NCAA Regional Preview: Tempe

By Will Kimmey
June 2, 2005

1. Coastal Carolina 48-14, at-large, won Big South regular season, sixth NCAA tournament, fifth consecutive appearance
2. Arizona State 34-22, at-large, tied for third in Pacific-10, 29th NCAA tournament, sixth consecutive appearance
3. East Carolina 35-24, at-large, fourth in Conference USA, 21st NCAA tournament, seventh consecutive appearance
4. Nevada-Las Vegas 34-27, automatic, won Mountain West regular season and tournament, 10th NCAA tournament, third consecutive appearance

Player To Watch: Coastal Carolina junior Mike Costanzo earned Big South MVP honors for the second straight year as he became the league’s first player to earn first-team all-conference merits as a hitter and pitcher. He ranked second in the league in slugging (.665) and runs (64), and led the nation with 1.1 walks per game, helping build a league-leading .543 on-base percentage. Costanzo’s low 90s fastball and power slider led to a 6-2, 1.71 record, 13 saves and 11.98 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Favorite: Home-field advantage has to count for something, especially when two of the visitors are coming nearly all the way across the country. Make Arizona State the slim favorite. The Sun Devils are often known for their offense, but it’s their pitching that sets them apart in this offensively charged bracket. Erik Averill, Jason Urquidez and Pat Bresnehan comprise the only starting rotation in the bracket with three pitchers who boast at least 70 strikeouts. Aside from Jeff Larish’s Pac-10 leading 17 home runs, this is a speed team that swiped 116 bases, third-most among tournament teams. Junior right fielder Travis Buck stole 23 bags to lead six players in double figures and leads the team with a .388 average and .454 on-base percentage.

On The Other Hand: Coastal Carolina didn’t seem a sheepish visitor in winning road games at Georgia Tech and North Carolina on consecutive days in May, and that feat likely propelled it to a No. 1 seed, the first in conference history. Costanzo is the offense’s fulcrum, reaching base to allow junior second baseman Michael DeJesus (brother of Royals center fielder David DeJesus) to pile up a team-best 65 RBIs with eight homers. That duo drove in 30 percent of Coastal’s runs. Ace righthander Ricky Shefka went 7-0, 1.44 and allowed just eight walks in conference play, and was 11-2, 2.51 with 20 walks overall. Costanzo and hard-throwing Byron Binda (74 strikeouts in 58 innings) give Coastal an edge late in games.

Bracket Buster: Like the rest of the clubs in this region, East Carolina scores seven runs per game. Brian Cavanaugh’s .379 average led CUSA and an offense on which 10 different players drove in at least 29 runs. Drew Costanzo, a Floridian who’s no relation to Coastal Carolina’s Pennsylvania native Mike Costanzo, paced the Pirates offense with 11 home runs. ECU’s .972 fielding percentage ranks 11th among tournament teams. Pitching depth proved a problem for ECU after Ricky Brooks (5-5, 3.75) and T.J. Hose (7-3, 3.96); 16 different players toed the rubber for a team with a 5.17 ERA, and the Pirates had nine losses in which the opposition reached double figures. Two of them came against Coastal Carolina and Arizona State.

Don't Forget About: Playing in the hyper-offensive MWC, Nevada-Las Vegas scored 500 runs, and its 8.2 runs per game rank behind just six teams in the 64-team field. So it should feel right at home in this region. The ERAs of starters Matt Luca (4.45), Derek Rodriguez (5.28) and Koji Pupo (5.83) underwhelm until realizing they each rank among the league’s top 10 figures. Their ability to cope with allowing runs could prove unique here and allow UNLV to steal a victory or two if a slugfest breaks out. It took games from Cal State Fullerton and Arizona during the season.