Sun Devil Baseball Weekly Preview (5/20)

May 20, 2013

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Tickets start at just $7 and are going fast! Call 480-727-0000, visit sundeviltickets.com or go to the Sun Devil Ticket Office open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Attend the baseball awards banquet
Tickets are $55 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under, or buy a table for 10 people for $550. Fans can also sponsor a dinner for $55 or sponsor an award for $250.

Current Overall Record: 34-17-1,15-12 Pac-12

Last Week: 2-2
May 15 | Arizona State 8, Texas Tech 5 (home) | HIGHLIGHTS
May 17 | Arizona 10, Arizona State 7 (home) | HIGHLIGHTS
May 18 | Arizona State 6, Arizona 3 (home) | HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE |
May 19 | Arizona 7, Arizona State 6 (home) | HIGHLIGHTS

May 21, 6:30 p.m. PT | BYU at No. 13 Arizona State | Tempe, Ariz. (Packard Stadium) | RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 | STATS
May 24, 5 p.m. PT | No. 13 Arizona State at Washington | Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) | VIDEO: LIVE STREAM | RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 | STATS
May 25, 4 p.m. PT | No. 13 Arizona State at Washington | Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) | WATCH: Pac-12 Networks | RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 | STATS
May 26, 12 p.m. PT | No. 13 Arizona State at Washington | Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) | WATCH: Pac-12 Networks | RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 | STATS

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Leading Off
The Sun Devils close out their regular season home slate with a midweek conference matchup against BYU on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ASU then travels to Washington to finish the 2013 regular season with a three-game Pac-12 set Friday-Sunday. First pitch on Friday is at 5 p.m., while Saturday's begins at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.

Can't Make It?
Friday's game will be live streamed online through Pac-12.com, and both Saturday and Sunday's games in Seattle will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. All four games next week will be broadcast on the MidFirst Bank Sun Devil IMG Sports Network on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the All-Access Player at thesundevils.com.

Season Ticket Renewal:
Season ticket holders can renew and/or pre order postseason tickets by calling their service representative at 480.965.5333 or visiting the Sun Devil Ticket Office at Sun Devil Stadium. The deadline to retain your seats and receive the best possible price is Saturday, June 22. Meeting the renewal deadline will also ensure you receive priority when selecting seats at the new Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015.

Baseball Promotional Schedule 

TUESDAY, May 21, vs BYU at 6:30 p.m.

• 2013 Player Card Giveaway featuring all 34 Sun Devil Baseball players
• Junior Sun Devil Club Night
  • Two free general admission tickets with a Kids Club ID

Road to Omaha | NCAA.com
Regional hosts and sites announced May 26, 6 p.m. PT
NCAA Selection Show: May 27, 9 a.m. PT on ESPNU
64 teams, 30 automatic qualifiers, 16 seeded teams
Regionals: May 31-June 4 on 16 campus sites. Four-teams, double elimination (ESPN family of networks)
Super Regionals (best-of-three series): June 7-10 on eight campus sites. Two teams, best-of-three format (ESPN family of networks)
CWS: Omaha, Neb., June 15-26 (ESPN family of networks)

In The Polls:
Collegiate Baseball: 13
Baseball America: 19
Perfect Game: 21
RPI (BoydsWorld.com): 21

Pac-12 Baseball Standings as of May 20, 2013 (rankings according to Collegiate Baseball):
No. 4 Oregon State: 22-5, 43-9
No. 7 Oregon: 20-7, 43-13 (2 GB)
No. 11 UCLA: 20-7, 37-15 (2 GB)
No. 13 Arizona State: 15-12, 34-17-1 (7 GB)
Stanford: 14-13, 29-21 (8 GB)
Washington: 13-14, 22-31 (9 GB)
Arizona: 12-14, 31-21 (9.5 GB)

Sun Devil Stars of the Week

3B Michael Benjamin
Benjamin batted .526 (10-for-19) with seven RBI, three doubles, a home run and three runs scored. He totaled a .842 slugging percentage and a .526 on-base percentage. He recorded multiple hits in three of the four games, including four hits against Texas Tech, two on Friday against Arizona and three hits on Sunday against Arizona. He went 2-for-5 with three RBI, a solo home run and a run scored in a win over the Wildcats on Saturday. He has collected multiple hits in eight of his past nine games and recorded an RBI in seven of his past nine games. As of May 20, Benjamin ranks in the top six in nearly every major hitting category in the conference. He leads the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.588), hits (77) and total bases (127). He is third in batting average (.370) and runs scored (54), sixth in RBI (41), second in doubles (18), fourth in home runs (8) and is also seventh in triples (4).	RHP Josh McAlister
McAlister pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings this past week and gave up just four hits, one walk and struck out three in two appearances Threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and gave up just two hits and no walks in an 8-5 win over Texas Tech Also tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings with just two hits and walk in a 7-6 loss to Arizona Both outings tied his season high for innings pitched He has given up just one earned run in 13 1/3 innings this season

 

Best Fans on the West Coast:
More than 12,000 fans attended the week's four games at Packard, including a season-high 4,305 on Saturday and 4,150 on Friday. ASU remains in first in the Pac-12 and West Coast in average attendance, and is 20th overall, at 2,804 fans per game (75,712 total). The next closest West Coast team is Arizona with 2,691 per game.

Past Week Recap
The Sun Devils honored their three seniors on Sunday, including pitchers Alex Blackford and Matt Dunbar, and catcher Max Rossiter...click here for a photo gallery of the three's ASU careers...seven Devils reached base in the final two innings on Sunday as ASU loaded the bases in both the eighth and ninth innings, but could not overcome its one-run deficit...Benjamin extended his hitting streak to nine games and now has 25 multiple-hit games, including a team-high eight with at least three hits...the Sun Devils have registered double-digit hits in16 of the past 19 games and 34 total games this season...ASU put 10 of 14 batters on base in the 7th and 8th innings on Saturday...all three pitchers on Saturday were freshmen as Ryan Kellogg started, Brett Lilek pitched in relief and Ryan Burr earned the win...Burr also earned the save against Texas Tech to move into a tie for the most saves by an ASU freshman in a single season...ASU put eight of 14 runners on base in the final two innings on Friday.