Ariz st next on the Big Red choppin block

[Eric the Red]

College World Series homepage

 

Time to start the most important thread of the entire year.

[BelieveN]

Ill get pissed if they get the 1:00 game

[Blackshirt]

Ill get pissed if they get the 1:00 game

I agree. Didnt we get the early slot a few years ago as well? I wouldnt be surprised if we get it again though b/c the CWS knows it will sell out if its played at 1 AM, so why not put us in the less popular slot. Anyone know who we will most likely play?

[bigredtoad]

Well fellas it looks like ASU is the next roadkill for the Big REd machine!!!

 

Heres some info I found on them

 

From NCAAsports.com before the Supers:

 

ARIZONA STATE (37-22)

Head Coach: Pat Murphy (438-218-1 in 11 seasons at Arizona State).

 

Super Regional History: Arizona State's only appearance in a Super Regional was in 2003 when the Sun Devils lost the series 2-1 against Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif.

 

College World Series History: Arizona State has reached the CWS 18 times, and won five NCAA titles – 1965, '67, '69, '77 and ‘81. The Sun Devils' last trip to Omaha was in 1998, when they lost to Southern California in the championship game. ASU owns a 55-30 record at the CWS since its first appearance in 1964.

 

How They Advanced: Arizona State hosted a regional despite being the No. 2 seed. The Sun Devils opened play with a 9-6 victory over East Carolina, and then defeated top-seeded Coastal Carolina twice by scores of 11-3 and 9-5 to win the regional championship.

 

Players to Watch: Junior right fielder Travis Buck leads the Sun Devils in hitting with a .389 average, and has hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games. He has 33 multi-hit games this year, and is one of just 21 players in ASU history to record 100 hits in a season. Buck is batting .434 (85-for-196) in his last 44 games, including a .400 clip in NCAA postseason play.

Senior first baseman Jeff Larish leads the Sun Devils with 19 home runs this year, and is batting .320 with 15 doubles and 61 RBI. He ranks second in the ASU history with 47 career home runs. Larish batted .545 with two homers and five RBI in the NCAA Regional.

 

Senior right-hander Jason Urquidez and junior left-hander Erik Averill have posted identical 9-4 records this season, and each have 21 career victories. Averill leads the Sun Devils with a 3.77 ERA, while Urquidez has posted a 4.05 ERA this season. The pair combined for two wins, a 2.40 ERA and 16 strikeouts in regional play.

 

Noting the Sun Devils: ASU is riding a seven-game winning streak, in which the team has posted a .343 batting average and 2.71 ERA … The Sun Devils are 31-13 in their last 44 games after beginning the season 6-9 … ASU leads the Pac-10 with 123 stolen bases, which is the most by an ASU squad since 1999 (130) … Arizona State played 34 of its 56 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

 

------------------------------------------------------

 

From Baseball America before the Supers. The "scouting report" here was written by an anonymous coach who had faced ASU this season.

 

Arizona State is least impressive team of the three (Pac-10 teams left). They don’t have the arms of Arizona or Oregon State. They're very good at home, but they could scuffle on road. They do a little bit of everything. They have power and speed.

 

The pitchers throw strikes, but are not overwhelming. We played all close games, and those guys pitched with pressure, made quality pitches with runners in scoring position. (Erik) Averill is very average (with) a fastball at 86-87 and a change. If you have the right plan, you can get to Averill quick because he doesn't throw a good breaking ball. Averill does have the ability to pitch to the circumstance, force contact with a lead, pitch around a guy with a base open. The best guy is (Jason) Urquidez. He's experienced, has a good slider and was the Pac-10 pitcher of the year last year. It's not super-regional pitching.

 

(Travis) Buck and (Jeff) Larish, those superstars can hurt you bad. Larish can hit the long ball. You almost want to walk him late in games because he can end it with one swing. Buck is the best player. He is legit; he can hit lefties, and he can hit good velocity. This is a predominantly lefthanded lineup, and a good lefthander really shuts them down. They're getting (Cal State Fullerton lefthanders Ryan) Schreppel and (Ricky) Romero, good night.

 

(Tuffy) Gosewisch is an experienced catcher and I like him. He's headstrong, runs the game, calls all the pitches. I think the underrated player is the second baseman, (Seth) Dhaenens. He's a nice player. (Joey) Hooft is very average at third. J.J. Sferra is a good little freshman who can go get everything in center. These guys like to run a lot. You can pick and pick and pick, but it can make it easier for them to pick their spots. After you pick they can go. They all ran well. The pressure stays on you.

[DJR313]

I am gonna be there on friday. Anyone else?

[Eric the Red]

I am gonna be there on friday. Anyone else?

I'm trying, Blackshirt for sure.

[BelieveN]

Ill be there DJR

 

I really like our chances this year, our pitching staff is so deep and we are red hot at the plate.

I think its great playing Arizona St. (37-22)< something like that

they are pretty solid at home , but they are just an average team on the road

 

IM going to be red,loud and mean

 

GBR

 

this is our year

[DJR313]

I like our chances too. This team is more well rounded than the other 2 Nebraska teams that have made it.

[kramer]

Nebraska's College World Series opener against Arizona State has been scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and will be carried nationally on ESPN2.

[BelieveN]

hey i was curious if anyone is goin to stay the night @ rosenblatt for GA tickets?

 

I am goin with my 2 cousins

 

I did it last time nebraska was in the CWS and its alot of fun, it like a huge tailgating party

[Eric the Red]

hey i was curious if anyone is goin to stay the night @ rosenblatt for GA tickets?

 

I am goin with my 2 cousins

 

I did it last time nebraska was in the CWS and its alot of fun, it like a huge tailgating party

Were you guys drinkning on line?

[formerfan]

I would like to go, but Im getting too old to fight the crowd for a seat. I'll probably find a local tavern to belly-up to, and invite some friends.

 

I like this teams chances, as they are more well rounded, especially with pitching. I am still concerned about some fundamental things like leaving runners in scoring position (especially with less than 2 outs) and baserunning errors. If they can get those ironed out, keep up the hitting, defense, and good pitching, these guys can make some noise!!

[Eric the Red]

I would like to go, but Im getting too old to fight the crowd for a seat. I'll probably find a local tavern to belly-up to, and invite some friends.

 

I like this teams chances, as they are more well rounded, especially with pitching. I am still concerned about some fundamental things like leaving runners in scoring position (especially with less than 2 outs) and baserunning errors. If they can get those ironed out, keep up the hitting, defense, and good pitching, these guys can make some noise!!

I think they have some of that ironed out. though. It was a problem a little in the regioanl, but they did bring home 28 runs in 3 games.

[Eric the Red]

Huskers take game 1

 

Huskers Scorch Devils in First CWS Win

 

Omaha - The No. 3 national seed Nebraska Cornhuskers came up with several key hits and received another solid pitching performance while running their winning streak to a season-high 11 games by defeating Arizona State, 5-3, in front of a College World Series Session 2 record crowd of 24,904 Friday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

 

With the victory, Nebraska improved to 57-13 on the year while picking up its first-ever victory in three trips to the CWS. The Huskers will try to add a second straight CWS win on Sunday when they face No. 7 national seed Florida in a winner's bracket game at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The Gators advanced with a 6-4 victory over SEC rival Tennessee in Friday's first game.

 

Nebraska opened the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Joe Simokaitis extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a one-out single and advanced on an Alex Gordon walk. Simokaitis, who was the only Husker to produce two hits on the night, scored Nebraska's first run of the CWS on Curtis Ledbetter's single up the middle, and Gordon came across when ASU right fielder Travis Buck dropped a fly ball off the bat of Ryan Bohanan that would have been the third out.

 

The Sun Devils scratched out a run in the top of the next frame to cut the Husker advantage to 2-1. Seth Dhaenes singled with two outs and came around on Joey Hooft's double before Nebraska starter Joba Chamberlain got out of the jam.

 

Chamberlain, who was making his NU single-season record tying 18th start of the year, went on to retire 10 straight ASU batters over the next three innings before running into trouble in the top of the sixth. Chamberlain gave up a leadoff walk to No. 9 hitter Andrew Romine before Jeff Larish singled to center. After a sacrifice advanced the runners, the Huskers issued an intentional walk to Colin Curtis to load the bases with one out.

 

Tuffy Gosewisch, the Sun Devils' RBI leader, then doubled to the gap in right center to drive in a pair of runs. Gosewisch would have had three RBIs but second baseman Ryan Wehrle made a perfect relay from right fielder Andy Gerch to catcher Jeff Christy, who tagged out Curtis at the plate for the second out of the inning.

 

Nebraska answered in the bottom of the sixth by scoring three runs to take a 5-3 lead. NU loaded the bases with a single, walk and hit by pitch to chase Sun Devil reliever Zechry Zinicola, who fell to 3-4 with the loss.

 

Ryan Wehrle then greeted reliever Brett Bordes with a sharp single up the middle for the game-winning runs. Christy followed with an RBI single down the right field line to give NU a two-run cushion.

 

The clutch hitting of Wehrle and Christy made a winner out of Chamberlain, who improved to 10-2 on the season by pitching 7.0 strong innings, scattering five hits and three runs while striking out four. Chamberlain threw 104 pitches on his way to becoming NU's second 10-game winner of the season, joining freshman Johnny Dorn (12-1) with double-figure wins. Chamberlain and Dorn became the first Husker duo in history to win 10 or more games in the same season.

 

Chamberlain was not the only Husker pitcher to make it into the record books, as closer Brett Jensen came on with two outs in the eighth and shut down the Sun Devils for his 16th save of the season. Jensen, who already owned the Huskers' single-season saves mark, moved into sole possession of the NU career mark with his 18th save over the past three seasons.

 

Jensen has notched four consecutive saves in NU's last four NCAA Tournament wins, hurling 5.1 consecutive scoreless innings. He has struck out five, walked none and allowed just one hit during that stretch.

[DJR313]

That was flippin' awesome! I still can't believe what I saw today. Florida and Tennessee played a great game too. The right fielder for Tennessee robbed a grand slam and a run saving double. Kudos to him, but it was not quite enough.