Blogging with the Devils

Oklahoma’s reward for its walk-off victory against Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon is an evening rematch with the Arizona State squad that drilled the Sooners 15-3 on Saturday. With a victory, the Sun Devils will end the Tempe Regional and advance to the best-of-three super regional against the champion of the Long Beach (Calif.) Regional, either Fresno State or San Diego.

The lineups:

OKLAHOMA (36-25-1, No. 3 regional seed): RF Jamie Johnson, CF Aljay Davis, 2B Mike Gosse, LF Casey Johnson, 1B Aaron Baker, C J.T. Wise, DH Jarod Freeman, SS Bryant Hernandez, 3B Matt Harughty

The Sooners’ best remaining pitching option is right-hander Jeremy Erben (1-3, 6.16 ERA), a sophomore who has 16 appearances (nine starts) this year.

ARIZONA STATE (47-11, No. 1 regional seed): LF Ryan Sontag, CF Jason Kipnis, 3B Brett Wallace, 1B Ike Davis, C Petey Paramore, DH Kiel Roling, RF Matt Newman, 2B Raoul Torrez, SS Greg Bordes

Left-hander Josh Satow (8-3, 4.99 ERA) is the starting pitcher.

ANALYSIS: ASU coach Pat Murphy sends out the same lineup the engineered 15 runs, 15 hits and 10 walks against Oklahoma on Saturday.

Here are the lineup cards for Game 4 of the Tempe Regional at Packard Stadium on Saturday. Per NCAA tournament policy, Arizona State is the designated visiting team because it has already been the home team during the regional, and Oklahoma has not.

ARIZONA STATE (46-11, No. 1 regional seed): LF Ryan Sontag, CF Jason Kipnis, 3B Brett Wallace, 1B Ike Davis, C Petey Paramore, DH Kiel Roling, RF Matt Newman, 2B Raoul Torrez, SS Greg Bordes

Right-hander Mike Leake (9-2, 3.18 ERA) is the starting pitcher.

OKLAHOMA (35-24-1, No. 3 regional seed): RF Jamie Johnson, CF Aljay Davis, 2B Mike Gosse, LF Casey Johnson, C J.T. Wise, 1B Aaron Baker, SS Bryant Hernandez, DH Jarod Freeman, 3B Matt Harughty

Righty Ryan Duke (7-4, 3.60 ERA) takes the mound.

ANALYSIS: No surprises in the ASU lineup. After serving as the starting pitcher, then the designated hitter, on Friday, Newman is back in the outfield, which returns Michael Jones to the bench.

The lineup cards for Game 2 of the Tempe Regional at Packard Stadium on Friday:

STONY BROOK (34-24, No. 4 regional seed): CF Brian Witkowski, 2B Chad Marshall, DH Michael Stephan, 1B Rob Dyer, LF Steven Mazzurco, 3B Stephen Marino, RF Michael Tansey, SS Keith Fier, C Justin Echevarria

Right-hander Tom Koehler (6-4, 3.70 ERA), who boasts a mid-90s fastball, is the starting pitcher.

ARIZONA STATE (45-11, No. 1 regional seed): LF Ryan Sontag, RF Jason Kipnis, 3B Brett Wallace, 1B Ike Davis, C Petey Paramore, DH Kiel Roling, CF Michael Jones, 2B Raoul Torrez, SS Greg Bordes

Left-hander Matt Newman (1-0, 3.29 ERA) makes his third collegiate start.

ANALYSIS: The first six spots in the order could be the way the Sun Devils play it for as long as they are in the NCAA tournament. That is their best lineup.

As he did during last year’s postseason, coach Pat Murphy might start Jones (.196 average) on defense, and pitch-hit when his first turn at bat comes. Right-handed hitter Marcel Champagnie (.374) or left-handed Andy Workman (.259) or Rocky Laguna (.234) figure to be better options against Koehler’s lively pitching.

Matt Newman

Earlier this season, Arizona State freshman outfielder Matt Newman volunteered his pitching services to the coaching staff in case the Sun Devils needed someone to mop up on occasion.

The left-hander started two late-season games, performing well enough that coach Pat Murphy will give him the ball when fourth-ranked ASU opens NCAA tournament play against Stony Brook on Friday night at Packard Stadium.

With No. 22 Vanderbilt and Oklahoma also part of the Tempe Regional, Murphy said on Wednesday that he will save top two pitchers Mike Leake and Josh Satow for games on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Murphy has compared Newman, who is 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in four appearances this season, to Satow. Newman is not a fireballer, relying on location with his fastball and changeup while using “maybe five” curveballs a game, he said.

“I threw only five bullpens for most of the year, but then our pitching was getting a little thin, so they gave me a chance,” said Newman, a Phoenix Brophy Prep graduate. “Ever since, I’ve been part of the mix.”

Newman has played in 51 games (with 34 starts) in the field, batting .320 with a home run and 25 RBIs.

Right-hander Seth Blair (4-2, 7.00 ERA), who had been the other third-starter candidate, will be used to start a fourth regional game or work out of the bullpen.

Newman made his first start at Wichita State on May 7, throwing 6 2/3 innings while allowing a run and five hits to earn the win. On Friday at Arizona, he worked five frames, giving up four hits and two runs in a no-decision.

“The comparison to Satow is very fair,” catcher Petey Paramore said. “He’s very poised and has the same repertoire of pitches. He’s mature beyond his years. You can tell that he really knows what he’s doing out there.”

Pat Murphy

Arizona State coach Pat Murphy discovered that telecommuting is not the best way to serve on the Division I baseball committee, especially if one has NCAA tournament interests he would like to see served.

“As part of a committee, you are one of 10 voices, and sitting in Arizona, I think I might have been muted at times,” Murphy said on Monday, the day the 64-team field was unveiled. “There’s some things that didn’t happen the way I’d like, but I’m only one of 10. But the committee worked very hard.”

In his second year of a committee term that runs through September 2010, Murphy attended last year’s meetings in Indianapolis. He opted to stay in Arizona this year because the Sun Devils played at Arizona Thursday through Saturday, and he would not have been able to arrive in Indianapolis until at least Sunday afternoon.

Next year, Murphy said, he will personally attend, even if it means missing an ASU game or two.

Murphy, who Friday through Monday took part in tournament selection discussions via conference call, said that he went 0-for-2 in his goals: Getting two-time defending national champion Oregon State in and a more equitable distribution of West-coast schools around the bracket.

Due to the way this year’s bracket is constructed, a maximum of four West-coast schools can reach the College World Series. Four such teams — ASU, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Oregon State — made it last year.

The champions of the Tempe and Long Beach (Calif.) regionals and winners of the Palo Alto (Calif.) and Fullerton (Calif.) regionals will square off in super regionals. The only West-coast schools slotted outside of those regionals are Arizona, the No. 1 seed in Ann Arbor (Mich.), and UC Irvine, the No. 2 seed at Lincoln (Neb.).

“It’s disappointing that all of the West teams are paired together,” Murphy said. “Geographics plays a part in our region’s (tournament placement), but it doesn’t seem to be for a lot of other regions. I’d like to see that changed.”

Also, ASU — which is the No. 3 national seed — might have gotten a more favorable draw, or at least a Tempe Regional that did not involve Vanderbilt, which is coached by Tim Corbin, a close friend of Murphy’s.

“Tim is coming to town for a regional, so that will be a little weird,” Murphy said. “Also, Vanderbilt is pretty much the same team that was the No. 1 overall seed last year, minus David Price.”

Price, a left-handed pitcher, was drafted No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays last June and is expected to reach the major leagues soon.

Catcher Petey Paramore, third baseman Brett Wallace and first baseman/pitcher Ike Davis could give Arizona State three first-round selections in the June draft.

Ike Davis and Brett Wallace were having lunch together recently when when it dawned on them that Major League Baseball’s amateur draft is less than three weeks away.

Considering that Davis and Wallace have been projected to be first-round selections during the June 5-6 draft, one might think that the Arizona State stars would be counting the minutes. But Davis said that the Sun Devils’ present — competing for a national championship — supersedes his personal future.

“The juniors and seniors on the team know it’s going to happen, so we try not to think about it,” Davis said. “Me and ‘Wally’ couldn’t believe the draft was coming so quickly. It still seems so far away, and if you get too caught up in it, it can be a distraction that can hurt your play.”

Davis, a first baseman/pitcher, and Wallace, a third baseman, are considered among the top 10 hitting prospects. Petey Paramore, the second-best college catching prospect behind Buster Posey of Florida State, is rated among the top 35 players available on some boards and could sneak into the first round.

Since the major-league draft went to its current format in 1987, ASU has not had three first-round choices in one year. It has had a pair of first-rounders three times: pitcher Sean Lowe and outfielder Todd Steverson in 1992, infielder Antone Williamson and outfielder Jacob Cruz in ’94 and pitcher Ryan Bradley and outfielder Dan McKinley in ’97.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had three prospects this good at once,” ASU coach Pat Murphy said. “But I never look at it like that. For me, they are ballplayers, not prospects. Those three ballplayers have helped us win a lot of games.”

Among ASU’s other draft prospects, outfielder Jason Kipnis, catcher Kiel Roling, infielder Marcel Champagnie and pitcher Reyes Dorado have eligibility remaining but figure to be picked high enough that they will opt to sign. Outfielder Ryan Sontag and pitchers Josh Satow, Dustin Brader and Tommy Rafferty are seniors.

This year’s draft commences the day before super-regional play begins.

“It can be a big distraction,” Murphy said. “But we’ve been really authentic with the kids about it. It’s an important and exciting day for them, so let’s not try and diminish it. At the same time, we want to identify what it is. It’s not the defining moment of your career. It is one day, an exciting day, but it’s not a day that changes whether you are going to get to the big leagues or not.”

There is always chatter about college coaches and Major League Baseball working together to find a draft date that does not conflict with the NCAA tournament.

However, MLB does not want to have the draft too early because scouts feel that players from cold-weather locales cannot be properly evaluated early in the season. It does not want the draft too late because that means less time for players to sign and report to short-season rookie ball.

“We’ve been doing it this way for so long, there’s really no sense in bellyaching about it,” Murphy said.

As usual, the draft impacts ASU beyond its current roster, as a handful of 2009 signees are potential high picks. Infielder Eric Hosmer of Plantation, Fla., and catcher Kyle Skipworth of Riverside, Calif., will likely never don ASU colors; they are top-10 high school prospects and first-round projections.

Closer to home, signee Riccio Torrez of Phoenix Brophy Prep has been considered likely to come to ASU to potentially form a double-play combination with his brother, Raoul, the Sun Devils’ starting second baseman. However, Raoul Torrez said that the draft winds are starting to blow in his family’s home.

“I’ve been home a couple times, and there have been scouts there,” Torrez said. “He’s having fun letting it play out, but I’m working him. I want him to come here because I think it will benefit him. I think he’ll make the right choice to come here.”

Murphy reiterated what he said in November: He believes that most of the Sun Devils’ key signees will enroll in school.

Mike Leake

Since his arrival at Arizona State, Mike Leake’s calling card has been athleticism and versatility, and he has displayed the most of those traits this month. The sophomore has continued his usual stellar pitching, earning three wins and a save, while playing three infield positions and hitting his first collegiate home run.

That impressive display, however, comes with a warning: Leake’s workload has increased dramatically. Considering that the 175-pound Leake and his coach, Pat Murphy, acknowledged that he got by on adrenaline late last year — when his duties were primarily on the mound — are the Sun Devils asking for trouble down the road?

Leake, who pitched well in the 2007 postseason despite being physically spent, believes he will have enough endurance for the big games in June.

“I feel a little stronger,” said Leake (9-1, 3.24 ERA), whose 100 innings pitched this season lead the Pac-10. “A lot stronger, actually. I put on some weight, and that helped a lot. I hadn’t really done any working out before I got to college, and the strength work that I’ve done has really helped me stay in shape and be on track.”

What should also help, Murphy said, is Leake experiencing the rigors of a full college season in ’07. He now knows what to expect and can pace himself better.

“I see him a little run down,” Murphy said. “But everybody is run down at this point in the season. Mike is a great athlete, and I think he battles being fatigued a little differently. He’s a little more aware of it when he’s pitching.”

During an eight-game, 11-day, four-city stretch from May 2-12, Leake performed yeoman work. From a series at UCLA to games at Kansas State and Wichita State to a series against Loyola Marymount at Packard Stadium, Leake made two starts at pitcher and five in the field.

He worked 15 2/3 innings, including a 2 1/3-inning save at Wichita State, a game Leake started at shortstop. He batted 11-for-23, including the round-tripper at UCLA.

Leake’s non-pitching role has decreased since Ike Davis’ return from a 10-game absence due to a rib muscle strain. However, Murphy has said that Leake’s performance dictates that ASU play him in the field regularly.

Since he has always wanted to be more than a pitcher for the Sun Devils, Leake — who allowed five hits and a run in eight innings Friday against Washington — is not likely to turn down any assignment.

“I still have one more series to pitch (at Arizona this week),” Leake said. “If I go out there making sure that I’m rested and just worrying about making one pitch at a time, that’s the best I can do for the team.”

Murphy, a member of the NCAA Division I baseball committee, will attend the tournament selection meetings in Indianapolis this week via teleconference, beginning at 5 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. ASU begins a three-game series at Arizona on Thursday.

He traveled to Indianapolis last year.

“We met from 8 a.m. until 11:30 at night for three straight days,” Murphy said. “I had to get up and go to the bathroom just to see something outside the meeting room. And when they were talking about our team, I couldn’t be in there. This way, I can get on the call and work with (the committee), then go do our game.”

The 16 first-round regional sites will be announced on Sunday, with the full tournament field revealed on Monday. The Sun Devils are expected to be a national top-eight seed, which would guarantee them hosting privileges for the two rounds prior to the College World Series.

Ike Davis

A rib muscle strain will likely keep Arizona State first baseman/pitcher Ike Davis sidelined at least through this weekend’s series against Loyola Marymount, coach Pat Murphy said on Monday.

Davis has not played in the Sun Devils’ last five games. That absence has enabled third baseman Brett Wallace to pass him for the team lead in batting average (.404 to .401) and tie him in home runs (15). Davis still tops the team in RBIs, with 62 to Wallace’s 59.

“He can’t play right now,” Murphy said. “We can’t afford to risk it.”

The Sun Devils play at Kansas State on Tuesday and Wichita State on Wednesday. Davis made the trip, but pitcher Stephen Sauer remained in Tempe to rest his ailing right shoulder.

The Loyola Marymount games are ASU’s last in nonconference play. It finishes the regular season with Pac-10 series against Washington and at Arizona.

Assuming Davis does not play this weekend, he will have three weeks of rest before league action resumes. The Sun Devils hope that is enough time.

Murphy tried to use Davis as a decoy during Sunday’s game at UCLA, as the junior was announced as a pinch hitter to try and force the Bruins into a pitching change. Coach John Savage did not bite, and Davis never stepped to the plate, as he was immediately replaced by outfielder Michael Jones.

The NCAA releases its latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores on Tuesday. In 2007, 19 of ASU’s 22 varsity teams had multi-year academic progress rate scores of at least 925, the mandated minimum by the NCAA. The school received no penalties resulting from APR scores, which measure current academic performance.

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Ike Davis was not in Arizona State’s lineup for the series opener at UCLA and is likely out for the weekend, a school spokesman said.

Ike Davis, who leads Arizona State in several offensive categories, is battling a rib muscle strain but made the trip to UCLA.

There comes a time, Arizona State coach Pat Murphy said, where changes needs to be made just to break up the monotony that can set in over the course of a 56-game college baseball regular season.

“Things can get stale, and that can be tough on some people,” Murphy said. “This game can be very wicked to you. The bad situations sometimes find you, and you need some refreshing things to happen.”

Murphy pointed to two recent lineup changes that have provided a jolt to the fourth-ranked Sun Devils, who head into this weekend’s series at UCLA on a four-game winning streak. ASU was 3-6 from April 5-22.

Ryan Sontag, a senior, has become the everyday left fielder and leadoff hitter, and he is batting .382 (21-for-55) with a home run and 11 RBIs since April 1.

Junior Greg Bordes has started the last six games at shortstop, and while his hitting numbers (5-for-22) are not eye-popping, he has five RBIs in that stretch while providing reliable glove work. Defense was the primary reason for Marcel Champagnie’s demotion.

Bordes comes from a baseball family. His grandfather, Bill Cutler, is a former Pacific Coast League president; his father, Charlie, played professionally, and older brother Brett is a former Sun Devil pitcher who is now in the Baltimore Orioles’ system.

“Greg knows the game,” Murphy said. “He’s not on all cylinders because he has not played full-time baseball in four years. He gives us an element of competitiveness. It was time for him to get a chance, and he’s made the most of it. I couldn’t be happier, because he is a guy who is committed to the program.”

Greg Bordes

Murphy compared Bordes to Dustin Pedroia, the former Sun Devil second baseman and 2007 American League rookie of the year with the Boston Red Sox. The comparison, delivered in Murphy’s keen-wit fashion, might not be flattering to either player, but — considering that Pedroia is one of the coach’s all-time favorite players — it is as lofty of praise as he can give.

“He’s a lot like Pedroia. He can’t run, throw, move left-to-right or hit for power,” Murphy said. “But he’s a player. He’s a mini-Pedroia.”

Bordes paid a lot of dues before his recent emergence, appearing in just 28 games (three starts) in two previous ASU seasons.

“I’m just having fun,” Bordes said. “I’ve been here four years and stayed after it, grinding every day. I’ve got a chance and am trying to make the most of it.”

In injury news, first baseman/pitcher Ike Davis (rib muscle strain) made the trip to Los Angeles and is expected to take at least some part in practice on Thursday night. Pitcher Stephen Sauer (shoulder) remained in Tempe.

For relief pitcher Tommy Rafferty, capitalizing on opportunity has been a season-long endeavor. The senior reliever has eight victories (in as many decisions), which is tied for seventh in the nation.

“He’s earned it,” Murphy said. “His numbers (24 games, 3.52 ERA, two saves) indicate that he pitches a lot. He has stepped up and done an amazing job.”

Rafferty is on pace to break the school record for appearances in a season, 38, set by Brett Bordes in 2005.

Despite ASU’s need for a No. 3 starter, Rafferty is unlikely to move into that spot because of his bullpen value. That leaves the usual suspects — Sauer, freshman Seth Blair and junior Jason Franzblau — to continue making their cases.

Blair had an encouraging effort on Saturday against California. He gave up eight hits and three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, but some of that damage was due to poor defense.

“We’ve never played well behind Blair,” Murphy said. “But he’s gotten better.”

The Sun Devils lead the nation with 297 walks. They are third in scoring (9.8 runs per game) and 22nd in team batting average (.327).

The Saturday game against UCLA, broadcast on Fox Sports Net, will be available in more than 26.7 million homes, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast.

ASU has received a verbal football commitment from quarterback Brock Osweiler of Flathead High School in Kalispell, Mont., according to recruiting services. The 6-foot-8, 235-pounder, who threw for 3,250 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior last season, is the second known commitment in the Sun Devils’ 2009 class.

There are high fives all around for an Arizona State baseball team that is thrilled to have catcher Petey Paramore (in helmet) back from injury.

If his left knee can stay together, Petey Paramore is going to play on it. And the Arizona State catcher on Wednesday showed that he can play quite well.

Just three days after suffering what was at first feared to be a season-ending broken leg or knee injury, Paramore made a surprise return to the Sun Devil lineup, going 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs as the designated hitter in ASU’s 12-4 victory against Wofford at Packard Stadium.

Paramore suffered a subluxation when the tibia fell out of its knee joint, then reset itself. The junior compared the injury to a shoulder separation that pops itself back into place.

He said that he hopes to catch when top-ranked ASU plays at Stanford on Saturday, the second game of a Pac-10 series.

“You hear anything pop, and you fear the worst,” Paramore said. “This was pretty much the best possible thing that could happen. I’m fortunate. I’m really lucky that it wasn’t more serious.”

There is still a risk for Paramore, as another subluxation within the next two or three weeks is “not a good sign,” coach Pat Murphy said.

“But the doctors, trainers and Petey feel like he can continue to go,” Murphy said. “So, we have to respect that.”

“In 14 years here, I’ve never had a bigger outpouring of people wanting to know how a player is than for Petey. And it’s great to see him back. It’s good to know that the guy that leads your team is out there. He made his presence known, that’s for sure.”

In his first at-bat on Wednesday, Paramore — an All-America candidate and potential first-round draft pick in June — hit a home run, his second of the season. He added an RBI double, infield hit and walk before the game was stopped after seven innings due to Wofford’s travel curfew.

“(The home run) was definitely a good way to start the game,” Paramore said. “It put my mind at rest about the knee.

“I wasn’t expecting too much. I just went out and played. I got a few pitches to hit and was able to do something with them.”

Freshman outfielder Matt Newman pitched the last inning for ASU. In his first mound appearance, the Phoenix Brophy product allowed a hit while striking out two.