June 2, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) - After rolling through the NCAA Regionals last weekend at Tempe Diablo Staadium, the Arizona State Sun Devils continue their Road to Omaha this weekend in a best-of-three super regional at No. 7 national seed Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field.
Friday's game will start at 4:05 p.m., followed by 12:05 p.m. games on Saturday and, if necessary, on Sunday. The NCAA, in conjunction with ESPN, dictated game times for the super regional. All of ASU's postseason games will be broadcast live over the radio on KDUS (1060 AM), "The Valley Sports Authority", with Tim Healey and Bog Eger bringing you all the action from the Goodwin Field press box.
All-tournament tickets, which go on sale this morning at the Cal State Fullerton athletics ticket office, are available for $25 for adults and $20 for youth and seniors. Single game tickets, if available, will go on sale at Goodwin Field at 2:35 p.m. on Friday for $10 for adults and $8 for youth and seniors. More information is available by calling the ticket office at (714) 278-CSUF.
Over 30 hours of nation-wide super regional television will be provided by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN syndication. Consult local listings for specific games shown in each area of the country. All 16 to 24 super regional games also are available through ESPN's College Grand Slam subscription package on many cable systems and satellite providers.
The Sun Devils (53-12 overall) are ranked fifth by Baseball America and swept through their regional last weekend outscoring Central Connecticut State, New Mexico State and UNLV by a combined score of 45-3. The Devils will be facing another West Coast power in the Titans (46-13 overall), who own a 29-2 record at Goodwin Field this year. Cal State Fullerton swept San Diego and earned a pair of wins over Notre Dame to advance to the super regionals.
ASU enters Super Regional action with a team batting average of .352 and have the best team ERA since 1976 at 3.18. Sophomore shortstop Dustin Pedroia was named the Tempe regional most outstanding player, going 8-for-16 (.500) and is hitting .423 overall with 34 doubles and 120 hits. Junior designated hitter Jeremy West (.384-17 HR-71 RBI) carries a career-long 21-game hitting streak into the series with Fullerton and junior outfielder Andre Ethier (.373-9 HR-66 RBI) has a 20-game streak intact. Sophomore first baseman Jeff Larish was named a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and is hitting .372 with 17 home runs and has recoded 92 RBI.
The winner of this weekend's super regional earns one of eight berths in the College World Series in Omaha, beginning June 13. ASU is making its first super regional appearance since the NCAA adopted the format in 1999 and is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time in school history and the sixth time in the last seven years.