WizardOfAz

Top-seeded Tulane will headline the 2005 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, after rallying past Rice, 9-6, to win the New Orleans Super Regional on Monday.

Tulane (55-10) came back to win two in a row over Rice after dropping the first game of the three-game set.

Oregon State (44-9), Texas (51-16) and Baylor (44-22) also clinched World Series berths on Monday. They join Arizona State (39-23), Florida(45-20), Nebraska (55-13) and Tennessee (46-19) in the Final Eight.

Baylor entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Florida is seeded seventh and Oregon State rounds out the top eight seeds.






Starts June 17th:

Arizona State v. Nebraska
Tennessee v. Florida


Tulane v. Oregon State
Texas v. Baylor

AZZenny

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"The power of the State looks real different when you're on the other side of the bayonet." Chris Hayes

krepitch

ASU draws the home team.

These poor guys will have to overcome every possible obstacle, it seems.

But they can do it...go Devils!

sundevilscott

Well if they are gonna do it, they might as well do it right.

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SIDS Sucks!!!

NickelBack

Good coverage of the CWS from the Omaha World Herald:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=528&u_xid=365

krepitch

Not that it means anything, but ASU has the best record of the final eight teams.

I predict an ASU/Tulane rematch for the championship...and hope that series goes better than the first.

AZZenny

From Will Kimmey's CWS chat on Baseball America:
Will ASU's pitching staff continue to pitch above their ability, or will it catch up them in Omaha? I love watching them play, so carefree and Coach Murphy was able to get them to come back from the devastating loss on Friday. Can they keep it going? GO DEVILS!

A: Will Kimmey: Arizona State played it heart out in Fullerton and never quit. Fullerton didn't seem to be able to get much going offensively until that final game. The guess is that most opponents will pitch as well as Fullerton did, but will be able to score more effectively, especially Florida and Tennessee. The Devils need to play lower scoring games because after Larish there isn't the firepower to keep up with any of these teams if a home run derby breaks out. I like Urquidez here and Averill can hit or miss. Other than that, Murphy will have to keep pulling those rabbits out of hats and getting great unexpected performances offensively and defensively if ASU is to advance deep. My forecast for that isn't too bright, but it will be fun to watch if it happens.

I think we may be a bit underrated, which is just fine - ASU had one of the toughest schedules of any team there.

__________________
"The power of the State looks real different when you're on the other side of the bayonet." Chris Hayes

kps0001

Best record or the eight? you sure bout that?

KingofCards

Yeah? Looks like they have the most losses and least wins. Actually looks like the worst record of the eight.

__________________
"Let the rabbits wear glasses."

krepitch

This is what the sheet I printed from the CWS site says:

Tennessee 46-19
Florida 45-20
Arizona State 56-10
Nebraska 56-13

Oregon State 46-10
Tulane 55-10
Texas 51-16
Baylor 44-22

KingofCards

http://thesundevils.collegesports.co...5/teamgbg.html

That site is wrong, they were 39-23.

__________________
"Let the rabbits wear glasses."

AZZenny

BA CWS Team Profile:

Arizona State (39-23)
Bracket One

Coach: Pat Murphy (11th season)
CWS History: 19th trip to Omaha (last in 1998), five titles (last in 1981)
How They Got Here: Won the Tempe, Ariz., regional in three games, beating Coastal Carolina in the final. Beat Cal State Fullerton in three road games in the super-regional.

Players To Watch: Jr. RF/3B Travis Buck (.384-5-40, 26 steals), Sr. 1B/LF Jeff Larish (.316-20-63, .447 on base percentage), Sr. C Tuffy Gosewisch (.332-6-71, 16 doubles), Sr. RHP Jason Urquidez (10-4, 3.72, 92 strikeouts).

Arizona State Scouting Report: The pitchers throw strikes but are not overwhelming. (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.
(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.
(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. J.J. Sferra is a good little freshman who can go get everything in center.

Omaha Outlook: Arizona State advanced to Omaha for the first time since losing the 1998 national championship game to Southern California. This year’s team wasn’t supposed to make it this far. The Sun Devils ended the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field but upset the defending champion Titans this year as a heavy underdog. Murphy’s young team showed a tremendously competitive nature all year. A rigorous schedule put Arizona State at 11-11 before it finished tied for third place in the Pac-10. It then battled back after a controversial balk call cost it the first game of the super-regional series, the only defeat in its past 10 games. It’s a speedy, scrappy team that likes to take risks (125 steals). Throw in the baggy old-school uniforms, and the underdog lovers at Rosenblatt Stadium might just have a team to back.

GO SUN DEVILS!!

__________________
"The power of the State looks real different when you're on the other side of the bayonet." Chris Hayes

AZZenny

Not ASU, but for DBacks fans, this is a little plum, too - our 3rd draft pick will start for Tulane:

BIG MAN FOR THE WAVE: Micah Owings is a big reason top-ranked Tulane is even in Omaha.

After the Green Wave dropped the opener of its super regional to Rice, Owings pitched a three-hit shutout to even the series and then drove in the go-ahead run in a Game 3 victory that clinched the berth.

Now he'll head back to the mound Saturday when Tulane faces Oregon State in the first round at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Owings was 11-4 this season and batted .354 with 18 homers. He got the nod over Brian Bogusevic, who won 13 games and was a first-round choice of the Astros.

"I've been looking forward to it for quite some time," Owings said. "For me to get the opportunity of all the guys on the staff, I'm just thankful."

Tulane has dealt with the pressure of being No. 1 since the preseason.

"We've had a target on our back all year from a lot of clubs. Rice was just one of them. We had to play our best ball," Owings said.

"I think any team here could be a No. 1 Every team here is here for a reason and we're one of those."

GO SUN DEVILS!!

__________________
"The power of the State looks real different when you're on the other side of the bayonet." Chris Hayes

NickelBack

Florida beat Tennessee 6-4 in game one of the CWS this afternoon.

AZZenny

Wow - this game has me really nervous! Had to turn off the sound and put on the radio; too much Nebraska-love from ESPN. Come on Urk! Throw STRIKES. Settle down, feet firmly on the ground. Time for Devils to put a whupass on Goliath.

GO SUN DEVILS!!

__________________
"The power of the State looks real different when you're on the other side of the bayonet." Chris Hayes