April 21, 2004
ASU Baseball Links:
Career Summary:
College Baseball Links:
Apr. 23 at Washington State, 3 p.m. PST ASU - Jason Urquidez, RHP (8-2, 2.97 ERA) WSU - Aaron McKenzie, RHP (5-3, 4.14 ERA)The National Rankings:Apr. 24 at Washington State, 1 p.m. PST ASU - Jeff Mousser, RHP (2-3, 3.86 ERA) WSU - Aaron Trolia, RHP (4-3, 5.21 ERA)
Apr. 25 at Washington State, 12 p.m. PST ASU - TBA WSU - Garrett Alwert, LHP (3-1, 4.50 ERA)
The All-Time Series: All-Time Record vs. WSU:.....26-5 Last Year:...................ASU sweeps series (21-0, 5-3, 25-0)
National Polls (April 19, 2004)
Arizona State (26-12) is ranked No. 18 in the recent ESPN/Sports Weekly coaches poll. It marks the 90th straight week the Sun Devils have been ranked dating back to the start of the 2000 season. ASU dropped out of each the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls for the first time since the end of the 2002 season. WSU (22-13) is not ranked.
Media Exposure:
All three games of the WSU series will be broadcast on the radio or internet with Tim Healey and Bob Eger calling all the action from Bailey-Brayton Field. Friday's game will be carried on the internet only, while the Saturday and Sunday games will be on 1440 AM. All games are also available on www.TheSunDevils.com. Every game during the 2004 season will also have the statistical GameTracker on www.TheSunDevils.com.
Did You Know?
ASU ranks second in the Pac-10 and 28th in the NCAA with a .319 batting average... Dustin Pedroia is coming off another solid week, going 9-for-16 (.563) in the last four games... Pedroia leads the Pac-10 and is 28th in the NCAA batting .419... the Devils are 5-1 all-time in Pullman against the Cougars... with three more new starting lineups last weekend, ASU now has used 33 different batting lineups this season... of ASU's 38 games, 23 have come against opponents that have been ranked at one time this season... ASU is 11-3 against ranked teams.
What's On Tap:
The Sun Devil Baseball team (26-12, 5-7 Pac-10) continues an eight-game road swing this weekend with a three-game Pac-10 series against the Washington State Cougars in Pullman, Wash. ASU is coming off a series victory on the road at UCLA and is currently in eighth place in the Pac-10 with a 5-7 record. The Devils are part of a tightly-bunched league race, only 1.5 games back of three teams tied for second place. ASU will play three of their last four conference series on the road, returning home to face Oregon State (May 14-16) and then take back to the road to face Arizona and Stanford. Following the trip to the Palouse, the Devils will travel to Wichita, Kan., for a two-game, non-conference set at Wichita State (Apr. 27-28). ASU plays 13 of their final 18 games on the road, including a regular season-ending eight-game road trip.
Recapping Last Week:
The Sun Devils won three of four games last week and ended a four-game series skid by defeating UCLA in two of three Pac-10 contests. The Devils started the successful week wtih a 9-5 win over Arizona, then took the first two games against the Bruins. ASU's bid for a fourth straight win and the series sweep ended with a 11-10 UCLA victory on Sunday. The Devils averaged 8.75 runs per game last week while hitting at a .328 clip. Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia led Devils hitting .563 (9-for-16) with five walks and four runs scored. In two appearances on the mound, sophomore lefty Erik Averill had a 1.23 ERA giving up one run and four hits in 7.1 IP.
Quick Hits:
- Of ASU's 38 games this season, 23 have been played against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked. - Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia has hits in 32 of ASU's 38 games and leads the Pac-10 hitting .419 with 18 2B. - The Devils have used 33 different starting batting lineups and 25 different positional lineups this season. - Travis Buck is second in the Pac-10 with 45 RBI and is hitting .343 (47-for-137) with seven HR and seven SB. - Pedroia is sixth in the ASU record books with 267 career hits and a .388 career batting average (267-for-688). - Jason Urquidez is tied for the Pac-10 lead and is sixth in the NCAA with eight wins. He is 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA. - The Devils have been ranked in 90 consecutive national polls dating back to the start of the 2000 season. - The Sun Devils feature three players on the roster from the state of Washington (Buck, Curtis, Webb). - Senior 2B Nick Walsh is hitting .476 (20-for-42) in his last 10 games. He is hitting .410 in Pac-10 games. - ASU is going through a bit of a home run draught, hitting only one in the last eight games and 0 in last five.
Pedroia For National Player of the Year:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a leading candidate for Pac-10 and National Player of the Year honors. Through 38 games, Pedroia leads Pac-10 in hitting at .419 (65-for-155) with 48 runs scored, 18 doubles, five home runs and 33 RBI. He has hits in 32 of ASU's 38 games, including 18 multi-hit affairs and four games with two or more doubles. Pedroia also leads the Pac-10 in runs scored (48), hits (65), doubles (18), total bases (98), on-base percentage (.521) and is third with a .632 slugging percentage. 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 18 doubles this season, Pedroia now has 65 in his career, ranking fourth in the ASU career record books. He also has recorded 267 hits to rank 6th and his career .388 batting average (267-for-688) ranks sixth in the ASU record books. He has played and started all 164 games of his Sun Devil career and has recorded at least one hit in 139 games (85%). He has also recorded 86 career multi-hit games and is a .392 career hitter in 60 Pac-10 games (104-for-265). Additionally, the 2003 Collegiate Baseball Defensive Player of the Year has made only 19 errors in 725 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. Here is a look at Pedroia's season/career highlights and statistics:
- Among the league leaders in hitting (.419, 1st), hits (65, T-1st), runs (48, 1st), doubles (18, 1st) and total bases (98, 1st). - Hit .563 (9-for-16) with four runs, five walks and one double in four games last week against Arizona and UCLA. - Has a pair of 10-game hitting streaks this season and seven career streaks 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 with five home runs and has 10 in his career. Entered the season with only five career homers. - Has recorded 18 multi-hit games this season and 86 in his career. Has four three-hit games and four, four-hit contests in 2004. - Rated as the No. 28 overall position player by Baseball America for the 2004 MLB Draft. - A career .388 (267-for-688) hitter to rank sixth in hits (267) and sixth in batting average in the ASU career record books. - Has recorded at least one hit in 139 of 164 career games (85%) and has started every game of his career. - Has hit 65 career doubles, ranking fourth in the ASU career record books. Needs five more doubles to reach third 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.Pedroia Times Two: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.... .419 38-38 155 48 65 18 0 5 33 31 9 5-10 TOTAL... .388 164-164 688 182 267 65 5 10 130 91 41 13-26
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a doubles machine. Through ASU's first 38 games, Pedroia has 18 doubles to lead the Pac-10. 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 161 career games, the Woodland, Calif., native has 65 doubles to rank fourth in the ASU record books. He ranks 13th in the NCAA with 0.47 doubles per game this season.
Pedroia Ranks Sixth With 267 Career Hits:
With 267 career hits, junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is approaching the career top five in ASU history. He recently passed Barry Bonds (1983-85), who had 247 during his three years in Tempe. After recording nine hits in the last four games, Pedroia moved into sixth place, passing ASU legends Bob Horner and Antone Williamson. The all-time school record is 322 set by Clay Westlake from 1973-76.
Devils Ranked For 90th Straight Week:
After going 3-1 last week against Arizona and UCLA, Arizona State (26-12) moved up in the ESPN/Sports Weekly Coaches poll. ASU dropped completely out of the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls in recent weeks, marking the first time since 2002 that ASU has not appeared in both. The Devils moved up three spots from No. 21 to No. 18 in the coaches poll, extending a streak of 90 consecutive weeks in the national rankings 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.
Buck Providing Power and Production:
Sophomore right fielder Travis Buck leads ASU in two of the three Triple Crown categories with seven home runs and 45 RBI. He is also second in the Pac-10 in RBI and leads the conference with 37 walks. He is also amongst the league leaders in runs scored (39, 9th), doubles (12, 9th), total bases (80, 10th), slugging percentage (.584, 10th), on-base percentage (.497, 25th) and home runs (7, t-8th). Buck is hitting .343 (47-for-137) with 12 multi-hit games and leads the Devils with 11 multi-RBI contests. He also leads the team with five outfield assists and is 7-for-9 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 .332 (125-for-376) hitter with 11 home runs, 98 runs scored and 91 RBI.
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 to repeat and first since 1998 when 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 series-sweeping 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 2000 season against Florida State (2/6), Duke (2/11-13) and LSU (2/18).
A Triple Play For The Ages:
Leading 10-1 in the seventh inning in the series opener at UCLA (4/16), the Sun Devils completed a baseball oddity when they turned the first triple play in recorded school history. With no outs and runners on second and third, Bruin catcher Chris Denove hit what appeared to be a three-run home run over the right field fence. But, ASU sophomore outfielder Travis Buck leaped over the fence and pulled the ball back into play to record the out. He then relayed the ball to the infield where Dustin Pedroia and Seth Dhaenens recorded outs to complete the triple play. Instead of three runs, it was three outs.
Solid Defense Leads Devils To Series Victory Over UCLA:
The Sun Devils did not make an error in the three-game series at UCLA while winning the series, two-games to one. The trio of errorless games runs the 2004 total to 13 errorless games and marks the first time since the beginning of the 2003 season that the Devils have gone three straight games without an error. ASU's .970 fielding percentage ranks fourth in the Pac-10 and 28th in the nation. ASU also had no errors in the field and no walks on the mound in Saturday's 4-3 win.
Averill and Zinicola Go 15 Up, 15 Down:
In one of the most important games this season for the Sun Devils, the bullpen came to the rescue to give ASU a 4-3 victory over UCLA on April 17. Down 3-0 in the game with ace pitcher Jason Urquidez out of the game, the offense rallied to tie the game at 3-3, but more importantly, sophomore Erik Averill and freshman Zechry Zinicola kept the Bruins off the basepaths. Averill retired all 11 batters he faced in 3.2 perfect innings and Zinicola completed the come-from-behind win with 1.1 perfect innings (2 K's). In addition, Zinicola hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to put ASU up 4-3.
Urquidez Returns To Dominating On The Mound:
Junior right-handed pitcher Jason Urquidez is tied for the Pac-10 lead with eight wins, ranking sixth in the NCAA. The junior college transfer from Central Arizona College is 8-2 with a team-leading 2.97 ERA in 11 starts this season. In addition to leading the league in wins, he is also fourth in ERA (2.97), ninth in strikeouts (54) and fifth in opponents batting average (.244). Here is a look at Urquidez's game-by-game breakdown:
Date Opponent GS IP H R ER BB SO 2B 3B HR WP BK HBP DP IBB Score W-L SV ERA Feb 08, 2004 Florida State * 5.0 6 1 1 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12-6 1-0 0 1.80 Feb 14, 2004 vs Utah * 6.0 3 0 0 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11-0 2-0 0 0.82 Feb 22, 2004 at Rice * 9.0 3 1 1 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3-1 3-0 0 0.90 Feb 29, 2004 Connecticut * 3.0 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 18-11 4-0 0 1.17 Mar 06, 2004 East Carolina * 7.0 5 4 3 3 4 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 6-4 5-0 0 1.80 Mar 13, 2004 Tulane * 5.2 4 1 1 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11-3 6-0 0 1.77 Mar 20, 2004 California * 1.1 4 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 8-20 6-1 0 2.43 Mar 26, 2004 Washington * 4.1 5 5 3 4 6 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1-11 6-2 0 2.83 Apr 02, 2004 USC * 8.1 7 3 3 6 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10-3 7-2 0 2.90 Apr 09, 2004 Oral Roberts * 7.0 5 1 1 2 6 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 5-1 8-2 0 2.70 Apr 17, 2004 at UCLA * 4.0 8 3 3 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4-3 8-2 0 2.97 Totals 11 60.2 53 23 20 30 54 9 2 6 2 0 2 0 0 89-63 8-2 0 2.97A Washington Homecoming:
Three Sun Devils will have a homecoming of sorts this weekend when ASU travels to the Palouse for a three-game series against the Washington State Cougars. Freshman Colin Curtis (Issaquah, Wash.) is from the western side of the state, but will still have tons of family and friends make the trek across the Evergreen State to watch him play. Sophomore Travis Buck hails from Richland, Wash., about two hours south of Pullman. He was high school teammates with WSU slugger Grant Richardson and played summer baseball for former WSU skipper Steve Farrington. Freshman left-hander Travis Webb has the strongest ties to Cougar country, as both his mother and father attended WSU. Webb's father, Stan, played baseball for WSU in the early 1980's for legendary head coach Chuck "Bobo" Brayton. His uncle, former NBA guard Craig Ehlo, also attended WSU and played basketball.
The All-Time Series Against Washington State:
The Sun Devils and Cougars meet on the Diamond for the sixth straight year. ASU carries an all-time 25-6 record into the series and owns a 5-1 record at Bailey-Brayton Field. The Sun Devils and Cougars renewed the rivalry with a three-game series in 1998 at Packard Stadium that served as a primer to Pac-10 North and Six-Pac (Pac-10 South) joining in 1999. ASU and WSU had previously last met in the 1990 NCAA Regional in which ASU won 8-6 in 10 innings.
Last Year Against The Cougars:
The Sun Devils had a record-breaking weekend against Washington State last year, sweeping the three-game Pac-10 series in Tempe by a combined score of 51-3. ASU opened with a 21-0 shutout and then battled for a 5-3 victory in 10 innings the following night. Slugger Jeremy West hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to give ASU the victory. ASU then finished off WSU with a staggering 25-0 shutout on Sunday, including a 10-run first inning. Nick Walsh had a career weekend, going 8-for-14 (.571), including going 6-for-6 with three doubles and six run-scoring hits in Sunday's 25-0 victory. West, who is currently a minor leaguer with the Boston Red Sox, hit five home runs and drove home 13 runs in the series. ASU hit .437 in the series and pitched for an impressive 0.96 ERA.
Mousser Dominates Cougars... as a Cougar:
Senior right-handed pitcher Jeff Mousser will get a second look at a familiar opponent. Last year as a BYU Cougar, Mousser beat the WSU Cougars in a complete-game, five-hit shutout in the Banana Belt Classic at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho (home of the NAIA World Series champs, Lewis-Clark State). Mousser struck out five and walked one en route to earning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors. The Tempe native is 2-3 on the season with a 3.86 ERA. He is coming off a strong outing against UCLA last weekend when he gave up only five hits and one run in a season-high tying seven innings. The win broke a personal three-game losing streak.
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