No. 8 Baseball Travels To No. 2 Stanford For Regular Season-Ending Showdown

Did You Know:
ASU has won 10 of its last 11 games and 16 of the last 19 to run its record to 39-14... ASU still has a shot at the Pac-10 title with a sweep of Stanford... the Devils lead the Pac-10 in hitting (.331) and fielding (.975) and are second with a 4.46 ERA... the 18 saves are already fourth most in school history and the most since the 1990 season (22)... Dustin Pedroia needs 10 more hits to reach 100 for the season and eight more hits for 300 in his career... Travis Buck has a current 16-game hitting streak... Jason Urquidez leads the Pac-10 and is eighth in the NCAA with 11 wins... Jeff Larish has three HR in the last 5 games.

What's On Tap:
The No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils (39-14, 12-9 Pac-10) complete the 2004 regular season this weekend with a three-game series at No. 2 Stanford (42-11, 14-7 Pac-10). ASU is currently tied for third in the league race with UCLA and will need a series sweep of the Cardinal to earn a share of the Pac-10 title. ASU is hot winning 11 of its last 12 and 16 of 19 heading into the series, including a string of nine of the last 12 Pac-10 tilts. Following the series at Sunken Diamond, ASU will return to the Valley and wait for the selection of the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The regional pairings will be announced Monday (May 31) at 9 a.m. (PT) on ESPN2.

An Offensive Road Trip Through The Southwest:
Traveling over 1,000 miles and 18 hours by bus didn't seem to affect the Sun Devil baseball team on a recent five-game, seven day road trip through the Southwest. ASU went 4-1 in games at New Mexico, New Mexico State and Arizona. During the week-long trip, the ASU offense exploded by hitting .396 (80-for-202) with eight doubles, three triples and 10 home runs. The Devils recorded season highs in hits (26), home runs (4) and runs (22) in the 22-4 win over New Mexico (5/18). The 26 hits are the ninth most in ASU history. Sophomore Travis Buck hit at a torrid .619 (13-for-21) clip during the five-game stretch.

Quick Hits:

- Of ASU's 53 games this season, 33 have been played against teams that have been ranked or are currently ranked.
- Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia has hit safely in 45 of 53 games and is hitting .409 with 9 HR and 23 doubles.
- The Devils have used 43 different starting batting lineups and 32 different positional lineups this season.
- Josh Asanovich (12-G hitting streak) is second on the team hitting .379 and is 23-for-47 (.489) in his last 14 games.
- Jason Urquidez leads the Pac-10 with 11 wins (11-2) and is also third with a 2.90 ERA (89 K, 90.0 IP).
- The Devils have been ranked in 95 consecutive national polls dating back to the start of the 2000 season.
- Tuffy Gosewisch was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Award.
- 10th year head coach Pat Murphy needs one(1) more wins to record his 400th as a Sun Devil.
- Jeff Mousser is 5-0 in his last five starts to improve to 6-3 and is fifth in the Pac-10 with a 3.57 ERA.
- Travis Buck is hitting .373 with nine home runs and was 13-for-21 in 5 G last week. 16-game hit streak.
- ASU holds the No. 3 projected RPI in the nation (www.BoydsWorld.com) and is 13-3 against top 25 teams.
- LHP Erik Averill is 4-1 with two saves and a 3.69 ERA as a reliever (2-0, 2 SV, 1.27 ERA in last 9 relief app.).
- ASU is 26-3 this season when the starting pitcher goes five or more innings. The starters are 21-8, 3.89 ERA.
- The Devils have made one or less errors in 39 of 53 games and no errors in 19 games (.974 FLD%).
- Led by 6 from Zinicola, ASU's 18 saves are the most since 1990 (22) and fourth most in ASU history.
- Dustin Pedroia has been named one of five finalists for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.

Pedroia For National Player of the Year:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia is a leading candidate for Pac-10, National Player of the Year honors and the prestigious Golden Spikes Award. Through 53 games, Pedroia is second in the Pac-10 and is 21nst in the NCAA hitting .409 (90-for-220) with 74 runs scored, 23 doubles, nine home runs and 48 RBI. He has hit safely in 45 of ASU's 53 games, including 27 multi-hit affairs and four games with two or more doubles. Pedroia also leads the Pac-10 in runs scored (74), hits (90), doubles (23), on-base percentage (.515) and is third with a .645 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 23 doubles this season, Pedroia now has 70 in his career, ranking tied for third in the ASU career record books. He also has recorded 292 hits to rank fourth and his career .388 batting average (292-for-753) ranks tied for sixth in the ASU record books. He has played and started all 179 games of his Sun Devil career and has recorded at least one hit in 152 games (85%). He has also recorded 95 career multi-hit games and is a .391 career hitter in 69 Pac-10 games (118-for-302). 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:

- Hitting .409 overall (90-for-220) with 23 doubles, nine home runs, 48 RBI and a .515 on-base percentage.
- Golden Spikes Award Finalist and Dick Howser Player of the Year Award Semifinalist.
- Leads the Pac-10 in several categories, including runs (74), hits (90), doubles (23) and is second in assists (167).
- Has hit safely in 45 of 53 games in 2004 and 152 of 179 in his career. Leads the team with 33 extra base hits (23 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR).
- Has 27 multi-hit games this season and 95 in his career. Has 12 multi-hit games in ASU's last 19 contests (.420, 34-for-81).
- Has a pair of 10-game hitting streaks this season and seven career streaks of 10 or more games.
- Tied for the team lead with nine home runs and has 14 in his career. Entered the season with only five career homers.
- Rated as the No. 53 overall prospect by Baseball America and No. 16 rated position player for the 2004 MLB Draft.
- A career .388 (292-for-753) hitter to rank fourth in hits (292) and tied for sixth in batting average (.388) in the ASU record books.
- Needs 8 more hits to reach the 300-hit milestone. He will be the fourth in ASU history and first to reach that mark in three years.
- Needs only 10 more hits to reach 100, becoming only the third player in ASU history to record back-to-back 100-hit seasons.
- Has hit 70 career doubles, ranking tied for third in the ASU career record book with former first-round draft pick Antone Williamson.
- 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.
- Named the 2003 Defensive Player of the Year, he has a career .975 fielding percentage with only 20 errors in 793 total chances.
- Starting shortstop for USA Baseball National Team in 2002 and 2003, leading Team USA to a bronze medal in the Pan Am Games.

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....  .409   53-53    220   74   90   23    1    9   48   43   11    8-13
TOTAL...  .388  179-179   753  208  292   70    6   14  145  103   43   16-29

Pedroia Inching Towards 300:
With 292 career hits, junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia ranks fourth in school history and is only eight hits short of the 300 mark. With eight more hits, he will become only the fourth Sun Devil to reach 300 hits in a career and the first to do so in three ore less seasons. Pedroia is also eighth in the ASU record books with 753 career at-bats, seventh in runs (208) and has never missed a game in his Sun Devil career (179 games).

Pole Position:
Coming off a series victory over rival Arizona and winners of 11 of its last 12, Arizona State remains a consensus top 20 team. The Devils are ranked No. 8 in the ESPN/Sports Weekly Coaches poll, No. 15 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 16 by Baseball America. Ranked in the coaches poll every week this season, ASU has extended a streak of 95 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.

Dominating the Arizona Baseball Rivalry:
Arizona and Arizona State are the only two division I baseball programs in the state of Arizona and have met 408 times since 1907. While Arizona leads the overall rivalry 220-188, ASU leads the series 165-103 since the school officially adopted the program as a varsity sport in 1959. Additionally, ASU has dominated the rivalry in recent years, winning 16 of the last 20 games since 2000. The Sun Devils won four of the five meetings this year and seven of the last eight overall. ASU has won six straight series over Arizona. Since head coach Pat Murphy took over the program in 1995, ASU is 34-16 (.680) and has never lost a season series to the Wildcats.

Buck Providing Power and Production:
Sophomore right fielder Travis Buck leads the team with 55 RBI and is third on the team hitting .373 (75-for-201). He is also tied for the team lead with nine home runs and has a .592 slugging percentage. He is amongst the league leaders in RBI (55), runs scored (58), stolen bases (12) and walks (38). He has hit safely in 43 of 53 games this season and has recorded 21 multi-hit games. He was one of ASU's hottest hitters on the road swing through New Mexico and Arizona, going 13-for-21 (.619). Buck is currently in the midst of a career-high 16-game hitting streak, going 30-for-68 (.441) with 20 runs and 10 RBI during the stretch of games dating back to April 18 at UCLA. Additionaly, Buck has hit safely in 19 of his last 20 games and 24 of his last 28. He also leads the team with five outfield assists and is 12-for-15 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). Buk is a career .348 (153-for-440) hitter with 13 home runs, 117 runs scored and 101 RBI.

Pedroia and Buck Eye Possible Triple Crown:
Junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia and sophomore right fielder Travis Buck are amongst the team leaders in the three Triple Crown categories. Pedroia leads the team hitting .409, while tied with Buck with nine home runs. Buck is hitting .373 (third on the team) and has a seven-RBI advantage on Pedroia with 55 RBI. Former All-American catcher Casey Myers was the last Sun Devil to lead the team in all three categories in 2001 when he hit .395 with seven home runs and 69 RBI.

Pedroia Named Golden Spikes Award Finalist:
Arizona State junior shortstop Dustin Pedroia has been named one of five finalists for the prestigious 2004 Golden Spikes Award. Pedroia joins Mississippi sophomore Stephen Head, Texas junior Huston Street, Rice junior Wade Townsend and Long Beach State junior Jered Weaver as the five finalists for the 2004 Golden Spikes Award. Pedroia is the seventh all-time finalist from ASU, as he tries to become the fourth winner of the award. Mike Kelly (1991), Oddibe McDowell (1984) and Bob Horner (1978) have helped ASU to a record-tying three Golden Spikes Awards. Jacob Cruz (1994), Paul Lo Duca (1993) and Kelly 1990) were also finalists for the Golden Spikes. Pedroia is also one of 30 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, presented annually by the NCBWA to the top college player in the nation.

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.

Buck Invited to USA Baseball National Team Trials:
Travis Buck has been invited to the USA Baseball National Team Trials for the second straight year. The sophomore outfielder was one of the first 19 players invited to attend the tryouts in Durham, N.C., in mid June. ASU ranks eighth for producing players to USA Baseball and has had at least one player on Team USA in five of the last six years. Juniors Dustin Pedroia and Jeff Larish helped the 2003 Team USA squad to a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Flashing The Leather:
The Sun Devils have won 16 of their last 19 games and much of it is because of solid defense. ASU is tied for first in the Pac-10 and ranks 15th in the NCAA with a .974 fielding percentage. ASU has played errorless in the field this year in 19 games, including five of the last eight games. While going 16-3 in the last 16 games, ASU has a .983 FLD% with only 12 errors in 715 chances. The .974 fielding percentage is currently tied for the single-season school record, established by the 1971 squad.

Asanovich Heating Up:
Junior infielder Josh Asanovich has raised his batting average 142 points from .237 (3/14) to its current mark of .379 by going 38-for-86 (.442) in his last 29 games. Asanovich ranks fourth in the Pac-10 hitting .379 (47-for-124) and is also fourth with a .481 on-base percentage. He has nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 36 RBI. Asanovich has a current 12-game hitting streak in which he is hitting .512 (21-for-41) and is 25-for-56 (.512) over his last 18 games.

Last Year Against Stanford:
The Sun Devils lost two of three to the Stanford Cardinal Mar. 22-24 at Packard Stadium during the record-breaking 2003 season. ASU won the opener 7-6 in 11 innings. Senior Dennis Wyrick drove home the game-winning run with a single to left field to score Dustin Pedroia. The second game of the series also went into extra frames when Andre Ethier hit a two-out, three-run home run off David O'Hagen in the ninth inning to tie the game at 9-9. Stanford scored the game-winning run on a Sam Fuld single in the top of the 10th inning. Freshman All-American Mark Romanczuk gave the Cardinal the series win with a complete-game, five-hitter in a 4-2 victory. Pac-10 co-Player of the Year Ryan Garko had a big day going 4-for-4 with three RBI and hit the game-winning, two-run home run off reliever Mark Sopko in the top of the eighth inning.

ASU at Sunken Diamond:
The Sun Devils are 6-12 at Sunken Diamond since 10th year head coach Pat Murphy took over the program in 1995. ASU last traveled to Palo Alto to face the Cardinal in 2002, dropping two of three games. ASU has lost eight of the last nine games at Sunken Diamond after recording a series sweep in 1997. The Devils out-scored Stanford 14-10 in the 2002 series at Sunkein Diamond, losing a pair of two-run contests.

Urquidez Dominating On The Mound:
Junior right-handed pitcher Jason Urquidez leads the Pac-10 and is eighth in the NCAA with eight wins. The junior college transfer from Central Arizona College is 11-2 with a team-leading 2.90 ERA in 17 games this season. In addition to leading the league in wins, he is also third in ERA (2.90), fifth in opposing batting average (.240), ninth in innings pitched (90.0) and fifth in strikeouts (89). Urquidez struck out a career-high 12 batters in 8.1 innings against Oregon State (5/15) and had nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings in his last start at rival Arizona. He has won his last three starts and has 28 strikeouts in his last three games (20.1 IP). 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
Apr 24, 2004 at Washington State        *   6.1   7   2   2   1   4     0   0   0     0   0   2   0   0    5-2     8-2   0   2.96
Apr 27, 2004 at Wichita State               1.0   1   1   1   2   1     0   0   0     0   0   1   0   0   10-9     8-2   0   3.04
Apr 28, 2004 at Wichita State               1.1   3   2   2   1   2     0   0   1     0   0   0   0   0    4-3     8-2   0   3.25
May 03, 2004    New Mexico State        *   5.0   2   1   1   2   7     0   0   1     0   0   0   0   0   19-2     9-2   0   3.15
May 15, 2004    Oregon State            *   8.1   9   1   1   2  12     0   0   0     0   0   1   0   0    3-1    10-2   0   2.94
May 22, 2004 at Arizona                 *   7.1   3   2   2   4   9     1   0   0     0   0   0   0   0    7-2    11-2   0   2.90
Totals                                 15  90.0  78  32  29  42  89    10   2   8     2   0   6   0   0  137-82   11-2   0   2.90

ASU in NCAA Rankings:
Arizona State leads the Pac-10 and ranks sixth in the nation with a .331 team batting average. The Devils are also ranked 14th averaging 8.2 runs per game and 15th with a .974 fielding percentage. Individually, Dustin Pedroia ranks fourth averaging 1.4 runs scored per game and Jason Urquidez is eighth nationally with 11 wins. Here is a look at how the Sun Devils rank in the weekly NCAA statistics:

Team Stats            Rank      Actual    National Leader          Actual
Batting Average       6         .331      Eastern Kentucky         .379
Earned Run Average    72        4.46      Texas                    2.56
Fielding Percentage   15        .974      Creighton                .981
Scoring               14        8.2       Southern                 10.1
WL Pct                15        .736      East Carolina            .839

Individual Stats     Player             Rank    Actual    National Leader
Batting Average      Dustin Pedroia     21      .409      Caleb Moore, ETSU (.466)
Runs Per Game        Dustin Pedroia     4       1.4       Jeff Palumbo, GM (1.44)
Doubles Per Game     Dustin Pedroia     15      0.43      Caleb Moore, ETSU (.60)
Victories            Jason Urquidez     8       11        Jered Weaver, LBSU (14)

           Division I   Overall
Rank Rating   W   L      W   L    Team

  1   0.658   41  11     41  11   Miami, Florida
  2   0.652   48  11     48  11   Texas
  3   0.633   39  14     39  14   Arizona State
  4   0.625   41  15     41  15   Louisiana State
  5   0.622   41  15     41  15   South Carolina
  6   0.622   39  17     39  17   Mississippi
  7   0.620   38  18     38  18   Florida
  8   0.617   40  11     40  11   Rice
  9   0.615   42  11     42  11   Virginia
 10   0.614   47   9     47   9   East Carolina
 11   0.614   37  18     37  18   Georgia
 12   0.613   37  19     37  19   Florida State
 13   0.611   38  17     38  17   Georgia Tech
 14   0.610   37  19     37  19   Arkansas
 15   0.607   42  11     42  11   Stanford
 16   0.607   39  17     39  17   Texas A&M
 17   0.607   34  22     34  22   Clemson
 18   0.603   39  16     39  16   Vanderbilt
 19   0.600   34  20     34  20   North Carolina State
 20   0.598   36  20     36  20   Cal State Fullerton