College World Series notebook: Retherford realizes childhood dream

OMAHA, NEB. - Moments after Arizona State’s victory against UC Irvine on Saturday, C.J. Retherford walked into the Sun Devils’ locker room and picked up his cell phone.

A text message had been left by his father Mark, who watched the game from the stands at Rosenblatt Stadium.

“He said that he remembered me dreaming as a little kid, hitting a home run here,” Retherford said. “It finally happened. It’s unreal. I’d watch the College World Series highlights as a kid, see the home run, and it’s a shock to my body to do it myself.”

Retherford tied the game in the fifth inning with a solo homer, continuing his torrid postseason.

Coach Pat Murphy’s decision to put Retherford — who had six hits (including three home runs) in 10 NCAA tournament at-bats before Saturday — in the leadoff spot put a shock into his assistant coaches.

The senior had not batted leadoff since ASU’s final game of the 2006 season, a loss against Baylor in the Houston Regional.

“I got heavy opposition from that staff,” Murphy said. “They all said no. But sometimes, you have to make your own decision. We don’t have a true leadoff hitter, so you go with one of your best guys at the time. C.J. is rolling.”

His success has been a long time coming for Retherford, who was limited to 33 games during the regular season because of a high ankle sprain.

“I don’t care where I hit, as long as I’m in the lineup,” Retherford said. “It helps to know that (Murphy) has confidence in me to get things started. I seemed to provide a lift to get the team going.

“So, I think it was a smart idea.”

EMOTIONAL RUSH

The atmosphere of playing in Rosenblatt can be overwhelming, even for an accomplished pitcher like UC Irvine’s Scott Gorgen. The 12-game winner said he had trouble breathing early in Saturday’s contest.

“I think the rush of emotion, combined with the heat, got to me,” Gorgen said. “It wasn’t nerves. Everything got to me. I didn’t control the things I can control. I left pitches up and wasn’t myself.”

In the second inning, Gorgen walked two ASU hitters before outfielder Matt Spencer blasted a fastball into the seats for a three-run homer. Gorgen allowed eight hits and five runs in seven-plus innings.

HE’S LEARNING

Murphy said that how he handled Mike Leake’s fourth-inning turbulence is a sign that he is handling pitchers better.

“I told him to hang in there for the team, because we are going to score runs,” Murphy said. “What would I have done in the past? Hurry up and hooked him. The quickest hook in the West, I had. But I never found out if a guy can get through it.

“(Leake) looks down at the bullpen and sees nobody there, and he thinks he has to hang in there. That helps him pitch and get through rough times. That’s a big thing I’ve learned this year.”

This season, Murphy gave himself the title of pitching coach.

SHORT HOPS

Murphy did not announce his starting pitcher for Monday, but it will be Josh Satow or Brian Flores. … UC Irvine’s loss was the eighth straight by a team playing in its first-ever CWS game. A school has not won in its Omaha debut since Georgia Tech in 1994.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

The talk around Omaha these days is whether the College World Series is long for life at creaky, old Rosenblatt Stadium.

Rosenblatt will need about $30 million in upgrades to satisfy the NCAA, and city leaders aren’t sure they want to spend that much money on a fixer-upper. One possibility: A new stadium in downtown Omaha.

I could live with that, although I like the homey atmosphere at Rosenblatt. What I wouldn’t be OK with is the CWS moving from Omaha.

It belongs here. The city has embraced the event, and unlike the corporate atmosphere at the Final Four or the BCS championship, there’s still a wonderful small-town feel to the CWS. It’s what college sports is supposed to be.

Move it to a new stadium in Omaha? Fine.

Move it out of Omaha? Never.

- Scott Bordow