The #3 National Seed Sun Devils swept through the Tempe Regionals last weekend to set up a best-of-three series with the Fresno State Bulldogs at Packard Stadium this weekend.
Fresno State came into the Long Beach Regional as the number 4 seed in the region, but upset the top-seeded Dirtbags, then beat nationally-ranked San Diego twice to move on to Tempe.
The Sun Devils' lineup will officially feature 2 first-round draft picks this weekend, with Brett Wallace (13, St. Louis) and Ike Davis (18th, NY Mets) being taken in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
The series starts Saturday night at 6 pm on ESPN U, and continues at 7 pm Sunday on ESPN 2. If necessary, game 3 would be Monday at 4 pm on ESPN 2.
Check back here for updates over the weekend!
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM!
last updated on 08.06.06 at 11:36 AM | direct link
June 1, 2008
Leake, Bats Lead Devils to Regional Championship Game
Mike Leake pitched 8 solid innings and the Sun Devils bashed out 15 runs on as many hits to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 15-3 Saturday night at Packard Stadium. Box Score
Leake struck out six en route to his 10th win of the season, leaving Oklahoma Head Coach Sunny Golloway impressed.
The Sun Devils offense was paced by Ryan Sontag, Ike Davis and Petey Paramore, who recorded three hits each, but the most surprising hit of the night came off the bat of center fielder and ASU Football wideout Mike Jones, who hit a three-run, opposite field home run in the 6th inning to put the Devils ahead 10-2.
The Sun Devils shook off a challenge from a tough Stony Brook team to post a 9-7 win in the nightcap of Friday's regional double-header. Box Score Oklahoma upset #21 Vanderbilt 8-5 in the early game.
The Devils struck first on a bases-loaded balk in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but the Sea Wolves (34-25) stayed close, scoring one in the second and a pair of runs in the third to go ahead 3-1.
Then two-time defending Pac-10 Player of the Year Brett Wallace connected with a ball that, had the wind been blowing out to right as it usually does at Packard, may have reached orbit. His two-run home run tied the game at 3, and ASU scratched across one more to take a 4-3 lead, but Stony Brook was not done. They scored two more in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead through 3 1/2 innings.
The game see-sawed again as ASU regained the lead with another pair of runs in their half of the fourth and after a scoreless top of the 5th, the Devils pulled away with three in the fifth.
The Sea Wolves scored single runs in the sixth and ninth innings to provide the final margin, and seemed to be threatening for more in the final frame, with the tying runs on with nobody out. But then Tommy Rafferty picked a runner off of second base, and then got Chad Marshall to line into a 5-3 double play to end the ballgame.
On Saturday, Vanderbilt will face Stony Brook at 2 pm, followed by ASU and Oklahoma at 7 pm.
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM!
last updated on 08.05.31 at 11:58 AM | direct link
March 28, 2008
Western Kentucky rally falls short, UCLA moves on
Down by 21 at the half, Western Kentucky made a second period rally against #1 UCLA thanks to a 31 point effort by Tyrone Brazelton. However the upstart Hilltoppers fell short, eventually losing 88-78. UCLA advances to the Elite 8 and will take on Xavier on Saturday in the West Regional Final at US Airways Center.
Sophomore James Keefe scored 18 points and collected 12 rebounds off the bench and Kevin Love scored a career high 29 points to lead UCLA (34-3). The majority of the Bruin's 19 turnovers came in the second half, allowing WKU (29-7) to come back. They would cut the lead to six before UCLA pulled away in the closing minutes. UCLA head coach Ben Howland talked after the game about the exciting game.
Keefe saw limited playing time during the regular season, and was even a candidate for a medical redshirt after suffering an injury in August. However the sophomore led UCLA on a night when Darren Collison, playing in foul trouble, struggled and scored only 4 points. Keefe spoke about the opportunity to play and help out the ballclub.
The championship game of the Phoenix West Regional will take place on Saturday at 3:40pm. Check back to The Blaze 1260 AM for updates and analysis.
Xavier Advances to Elite 8 with Thrilling win over West Virginia
B.J. Raymond scored all 8 of his points in overtime as the Musketeers advanced to the Elite 8 with a 79-75 win in front of 18,103 at US Airways Center.
Xavier (29-6) opened the game on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 16 in the first half. The Mountaineers, led by Joe Alexander, would bounce back cut the halftime deficit to 7. Alexander finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead West Virginia (26-10).
It was an Alexander fueled run in the second half which gave WVU their first lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the game. The two teams swapped leads down the stretch and eventually played to a 64-64 tie at the end of regulation.
In overtime, B.J. Raymond took over. No baskel was bigger than a three pointer made with the shot clock running down and only 30 seconds left in the game. The bucket gave Xavier a four point lead and served as the dagger for WVU.
Sean Miller, a former Herb Sendek assistant, was proud of his team's performance and is looking forward to their next challenge.
The Musketeers now await the winner of UCLA and Western Kentucky. The Championship of the Phoenix Regional will take place on Saturday at US Airways Center at a time to be announced.
Sun Devil's Season Ends with loss to Florida in NIT
The Arizona State men's basketball team saw their 2007-2008 season come to an end Tuesday night, falling to defending national champion Florida 70-57 in the Quarterfinals of the NIT in front of 12,306 fans at Wells Fargo Arena.
A team that finished 9th in the Pac 10 a season ago, compiling only 8 wins improved to 5th this year and their 21 wins are definite improvement for a program with a bright future. Junior forward Jeff Pendergraph, who's future as a Sun Devil is still in doubt, is proud of ASU's progress despite the loss.
ASU coach Herb Sendek spoke after the game about the tremendous crowd support. The Wells Fargo crowd was arguably the loudest of the season and has provided the Sun Devils with a newfound home court advantage. ASU won 15 games at home this season compared to 6 a year ago.
Florida (24-11) jumped out to a 17-3 lead thanks in large part to their torrid shooting. The Gators shot 61% for the game including 12-25 from the 3-point line.
ASU (21-13) would answer back however and ended the half down only 6. Freshman James Harden proved a difficult match-up for Florida and finished with 18 points. However he picked up his fourth foul with roughly 8 minutes to go in the game, and was subsequently benched for the next four minutes. Harden talked about the pre-mature end to the season, as ASU fell one game short of advancing to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Florida capitalized with Harden on the bench, and put the game away with key baskets down the stretch. Marreese Speights finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while Walter Hodge led the Gators with 18 points including 4 3-pointers.
Much was made of the reunion of Florida head coach Billy Donovan and Sendek, however Sendek downplayed the coaching match-up between close friends, adding that it was difficult to compete against the well schooled Gators.
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM
last updated on 08.03.26 at 12:59 AM | direct link
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