Preseason Release
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2001 Sun Devil Baseball ASU Media Relations Final 2000 Record:44-15 (P) 480-965-6592 2000 Home Record:33-8 (F) 480-965-5408 2000 Road Record:11-7 Baseball Contact: Jeff R. Evans 2000 Pac-10:17-7 E-Mail: [email protected] All-Time Record:1,856-736 Website: www.TheSunDevils.com Head Coach:Pat Murphy NCAA National Champions 1965 • 1967 • 1969 • 1977 • 1981 2001 Schedule and Results Lets Play Ball! Sun Devil Baseball Set To (0-0, 0-0 Pac-10) DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME Open 2001 Season Vs. Texas-Arlington. Jan. 26 Texas-Arlington 3:00 p.m. The 2001 Arizona State Sun Devil baseball team opens the season ranked No. 6 in the Jan. 27 Texas-Arlington 1:00 p.m. Jan. 28 Texas-Arlington 1:00 p.m. nation by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Led by 14 returning lettermen, in- Feb. 1 Southern Utah 7:00 p.m. cluding the entire nucleus of the Pac-10 Championship team that finished 2000 with a 44- Feb. 2 Southern Utah 7:00 p.m. 15 record, the Sun Devils have all eyes set on a return trip to Omaha and the College World Feb. 3 Southern Utah 1:00 p.m. Series. In addition to the entire starting infield from a year ago returning, seven of the Feb. 4 Southern Utah 1:00 p.m. Feb. 9 Duke 7:00 p.m. team’s top 10 hitters are back, including Pac-10 Player of the Year Casey Myers. Leading Feb. 10 Duke (DH) 1:00 p.m. the pitching corps is a pair of preseason All-Americans in LHP Jon Switzer and RHP closer Feb. 11 Duke 1:00 p.m. Eric Doble. Switzer was 11-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 2000 and Doble returns for his senior Feb. 13 New Mexico State 5:00 p.m. season after leading the Devils with nine saves a year ago. Feb. 16 Creighton 7:00 p.m. Feb. 17 Creighton 1:00 p.m. Feb. 18 Creighton 12:00 p.m. Setting Up The Season Opener vs. UTA: Feb. 23 at Cal State Fullerton 7:00 p.m. The season opener vs. Texas-Arlington on Jan. 26 is the latest a Sun Devil squad has opened Feb. 24 at Cal State Fullerton 1:00 p.m. a season since 1996 when ASU opened Feb. 2 vs. Loyola Marymount (19-7 win). Arizona Feb. 25 at Cal State Fullerton 1:00 p.m. State has never faced Texas-Arlington and hold a career 102-31 (.767) vs. teams from the Mar. 2 LSU 7:00 p.m. Mar. 3 LSU 1:00 p.m. state of Texas. The Mavericks should not be taken lightly as they upset college world series Mar. 4 LSU 1:00 p.m. participant Texas in the first game of the 2000 season. UTA beat the then 12th ranked Mar. 6 Oral Roberts 7:00 p.m. Longhorns 3-1 to open 2000, and also upset the No. 20 ranked Horns 9-4 to open the 1997 Mar. 7 Oral Roberts 7:00 p.m. season. The Mavericks return 12 letterwinners from the 2000 squad that finished 24-30. Mar. 9 South Florida 7:00 p.m. Mar. 10 South Florida 7:00 p.m. Mar. 11 South Florida 1:00 p.m. ASU Is 22-1 In Season Openers Since 1979: Mar. 16 at California* 2:00 p.m. If you think ASU’s Jan. 26th game vs. Texas-Arlington is a late start for the season, well it Mar. 17 at California* 1:00 p.m. is. In fact, it is the latest ASU has started a season since opening Feb. 2 in 1996. The Sun Mar. 18 at California* 1:00 p.m. Mar. 24 at Oregon State* 1:00 p.m. Devil baseball program has maintained an impressive 22-1 record in season openers dating Mar. 25 at Oregon State* 1:00 p.m. back to 1979, while head coach Pat Murphy is perfect in Tempe having recorded a season- Mar. 26 at Oregon State* 1:00 p.m. opening win in each of his six years at the helm of the Sun Devils. Murphy’s teams have Mar. 30 Stanford* 7:00 p.m. also greatly outscored their opponents since 1995 in season openers, 68-18. In his 13 years Mar. 31 Stanford* 7:00 p.m. Apr. 1 Stanford* 1:00 p.m. as a head coach at the Division I level (6 at ASU, 7 at Notre Dame), Murphy has never lost Apr. 6 at USC* 6:00 p.m. a season opening game. One of his season openers actually came against ASU when the Apr. 7 at USC* 1:00 p.m. Irish defeated the Sun Devils 11-4 in 1993. The last time ASU lost a season opener was a 9- Apr. 8 at USC* 1:00 p.m. 4 setback to Hawai’i in 1993. Apr. 12 Washington State* 7:00 p.m. Apr. 13 Washington State* 7:00 p.m. Apr. 14 Washington State* 1:00 p.m. Tough Schedule Looms Ahead for Sun Devils: Apr. 18 at Oklahoma 7:00 p.m. You can’t blame the Sun Devils for taking on a light schedule in 2001. Arizona State will Apr. 19 at New Mexico State 6:00 p.m. play six teams that are ranked in the preseason top 25. The 2001 schedule includes three Apr. 23 Gonzaga 7:00 p.m. games each against #2 USC and #3 LSU, in addition to Stanford, Cal State Fullerton, Apr. 24 Gonzaga 7:00 p.m. Apr. 27 Arizona* 7:00 p.m. Oklahoma and Tennessee who were ranked in at least one of the preseason polls. ASU will Apr. 28 Arizona* 7:00 p.m. also be playing a combined 22 games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tourna- Apr. 29 Arizona* 1:00 p.m. ment in 2000 (Oral Roberts, Creighton, LSU, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal May 1 at Tennessee 7:00 p.m. State Fullerton). May 2 at Tennessee 7:00 p.m. May 12 at Washington* 6:30 p.m. May 13 at Washington* 1:00 p.m. 42 Years of Sun Devil Baseball: May 14 at Washington* 1:00 p.m. While the history of baseball at Arizona State University goes back all the way to the early May 18 UCLA* 7:00 p.m. 1900’s, the school officially began sponsoring varsity baseball in 1959. In 42 years of May 19 UCLA* 7:00 p.m. May 20 UCLA* 1:00 p.m. varsity baseball at Arizona State, the program has built a legacy matched by few in the college baseball world. With a 1,856-736 all-time record, Arizona State has recorded win- May 24-27 NCAA Regionals TBA ning seasons in all but one year, advanced to the College World Series 18 times, won five June 1-3 NCAA Super Regionals TBA June 8-16 College World Series Omaha, Neb. national championships, won six Pac-10 titles, produced 13 Players of the Year and three Golden Spikes Award winners, and has gone to the NCAA Tournament 24 times. Under * Pacific-10 Conference game current head coach Pat Murphy, the Sun Devils have finished in the top 12 in three of the All times are local to site last four years and finished second in the nation in 1998. Arizona State Baseball Notes • January 16, 2001 • Page 2 Sun Devil Baseball 2001 2001 Preseason Polls ASU Tops In Scoring in NCAA Last Two Years: Arizona State has led the NCAA in scoring each of the last two years, averaging 11.32 runs per game Baseball America in 1999 and 10.97 runs per game last year. ASU also led the nation in batting average with a team total 1. Georgia Tech of .356 in 1999. The Sun Devils .346 average in 2000 fell just percentage points of matching that feat 2. USC 3. Louisiana State a second year in a row, trailing Stony Brook by one percentage point. ASU out-hit Stony Brook 738- 4. Miami, Fla. 500. During Pat Murphy’s six seasons in Tempe, the Sun Devils have been a scoring machine with 5. Nebraska 3,370 runs, averaging 9.49 runs per game. 6. ARIZONA STATE 7. Florida State Dominating Infield Returns for 2001: 8. South Carolina 9. Notre Dame The entire infield that finished 2000 ranked fifth in the nation with a .971 fielding percentage is back. 10. Clemson Casey Myers, who was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Award, finished the year 11. Auburn with a .996 fielding percentage, and was honored by Collegiate Baseball as the Easton Redline/Na- 12. Rice 13. Florida tional Defensive Player of the Year. ASU only made 65 errors in 2000, marking the lowest number of 14. Stanford errors during the Pat Murphy Era (1995-2000). The Sun Devils also return seven of ASU’s top 10 15. Cal State Fullerton hitters from a year ago, led by Myers’ remarkable .412 average. 16. Georgia 17. Central Florida Sun Devils Scoring Streak Still Alive at 313 Games: 18. Pepperdine 19. Tulane The Arizona State baseball program has scored in a Pac-10 record 313 straight games, not having been 20. Baylor shutout since a 9-0 setback to USC on April 7, 1995. The streak is currently the second longest in 21. Mississippi State NCAA Division I, trailing Wichita State which has not been shutout in 329 games.