Texas just committed a passed ball error, allowing ASU to score another run from third.

Then, McDonald drives in Torrez with a single to right field.

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GO SUN DEVILS!

The entire week, Pat Murphy was very secretive regarding his choice of starting pitcher for ASU's first game in Omaha against North Carolina.

It turned out that going against the grain and starting his #2 pitcher paid dividends for the Sun Devil skipper.

Josh Spence went seven strong innings, proving to be a dependable option even against the top competition of the Tar Heels, who looked stymied at the plate against the crafty left hander from Australia.

ASU scored 4 runs in the tenth inning, putting together just enough offense to survive a very tough matchup. Kole Calhoun hit an incredibly clutch home run to put the Devils up for good. UNC was able to add a run in the bottom of the tenth, but that was all they would muster on the day.

Coach Murphy played the lineup card close to his chest, hoping to keep UNC guessing right up until the first pitch. While many expected Mike Leake, the 8th overall selection in this week's MLB Draft, to toe the rubber for ASU, the unorthodox strategy has given ASU a great chance to go far in Omaha.

Spence, despite being injured for two months this season, was able to come back last weekend and help deliver the knockout punch against Clemson in the Tempe Super Regional.

Mitchell Lambson pitched three quality innings in relief for the #4 Sun Devils (50-12), earning his ninth win on the season, but his first College World Series victory. 

Raoul Torrez had been struggling coming into the College World Series, but the captain's tenacious baserunning put UNC on their heels. Torrez went 2/3 with a walk.

For the Tar Heels, their superstar Dustin Ackley, the second pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, went 2/5 but was struck out by Lambson in the bottom of the 9th to push the game into extra frames.

All in all, this was an excellent performance by our young team, who played like they truly wanted to win and leave their mark in Omaha.

With the win, ASU will play the winner of Texas/Southern Mississippi on Tuesday.

ASU started off awfully strong, with Mike Leake breaking into the top 10 and getting drafted by the Cincinatti Reds at number 8 overall. Most people had Leake pegged at 12-14, but the Reds pulled a mild surprise tapping the wiry righty.

Scouting Report on Leake, via Jason A. Churchill:

Leake is a four-pitch arm who sits in the 89-91 mph range, but with an average or better curve, an average slider and changeup, and rounds it out with plus command and control. He uses a two-seamer regularly, getting tailing action shadowed by good arm speed and a compact delivery that he repeats well.
At Safeco in March, Leake breezed through the UW lineup, sitting at 88 but locating well and inducing dozens of weak swings. He did touch 92 and he profiles as a No. 3 starter. One major concern is that on regular rest, Leake's velocity peaks at 89.

 

From MLB.Com:

Focus Area	Comments
Fastball:	Leake threw his fastball from 88-94 mph. It sat comfortably around 91 mph.
Fastball movement:	There was above-average sink and plenty of side-to-side movement, with some run to it. He changes arm angles for different looks.
Slider:	It's a hard, downward slider, thrown 79-82 mph.
Curve:	An average offering ... not an out pitch. He can throw it for strikes in the 73-76 mph range.
Changeup:	Close to a plus pitch and he'll throw it at any point in the count.
Control:	He has plus, plus command, perhaps a 70 on the scouting scale.
Poise:	It's a plus, plus attribute. He has the presence to pitch in the big leagues right now. He's more of a lead-by-example guy -- soft-spoken, but confident.
Physical Description:	Leake is an undersized righty, but is athletic and strong, kind of like a Tim Hudson type.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	Four pitches that are all usable and the ability to command all of them extremelly well. He's extremely durable, having thrown as many innings as just about anyone in the class over the past few seasons.
Weaknesses:	There's a little hip turn in his delivery, but it doesn't affect him. There will be those who'll be concerned about his size.
Summary:	As a six-foot righty, people may want to overlook Leake as a big-time pitching prospect, but they might be missing the boat. He can throw four pitches for strikes and his poise is off the charts. He may not be that big, but he's athletic, strong and durable with an extremely efficient delivery. He's done nothing but perform with the Sun Devils and whoever looks past his size could have themselves a steal.

Next guy off the board for ASU was our boy Jason Kipnis. While he played CF for us, rumors have it the Indians, who took him 63rd overall in the 2nd round, will switch him to 2B. Maybe he is the next Pedroia?

Scouting report:

Focus Area	Comments
Hitting ability:	Kipnis has tightened up his swing, getting the loop that had been an issue out of it. He still uses the whole field, but has been successfully pulling the ball more. He's a big on-base guy.
Power:	He's got a little power, a guy who could hit 12-15 homers annually.
Running speed:	Has average speed.
Base running:	He's a good baserunner and maximizes what speed he does have.
Arm strength:	Has average arm strength.
Fielding:	He's able to play all three outfield spots, though he doesn't profile at one particular position.
Range:	He's got average range, using instincts well to make the most of his tools.
Physical Description:	Kipnis is strong for his size, but he's not that big and has drawn body-type comparisons to guys like Mark Bellhorn or Todd Hollandsworth.
Medical Update:	Healthy.
Strengths:	He plays hard and above his tools. He's very patient and is an on-base machine, something that should appeal to the stats-minded folks.
Weaknesses:	He doesn't profile well as an everyday guy at one outfield spot.
Summary:	It's hard to argue with the statistical success Kipnis has had at ASU, particularly in his junior season. But projecting him is a little more difficult. He's got average tools across the board and does tend to play above them. But he doesn't profile as an everyday guy at any one outfield position, making him more of a tweener or fourth-outfielder type. Still, he's tightened up his swing and his on-base ability should appeal to those teams who really value those skills.

I think he could be awfully good at 2nd.

Josh Spence was next, tagged in the third round by the Angels. Much higher than I thought he would go, frankly.

Carlos Ramirez went at the end of round 8, 261 overall, to the Angels.  Jared McDonald went in the 21st round to the White Sox.

At this point that does it. If anyone else gets taken, i'll update.

I think they all sign except McDonald.

What a great game by Josh Spence! A complete game performance sealed the Super Regionals for the home team, and Clemson went home after being swept out of the valley. ASU won, 8-2.

ASU is playing like a well-oiled machine, with the 1-2 hitters getting on base and setting the table for the rest of the lineup.

I was so glad to see him back on the mound for the Sun Devils. Even without the experience of last year's team, with a one-two punch of Mike Leake and Josh Spence, ASU has a great shot at bringing home another title to Tempe.

Jason Kipnis, Kole Calhoun and Matt Newman each had two RBIs for the Sun Devils, who improved to 49-12. They have won 16 of their past 17 games.

Spence (9-1) required a heat pad in the early going for a back strain he suffered in last week's regionals, but the Clemson hitters were doing the most wincing while trying to solve the savvy and unpredictable lefty.

"I don't think he started anybody off with the same pitch back-to-back," noted Tigers first baseman Ben Paulsen, who fanned twice.

Spence said his go-to pitch was his slider, adding that his hand isn't bothering him any more.

ASU will play North Carolina (47-16), the No. 4 seed, either Saturday or Sunday. The Tar Heels swept East Carolina in their super regional earlier Sunday.

We will have a breakdown of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the coming days, so check back for more CWS coverage right here.

The Sun Devils take the field tonight at Packard Stadium to play the Clemson Tigers, a team with a 44-20 record.

How did they get to Tempe? In a word, determination. With their backs up against the wall in their own stadium, they took home 3 wins in a row to win their regional, including a two-game sweep of Oklahoma State, a team that had beaten Clemson once already in this very same regional.

What kind of offense do they have? Clemson scored 31 runs in the final three games of their regional. Their former cleanup hitter, Kyle Parker, has been mired in a slump, but he was able to deliver in a pinch-hitting situation to help bring the regional title to the Tigers.

Should we fear the Tigers? Did we fear Fresno State in 2008? Fortunately, the Sun Devils are deep and well coached, but the Tigers are playing well and are hungry for a victory in Tempe.

Numbers of note:

• Clemson is 10-9 on the road, while having a very respectable 31-9 record at home.
• ASU, in the same vein, is a whopping 34-4 in Tempe, and 10-6 on the road. Naturally, the home crowd is a big factor, and ASU has a very strong following.
• Their best hitter, Ben Paulsen, is hitting .369 with 13 HRs and 60 RBI.
• Jason Kipnis is hitting .387 with 15 HR and 69 RBI. Not only that, but Carlos Ramirez has stroked 18 home runs in 2009.
• Clemson has a strong bullpen, with 3 relievers toeing an ERA of 2.05 or less. 
• Clemson runs out two starters consistently: Casey Harman (7-3, 3.78) and Chris Dwyer (5-5, 4.85). Their numbers do not impress me. Good luck against Leake, boys.

House Of Sparky Prediction: ASU takes it in two. Sweep!

So with ASU taking on Clemson in the Super Regionals i think we should crusie around baseball news and take a look at some of the stuff going on in regards to the Devils on the Diamond:

• AZ Republic takes a look at all the impact freshman we had this year. There is a reason we got the #1 recruiting class according to baseball america.
• The game against Clemson is SOLD OUT.
• Mitchell Lambson is named a freshman All-American.
• Mike Leake is a finalist for player of the year. Strasburg will take it.

A look at the game:

#2 ASU (47-12) will take on #13 Clemson Tigers (44-20).

Clemson is an interesting team. Their pitching rotation only has three players who threw more than 60 innings, and only two who threw more than 63. Casey Harman is probably their "ace" - 81 innings, 7-3, 3.78 ERA, 85/15 K/BB.

They use a lot of relief pitchers, give hitters lots of different looks, and rely on their depth more than their overall talent in their pitching staff.

Their offense is potent, with three hitters with 12 or more home runs and is anchored by JR 1B Ben Paulsen.
.369avg/.436obp/.627slg/1.063 ops 13 HR, 60 RBI, 32/36 BB/K. Wilson Boyd (.948 OPS), Mike Freeman (.909 OPS), Jeff Schaus (.977 OPS) and Kyle Parker (.811 OPS) all are threats at the plate. They all get on base and show some pop, so it will be important for the pitchers to stay on top of these guys and Kipnis and crew get going against the Clemson Tiger's somewhat weak pitching staff.

I expect us to win, but it should be closer than some people think it will be.

After going undefeated in the Tempe Regional this past weekend, ASU has earned the right to play Clemson on Saturday night in the Tempe Super Regional.

It's a best of three series, with the winner earning the right to travel to Omaha to play in the 2009 College World Series. Saturday's game is slated to begin at 6 PM, with the first pitch on Sunday at 7 PM. If necessary, there will be a 4 PM tilt on Monday.

Check back tomorrow for a breakdown of the 2009 Clemson Tigers season, and what we will need to do to beat them.

Unfortunately for Mike Leake, his best season as a college player came in the same year NCAA Baseball witnessed perhaps the most impressive season by a pitcher in history - Steven Strausburg down in San Diego.

Otherwise, people would be talking about the season Mike Leake put together this season, anchoring the staff of the Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils.

Mike Leake won Pac-10 pitcher of the year for the secon straight season and put up this ridiculous line:

Player                 ERA   W-L   APP  GS  CG SHO/CBO SV    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR   AB B/Avg   WP HBP  BK  SFA SHA

 8 Leake, Mike......  1.23  15-1    16  15   7   2/1    0 124.2  71  19  17  20 143  15   1   2  419  .169    1  13   2    4   5

An amazing line by any standard. Issuing a walk only every 6.2 innings, striking out over 10 per game, shutting down every major program we have faced - Leake's 2009 season was really special - and would have been considered one of the better ones in recent memory if not for Steve.

Leake won the game over Oral Roberts, 4-1. 9 IP, 1 ER, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts.

He sits 92-94 with his 4-seamer, has a two seamer, a change, and a pretty nasty curve.

Leake will probably be drafted in a few weeks in the first round. Somewhere from 10-25. I am going to be cheering for him to make the majors and have a great career.

I love Leake and hope we can ride him to the championship.

via www.azcentral.com

ASU