will broadcast the March 26 game at California live at 1 p.m. PT.
FOR THE RECORD -- A start-by-start breakdown of LHP Jon Switzer, RHP Chad Pennington an d LHP Will Waldrip:
| Jon Switzer | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | W/L | |
| vs. Utah | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | W (1-0) | |
| vs. FAU | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | W (2-0) | |
| vs. #5 FSU | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ND | |
| vs. Duke | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | W (3-0) | |
| vs. #4 LSU | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | W (4-0) | |
| vs. New Mexico | 5.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 9 | ND | |
| vs. #25 Arizona | 3.1 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | ND | |
| vs. Oklahoma | 5.2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | W (5-0) | |
| vs. Maine | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | W (6-0) | |
| vs. California | 6.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ND | |
| vs. #2 Stanford | 8.1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | L (6-1) | |
| vs. Oregon State | 8.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | W (7-1) | |
| Chad Pennington | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | W/L | |
| vs. Utah | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ND | |
| vs. BYU | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | W (1-0) | |
| vs. #5 FSU | 4.1 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 4 | ND | |
| vs. Duke | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | W (2-0) | |
| vs. #4 LSU | 4.1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ND | |
| vs. SUU | 3.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | W (3-0) | |
| vs. #25 Arizona | 5.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | W (4-0) | |
| vs. Oklahoma | 5.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 7 | ND | |
| vs. Maine | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | W (5-0) | |
| vs. California | 6.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | W (6-0) | |
| vs. #2 Stanford | 3.0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ND | |
| vs. Oregon State | 2.0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | L (6-1) | |
| Will Waldrip | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | W/L | |
| vs. Duke | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | W (3-0) | |
| vs. #4 LSU | 4.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ND | |
| vs. Southern Utah | 3.1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | W (4-0) | |
| vs. #25 Arizona | 6.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | W (5-0) | |
| vs. Oklahoma | 5.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | L(5-1) | |
| vs. Maine | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ND | |
| vs. California | 2.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ND |
Note: Waldrip has two wins as a relief pitcher.
ASU BASEBALL TICKET INFORMATION -- Catch all the excitement of Sun Devil baseball in 2000. Single game ticket prices are $7 for field level, $5 for adult reserved, $4 for juniors/seniors reserved, $4 for adult general and $3 for juniors/seniors general seating. Group discount tickets are available for single games ($2 per ticket). For information on season tickets or single game tickets, please contact Mark Bruner, account executive, at 480-727-7022.
LAST WEEK VS. OREGON STATE -- The Sun Devils took 2-out-of-3 games from the Oregon State Beavers in a Pac-10 home series (W, 1-0, L, 3-11, W, 8-7) ... Mitch Jones hit homeruns No. 20 & 21 ... Switzer was honored as Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for his Friday night performance on the mound (8 IP, 6 H, O R, 10 K) ... Eric Doble picked up two saves on the weekend (one on Friday and a second on Sunday) ... OSU's Scoott Nicholson pitched a complete game win on Saturday, holding the Devils to seven hits and three runs (1 earned) ... the Beavers outhit the Sun Devils in all three games ... Mike Lopez hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning of Friday night's game, scoring Brooks Conrad - which turned out to be the winning run ... Mitch Jones recorded a hit in every game of the series.
ALL IN THE FAMILY -- Three father/son combinations have played at Arizona State including current Sun Devils Casey Myers and Brian Berger. Myers father Clint played at ASU from 1971-73 while Berger's father Bill played for the Devils from 1970-71-73. Father Eddie Bane (1971-73) and son Jaymie Bane (1997) round out the trio of father/son combos to don the Sun Devils uniform. Seven sets of brothers have graced the ASU rosters through the years: Chris (1975-78) and Sal (1964-65) Bando, Kevin (1978-81) and Pat (1980-82) Dukes, Byron (1979), Dale (1976-79) and Larry (1976-78) Eiler, Greg (1968) and Skip (1964) Hancock, Darrell (1974-77) and Dwayne (1979) Jackson, Jeff (1994) and Mike (1993) Rensmeyer, and John (1971-73) and Tom (1973-75) Sain. Of the seven sets, three sets played at least one year together at Arizona State.
Thursdays at the Ballpark -- Head coach Pat Murphy and the Sun Devil baseball team will host ?Thursdays at the BallPark?, a post-practice barbecue, February 3, March 2, April 6 and May 11 at Packard Stadium from 5-7 p.m. during the 2000 season. Meet the Arizona State baseball team and coaching staff to talk about the upcoming series, grab a bite to eat, get autographs and win raffle prizes. Food will be available for purchase or you can bring your own sack lunch. It's an event for the entire family. For more information, please contact the ASU baseball office at 480-965-6085.
TWO-SPORT ATHLETE? A little known fact around the ballpark is that centerfielder Jeff Duncan is a big hockey fan. The native of Illinois played hockey as a kid growing up all the way through high school. What position you ask? Center, of course.
ASU Record Breakdown
Pac-10 6-3
Non-Conference 24-6
Vs. Ranked Teams 7-6
Vs. Unranked Teams 23-3
Home Games 27-6
Road Games 3-3
Day Games 21-4
Night Games 9-5
Vs. Right-Hand Starters 21-7
Vs. Left-Hand Starters 9-2
One-Run Decisions 5-4
Two-Run Decisions 4-1
Extra Innings 0-1
Shutouts 3-0
ASU Scores First 17-6
Opponent Scores First 13-3
Led After Seven 27-1
Trailed After Seven 1-8
Tied After Seven 2-0
Led After Eight 26-1
Trailed After Eight 1-7
Tied After Eight 1-1
Out-hit Opponents 24-1
Out-hit by Opponents 5-6
January 7-0
February 8-4
March 11-4
April 4-1
May 0-0
Last 5 Games 3-2
Last 10 Games 8-2
Current Streak W1