ASU, UA play for Pac-10 baseball title
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
May. 20, 2007 08:02 PM
One win needed in three chances against your rival, which is in second place.
That is about as good as it gets for an Arizona State-Arizona baseball series. Seventh-ranked ASU (41-12, 17-4 Pac-10) can do no worse than tie for the conference title after completing a sweep at defending national champion Oregon State on Sunday.
No. 17 UA (39-13, 14-7) swept Washington to move past UCLA into second in the conference standings. If the Wildcats sweep the Sun Devils, they would earn the Pac-10's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament because of a tiebreaker advantage.
ASU needs one win to clinch its first outright Pac-10 title since the South and North divisions merged in 1999. The Sun Devils finished in a three-way tie for first in 2000. They won Pac-10 South titles in 1981, '82, '84, '88 and '93.
The rivalry series at Packard Stadium is Wednesday through Friday because ASU coach Pat Murphy must be in Indianapolis next weekend to serve on the committee that chooses the NCAA field.
"You've got to play this (UA) series like you play all of them, with a special flavor to it," Murphy said. "We really don't want to share the Pac-10 title. We've worked this hard. It'll be special."
Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of what is widely regarded as the greatest ASU-UA baseball game.
In a playoff for the 1967 Western Athletic Conference Southern Division title in front of 8,314 Phoenix Municipal Stadium, ASU's Gary Gentry pitched a 15-inning complete game on two days' rest in a 3-2 ASU win. The Sun Devils went on to win the second of their five national titles.
ASU and Arizona will be among the 64 NCAA Tournament teams. The Sun Devils, No. 5 nationally in power ratings entering Sunday, are a virtual lock to host a four-team regional tournament from June 1-4. By finishing strong against UA, they almost certainly would be among the top eight national seeds and have a chance to host their first Super Regional.
Regional hosts will be announced Saturday. The NCAA field will be unveiled May 28.
ASU's starting pitching was superb at Oregon State, as all three starters went eight or more innings. A week before, none of the starters made it past 6 2/3 innings as the Sun Devils used their nation-leading offense to sweep UCLA.
Against Arizona, ASU will need a combination of both, plus its defense, ranked third nationally. The teams split in non-conference play, ASU winning 22-8 in Tucson on Feb. 27 and losing 6-5 on March 28 in the Challenge at Chase.
UA's Preston Guilmet (11-1, 1.58 ERA) is the Pac-10 ERA and strikeout (126) leader. ASU probably will counter with freshman Mike Leake (11-1, 3.57) on Wednesday in a game that will either end the drama surrounding the Pac-10 race or exponentially increase it.
This is the first season-ending rivalry series with a title on the line since 1989.
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
May. 20, 2007 08:02 PM
One win needed in three chances against your rival, which is in second place.
That is about as good as it gets for an Arizona State-Arizona baseball series. Seventh-ranked ASU (41-12, 17-4 Pac-10) can do no worse than tie for the conference title after completing a sweep at defending national champion Oregon State on Sunday.
No. 17 UA (39-13, 14-7) swept Washington to move past UCLA into second in the conference standings. If the Wildcats sweep the Sun Devils, they would earn the Pac-10's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament because of a tiebreaker advantage.
ASU needs one win to clinch its first outright Pac-10 title since the South and North divisions merged in 1999. The Sun Devils finished in a three-way tie for first in 2000. They won Pac-10 South titles in 1981, '82, '84, '88 and '93.
The rivalry series at Packard Stadium is Wednesday through Friday because ASU coach Pat Murphy must be in Indianapolis next weekend to serve on the committee that chooses the NCAA field.
"You've got to play this (UA) series like you play all of them, with a special flavor to it," Murphy said. "We really don't want to share the Pac-10 title. We've worked this hard. It'll be special."
Tuesday is the 40th anniversary of what is widely regarded as the greatest ASU-UA baseball game.
In a playoff for the 1967 Western Athletic Conference Southern Division title in front of 8,314 Phoenix Municipal Stadium, ASU's Gary Gentry pitched a 15-inning complete game on two days' rest in a 3-2 ASU win. The Sun Devils went on to win the second of their five national titles.
ASU and Arizona will be among the 64 NCAA Tournament teams. The Sun Devils, No. 5 nationally in power ratings entering Sunday, are a virtual lock to host a four-team regional tournament from June 1-4. By finishing strong against UA, they almost certainly would be among the top eight national seeds and have a chance to host their first Super Regional.
Regional hosts will be announced Saturday. The NCAA field will be unveiled May 28.
ASU's starting pitching was superb at Oregon State, as all three starters went eight or more innings. A week before, none of the starters made it past 6 2/3 innings as the Sun Devils used their nation-leading offense to sweep UCLA.
Against Arizona, ASU will need a combination of both, plus its defense, ranked third nationally. The teams split in non-conference play, ASU winning 22-8 in Tucson on Feb. 27 and losing 6-5 on March 28 in the Challenge at Chase.
UA's Preston Guilmet (11-1, 1.58 ERA) is the Pac-10 ERA and strikeout (126) leader. ASU probably will counter with freshman Mike Leake (11-1, 3.57) on Wednesday in a game that will either end the drama surrounding the Pac-10 race or exponentially increase it.
This is the first season-ending rivalry series with a title on the line since 1989.
Now to sweep and get in a good position for the postseason. I'm really looking forward to the tourney with this team. They may be able to win it all. It's been around 20 years since their last championship right? It'll be about time we get that 6th.
