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Arizona State Makes 21st Trip To College World Series
June 9, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format ARIZONA STATE, the No. 5 overall seed in the 2009 NCAA College World Series, eliminated Clemson in the Tempe Super Regional last weekend. The Sun Devils will be making their third trip in the last five years, and their 21st appearance in the CWS overall. The Pac-10 has produced a CWS participant each year since 1997. ASU's trip in 2009 marks the 59th year (of a possible 63) that the Conference has sent at least one team to Omaha. The Sun Devils will face North Carolina from the Atlantic Coast Conference in their first game on June 14. The Pac-10 is 2-0 against the ACC this season. COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Neb. Sat., June 13 Sun., June 14 Mon., June 15 Tue., June 16 Wed., June 17 Thur., June 18 Fri., June 19 Sat., June 20 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS Mon., June 22 Tue., June 23 Wed., June 24 (if necessary) All times are local to site. PAC-10 NOTES • ARIZONA STATE (49-12, 21-6): The Sun Devils are making their 10th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and have advanced to the College World Series for the 21st time in program history... ASU's .803 won-loss percentage (49-12) is the best in the country, as is the team's 2.78 ERA... They have won 40 games in a season for the third consecutive year and have now reached the 40-win plateau 30 times in school history, including six of the last seven seasons... With its 2-1 series win over UCLA (May 22-24), ASU earned its 20th conference championship, ninth since joining the Pac-10 in 1979... ASU also becomes the first team since the Conference's North and South divisions merged in 1999 to win three straight titles... It marks the fourth Pac-10 championship for head coach Pat Murphy in his 15 seasons at the helm of the program... Arizona State is led by JR outfielder Jason Kipnis, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and JR right-handed pitcher Mike Leake, the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year... Kipnis leads the Sun Devils hitting .385, ranking second in the Pac-10. He leads the Conference with a .729 slugging percentage, 71 runs scored, 85 hits and 161 total bases. He is also second in the Pac-10 in on-base percentage (.496), RBI (71) and walks (48), and is fourth with 16 home runs... Kipnis also leads the League with 26 stolen bases, ranking 36th nationally... On the mound, Leake leads the nation with 16 wins this the season, a new career high. The Golden Spikes Award finalist also leads the nation with a 5.36 hits allowed per nine innings and ranks second with a 1.36 ERA and 150 strikeouts on the season. Leake has thrown seven complete games, two being shutouts. His 150 strikeouts this season is a new career high, well above his 104 Ks in 2008. Leake is four strikeouts away from breaking into the Pac-10's single season top-10 list. In Pac-10 play, the righty posted a 9-0 record with six complete games and two shutouts. He struck out 87 batters while walking just 12 in his nine league appearances... JR left-handed pitcher Josh Spence threw an absolute gem in ASU's 8-2 win over Clemson in game 2 of the Tempe Super Regional on June 7. Spence threw a complete game, his second of the season, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out 10 Tigers. What is even more impressive is that it was just Spence's third game back after missing a month due to injury. The lefty imporved to 9-1 on the season and now has 109 strikeouts on the year, giving the Sun Devils two pitchers with more than 100 Ks for the first time since 1992... JR catcher Carlos Ramirez has hit 18 home runs this season, the most by an ASU catcher since All-American Casey Myers also hit 18 in 2000. He also leads the Pac-10 with 72 RBI in his first season at ASU. MIKE LEAKE IN THE PAC-10 RECORDS Pac-10 Career Leaders
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