ASU Baseball Recap: Devils win 4th straight Pac-10 championship

Weekly Recap

The Devils went north to Palo Alto, California and squared off with the Stanford Cardinal. The Cardinal are, without a doubt, the weirdest team in the nation. At some points this season, Stanford was a top-15 team. At other points, they were as good as Tuscaloosa Tech’s JV Team. That type of team is never fun to game plan against. But, ho-hum, the Devils went up against a talented Pac-10 opponent and took care of business. The Devils won two out of three on the weekend to secure the 2010 Pac-10 Championship. It was the first time since 1997 that the Devils had won a series in Palo Alto. It also marked the final regular season series of the season. The Devils finished their regular season with 15 series victories against one series defeat.

Most Impressed With

The Devils earned the number one National Seed for the 2010 postseason tournament. It is the first time ASU has been ranked that high since the current postseason system has been in effect. In fact, the chairman of the selection committee called ASU’s number one ranking the easiest decision of the committee. Those are pretty strong words of appreciation for how well this team has played.

Most Impressed With – Part II

Tim Esmay. Make no mistake, I am a Tim Esmay fan. I played for Ez for two years and saw his commitment to his players. In the situation he inherited, which was a giant circus at best, Esmay rose to the challenge. He was able to get the current players to buy into his system. He did a great job exploiting the strengths of his individual assistant coaches. And this ASU team has made it through the tough regular season intact, healthy, and with a large group of players with a lot of experience. He has earned himself the reigns of this program for at least a few more years. I say that, selfishly, because otherwise another program is going to benefit from Ez and this coaching staff.

Words of Caution

It’s playoff baseball time. Regionals are the toughest step in the postseason. Make no mistake about it; one misstep can cost great teams a National Championship. The ASU regional features three other conference champions. Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the Horizon League Tournament, Hawaii won the WAC Tournament, and San Diego won the West Coast Conference by five games. That means that all three of these teams have that “It” factor. It is an intangible that lets a team rise up in big situations and grab a championship. It makes teams very tough when their back is up against a wall. The great thing about this ASU team is that they have all been there before. They have all tasted the chance to play for a National Championship, and had it snatched away. That feeling does not sit well with great players.

Week Ahead

The Devils open up with Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Friday at 7 pm. You may remember last season, when the Devils opened up with the Panthers. The four game series was an ASU sweep by a combined score of 53 to 9. San Diego plays Hawaii in the early game on Friday. The set-up for the regional is a four team, double elimination tournament. The regional does extend into Monday, if necessary.

Weekend Coverage

All of ASU’s games will air locally on The FAN AM1060.

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Tags: Arizona State Baseball, ASU Baseball, Pac-10 champions, Tim Esmay