Josh Spence (Courtesy of ASU Media Relations)

Tempe, AZ – Mate, I don’t think anyone could have predicted Australian Josh Spence would be in this position. A late season tendon strain in the middle finger of his throwing hand had Arizona State head coach Pat Murphy predicting less than a five percent chance of Spence even throwing out of the bullpen in relief again this season. Then throw in a back injury during a comeback game. But on Sunday night a complete game effort proved to the college baseball world, ASU will be riding to Omaha on the back of two pitching aces this time. A five run fifth inning would be all the Sun Devils needed as the Tigers fell 8-2. Read the rest of this entry »

Tempe, AZ – A Jason Kipnis home run onto Rural Road in the bottom of the first inning energized a sellout crowd of 4,381 on Saturday night at Winkles Field – Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark in game 1 of the Tempe Super Regional.  And by the time the evening was over, Mike Leake had secured his nation leading 16 win of the season and the 40^th of his ASU career.  The 7 to 4 victory over the Clemson Tigers puts the Sun Devils one win away from a return to Omaha and the College World Series, while the Tigers now hope to emulate Fresno State of last year and take the next two.

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For the third season in a row Arizona State University will host a Super Regional as the Clemson Tigers come to Tempe, with the winner advancing to Omaha and the College World Series. Action will get underway at Winkles Field – Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark starting on Saturday at 6:00 . Read the rest of this entry »

 

Arizona State

Tempe, AZ – Much like Top 40 radio, the hits just keep on coming in Tempe as Sunday’s early elimination game once again saw Oral Roberts and Kent State combine to mash out 32 hits and 25 runs.  Yet Oral Roberts would make the ball fly deeper as five different Golden Eagles hit home runs in the 15 to 10 victory.  The loss eliminated Kent State from Regional play and gave Oral Roberts another chance against Arizona State later in the day.

Hits were harder to come by in the later rematch game between Arizona State and Oral Roberts.  But the pitching wasn’t quite as impressive as Saturday nights winners bracket game when both schools threw their ace.  But the end result was the same, as the Sun Devils 8 to 3 victory would hand ORU its second loss of the Regional and end their season.  The win will allow ASU to host it’s third straight Super Regional next weekend against the eventually winner of the Clemson Regional. Read the rest of this entry »

Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year

Tempe, AZ – Saturday afternoon’s elimination game between Cal Poly and Kent State continued the hit parade and actually did two better than Friday, as the two teams combined for 31 hits.  But although the Mustangs tallied one more hit, the Golden Flashes held on for a 10 to 9 victory.

In the evening’s winner bracket game things changed and pitching ruled the night, as the nations best pitcher faced off against the Summit League’s Pitcher of the Year and Oral Roberts perfect ace Mark Serrano.  But Mike Leake was once again masterful from the dish for Arizona State, as he tied a career high with 15 strikeouts and was a fluke hit away from his third complete game shutout.  ASU was victorious in the end 4 to 1, and will now await the results of Sunday afternoon Kent State versus Oral Roberts elimination game.

Kent State and Arizona State

Tempe, AZ – Plenty of hits in the warm desert air on Friday as Cal Poly and Oral Roberts combined to smash 29 hits in the afternoon game, while Kent State and Arizona State bashed an equal 29 hits in the evening match up. But the favorites ruled the day as the Golden Eagles and Sun Devils both came away with impressive victories. Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Leake (Courtesy of ASU Media Relations)

Winkles Field – Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark will host the 2009 NCAA Tempe Regional May 29 through June 1.  Arizona State is hosting the Tempe Regional for the third straight year after winning its third straight Pac-10 Conference championship.  The Sun Devils received the number 5 national seed after compiling a 44-12 record. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite a tendon strain in his pitching hand that supposedly ruled him out for the rest of the season, junior transfer Josh Spence got the start for Arizona State on Sunday afternoon against UCLA.

The Aussie was amazing from the rubber earlier this season before the injury caused his ERA to rise from a low around 1.20.

Francis Larson was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and hit his eighth home run

Anteaters record 30th win with victory

Salt Lake City, UT – Christian Bergman hurled his first career complete game to lead No. 1 UC Irvine to its 30th win as the Anteaters defeated Utah 10-1 Friday at Spring Mobile Ballpark. The Anteaters extended their win streak to a season-high seven games, improving to 30-10, while Utah dropped to 14-24.

Bergman recorded a career-high nine strikeouts, pitching a four-hitter to improve to 7-1. Bergman, who did not allow a walk in the outing, faced four over the minimum in the winning effort.

Francis Larson and Casey Stevenson each had three hits and two RBI to lead the Anteaters while Jeff Cusick and Dillon Bell had two hits and an RBI apiece. Read the rest of this entry »

Santa Barbara, CA – Second baseman Matt Valaika singled down the right-field line to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as UC Santa Barbara defeated No. 12/14 Cal Poly 6-5 in the opener of a three-game Big West Conference baseball series Friday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

Mark Haddow struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch to open the rally. Gunnar Terhune laid down a sacrifice bunt and the throw from Mustang first baseman Wes Dorrell hit Haddow in the helmet and both runners were safe.

Brian Gump’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners up 90 feet and Eric Oliver was intentionally walked to load the bases. With the Mustang infielders and outfielders playing up, Ryan Cavan’s popup was caught by center fielder Ryan Lee on the edge of the outfield grass for the second out of the inning.

Valaika’s single down the right-field line off Mustang senior right-hander Eric Massingham scored Haddow with the winning run. Read the rest of this entry »

Arizona State's junior Captain secured his 10th victory of the year Friday afternoon

Junior Righty wins his 10th game of the year

April 24, 2009

Berkley, CA – Junior right hander Mike Leake proved once again just how special he is, allowing only one Cal run over nine innings in a 3-1 Sun Devil victory over the Golden Bears at Evans Diamond. It was Leake’s seventh career complete game and third this season. With the win, Arizona State improves to 30-8 on the year, 14-2 in Pac-10 play. It is the 47th straight year, and 49th overall, in which the Sun Devils have won at least 30 games. Read the rest of this entry »

Huskie Jason Erickson

Erickson Deals Golden Bears 6-2 Loss
SEATTLE – Jake Rife hit a double and a home run and Jason Erickson turned in the longest start of the year by a Husky pitcher as the Washington baseball team beat California, 6-2, in a Pac-10 game Friday night at Husky Ballpark. [READ MORE] Read the rest of this entry »