ASU baseball reloads, faces familiar expectations

Josh Holliday understands why so many talented baseball players choose Arizona State.

The ASU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator felt the same lure when he made the coaching move from Georgia Tech in July of 2007.

ASU's Ruettiger is relatively famous

"The tradition, there's been great baseball for years and years and years," Holliday said. "The leader, Coach (Pat) Murphy, teaches our players how to play the game the right way and promotes the team environment. The location ... it's just a really attractive set of circumstances to get a chance to be a part of."

That combination has led to consistent top-10 recruiting classes for the Sun Devils. This season, the top-ranked class in the nation converges on Packard Stadium, as the weight of expectations hits their shoulders before ever playing an inning.

Sluggers Ike Davis, Brett Wallace and Petey Paramore highlight a list of 18 departures from last year's Pac-10 champions, but Arizona State has again been picked to win the conference by the league's coaches.

Murphy said he was 'stunned' by the voting.

"We have the least experience of any team (in the conference)," Murphy said. "We might have the least experience of any team in college baseball."

The Sun Devils, who have been ranked between No. 6 and No. 22 nationally in various preseason polls, do return two very important pieces: right-handed ace Mike Leake and outfielder Jason Kipnis. Leake went 11-3 with a 3.49 ERA last season and was named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year.

Kipnis batted .371 with 14 homers and 73 RBIs last season. He was drafted in the fourth round but chose to return to school to improve his stock.

Leake will be joined by Seth Blair and newcomer Josh Spence in the rotation. Spence went 27-7 with a 1.40 ERA in two years at Central Arizona College, and is originally from Australia.

Murphy likes the rotation, but worries about depth.

His team consists of just 28 players, seven below the maximum allowed in college baseball. One, catcher Andrew Pollak, is out for the year with an injury.

Arizona State lost 13 players from last year's team that hadn't used up their eligibility, as well as seven more players that committed but signed professionally after getting drafted.

It's nothing new to Murphy.

Prince Fielder, Jimmy Rollins, Paul Konerko, Shea Hillenbrand and Dontrelle Willis highlight the list of players who turned professional over playing at ASU.

"It's interesting," Murphy said. "We probably get hit harder than anybody else, but it's the price of doing business. It can be a little tricky. You just try not think of how much you've lost. If you think about it and harp on it, it's a built-in excuse."

But the mind does wander.

Murphy lost six players in the first round last year - Davis and Wallace, as well as four first-round draft picks that committed to ASU but signed professionally (No. 3 pick Eric Hosmer, No. 6 pick Kyle Skipworth, No. 16 pick Brett Lawrie, and No. 42 pick Jaff Decker) - not to mention Paramore and another recruit who went in the second round.

"Look at how good we could have been," Murphy said. "We're the king of losing kids."

With the youth and inexperience, rough patches are almost guaranteed this year.

Murphy, though, has never been one to look ahead. He knows there are high expectations despite the massive turnover, and he knows the learning curve will be steep.

But during an interview on Wednesday, Murphy was more interested in a military airplane flying above the stadium than worrying about the frame of mind of his young team.

"Worried? I don't know if I'd say worried," Murphy said. "You can worry yourself to death. It's college baseball. Anybody can beat anybody."

Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Arizona State

What: Baseball season opener for the Sun Devils

Where: Packard Stadium

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday (doubleheader); noon Sunday

TV/radio: KDUS (1060 AM) Friday and Sunday; KAZG (1440 AM) Saturday (Game 1 only)

Projected starters

Pos. Player

C - Carlos Ramirez, Jr.

1B- Jordan McDonald, Jr.

2B - Zack MacPhee, Fr.

3B - Raoul Torrez, Jr.

SS - Riccio Torrez, Fr.

RF - Matt Newman, So.

CF - Jason Kipnis, Jr.

LF - Kole Calhoun, Jr.

DH - Jordan Swagerty, Fr.

Bench:

Austin Barnes, Fr., C; Mike Murphy, Sr., IF; Abe Ruiz, Fr., IF; Zach Wilson, Fr., IF; Drew Maggi, Fr., IF; Brandon Magee, Fr., OF; Jeff Lusardi, Fr., OF; Johnny Ruettiger, Fr., OF; Andy Workman, So., OF.

Rotation

RHP - Mike Leake, Jr.

LHP - Josh Spence, Jr.

RHP - Josh Blair, So.

Relief Pitchers

RHP - Jason Franzblau, Sr.

RHP - Kyle Brule, So.

RHP - Jake Borup, Fr.

LHP - Mitchell Lambson, Fr.

RHP - Jeeter Ishida, Fr.

RHP - RJ Preach, So.

RHP - Jordan Swagerty, Fr.

2009 SCHEDULE

Date Opponent / Event Location Time

02/20/09 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

02/21/09 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tempe (Packard Stadium) TBA

02/22/09 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tempe (Packard Stadium) 12 p.m.

02/24/09 vs. Missouri Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

02/26/09 vs. Missouri Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

02/27/09 vs. Northern Illinois Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

02/28/09 vs. Oregon State Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

03/01/09 vs. Missouri Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1:30 p.m.

03/05/09 vs. Holy Cross Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

03/06/09 vs. Holy Cross Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

03/07/09 vs. Holy Cross Tempe (Packard Stadium) 12 p.m.

03/10/09 vs. Kansas State Surprise (Surprise Stadium) TBA

03/11/09 vs. Kansas State Surprise (Surprise Stadium) TBA

03/13/09 vs. Kansas Surprise (Surprise Stadium) TBA

03/14/09 vs. Kansas Surprise (Surprise Stadium) TBA

03/15/09 vs. Kansas Surprise (Surprise Stadium) TBA

03/20/09 vs. Arizona Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

03/21/09 vs. Arizona Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

03/22/09 vs. Arizona Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

03/27/09 at USC Los Angeles, Calif. (Dedeaux Field) 6:30 p.m.

03/28/09 at USC Los Angeles, Calif. (Dedeaux Field) 2 p.m.

03/29/09 at USC Los Angeles, Calif. (Dedeaux Field) 1 p.m.

03/31/09 vs. Cal State Fullerton Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6 p.m.

04/01/09 vs. Cal State Fullerton Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6 p.m.

04/03/09 at Washington Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) 6:30 p.m.

04/04/09 at Washington Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) 2 p.m.

04/05/09 at Washington Seattle, Wash. (Husky Ballpark) 12 p.m.

04/07/09 at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. (Baum Stadium) 4:35 p.m.

04/08/09 at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. (Baum Stadium) 4:35 p.m.

04/10/09 vs. Washington State Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

04/11/09 vs. Washington State Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

04/12/09 vs. Washington State Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

04/17/09 vs. Stanford TV Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

04/18/09 vs. Stanford Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

04/19/09 vs. Stanford Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

04/21/09 vs. Hawai'i Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

04/24/09 at California Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond) 2 p.m.

04/25/09 at California Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond) 1 p.m.

04/26/09 at California Berkeley, Calif. (Evans Diamond) 1 p.m.

04/29/09 at Arizona Tucson (Kindall Field) 3 p.m.

05/01/09 at Oregon State Corvallis, Ore. (Goss Stadium) 5 p.m.

05/02/09 at Oregon State Corvallis, Ore. (Goss Stadium) 2 p.m.

05/03/09 at Oregon State Corvallis, Ore. (Goss Stadium) 1 p.m.

05/05/09 vs. San Diego Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/06/09 vs. San Diego Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/08/09 vs. Winthrop Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/09/09 vs. Winthrop Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/10/09 vs. Winthrop Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

05/15/09 vs. Oregon Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/16/09 vs. Oregon Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/17/09 vs. Oregon Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.

05/20/09 at Arizona Tucson (Kindall Field) 7 p.m.

05/22/09 vs. UCLA Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/23/09 vs. UCLA Tempe (Packard Stadium) 6:30 p.m.

05/24/09 vs. UCLA Tempe (Packard Stadium) 1 p.m.