By Will Kimmey
June 9, 2005

No. 17 Arizona State

Coach: Pat Murphy (11th season)
CWS History: 18 trips to Omaha (last in 1998), five titles (last in 1981)
How They Got Here: Won the Tempe, Ariz., regional in three games, beating Coastal Carolina in the final.

Top Hitters	AVG/OBP/SLG, Key Stats
Jr. RF Travis Buck	.389/.451/.545, 24 SB, 73 R
Sr. 1B Jeff Larish	.320/.452/.653, 19 HR, 61 RBIs
Sr. C Tuffy Gosewisch	.323/.419/.491, 6 HR, 67 RBIs
So. LF Colin Curtis	.342/.442/.429, 17 SB, 50 R
Top Pitchers	W-L, ERA, Key Stats
Sr. RHP Jason Urquidez	9-4, 4.05, 83-44 K-BB,100 IP
Jr. LHP Erik Averill	9-4, 3.77, 85-26 K-BB, 105 IP
So. RHP Pat Bresnehan	4-4, 5.38, 72-30 K-BB, 79 IP
So. RHP Zech Zinicola	3-3, 5.80, 46-33 K-BB, 54 IP

Players Taken In The 2005 Draft

Travis Buck, of (Athletics, 1st round)
Jeff Larish, 1b (Tigers, 5th)
Tuffy Gosewisch, c (Phillies, 11th)
Jason Urquidez, rhp (Diamondbacks, 17th)
Erik Averill, lhp (Tigers, 20th)
Joey Hooft, 2b (Rangers, 20th)
Brett Bordes, lhp (Tigers, 24th)

Arizona State Scouting Report

Arizona State is least impressive team of the three (Pac-10 teams left). They don’t have the arms of Arizona or Oregon State. They're very good at home, but they could scuffle on road. They do a little bit of everything. They have power and speed.

The pitchers throw strikes, but are not overwhelming. We played all close games, and those guys pitched with pressure, made quality pitches with runners in scoring position. (Erik) Averill is very average (with) a fastball at 86-87 and a change. If you have the right plan, you can get to Averill quick because he doesn't throw a good breaking ball. Averill does have the ability to pitch to the circumstance, force contact with a lead, pitch around a guy with a base open. The best guy is (Jason) Urquidez. He's experienced, has a good slider and was the Pac-10 pitcher of the year last year. It's not super-regional pitching.

(Travis) Buck and (Jeff) Larish, those superstars can hurt you bad. Larish can hit the long ball. You almost want to walk him late in games because he can end it with one swing. Buck is the best player. He is legit; he can hit lefties, and he can hit good velocity. This is a predominantly lefthanded lineup, and a good lefthander really shuts them down. They're getting (Cal State Fullerton lefthanders Ryan) Schreppel and (Ricky) Romero, good night.

(Tuffy) Gosewisch is an experienced catcher and I like him. He's headstrong, runs the game, calls all the pitches. I think the underrated player is the second baseman, (Seth) Dhaenens. He's a nice player. (Joey) Hooft is very average at third. J.J. Sferra is a good little freshman who can go get everything in center. These guys like to run a lot. You can pick and pick and pick, but it can make it easier for them to pick their spots. After you pick they can go. They all ran well. The pressure stays on you.

No. 4 Cal State Fullerton

Coach: George Horton (ninth season)
CWS History: 13 trips to Omaha (last in 2004), four titles (last in 2004)
How They Got Here: Won the Fullerton, Calif., regional in five games, beating Arizona in the final

Top Hitters	AVG/OBP/SLG, Key Stats
Jr. RF Sergio Pedroza	.330/.462/.622, 15 HR, 54 RBI
Sr. 3B Ronnie Prettyman	.333/.387/.521, 7 HR, 48 RBI
So. 1B Brett Pill	.324/.384/.482, 8 HR, 55 RBI
Jr. LF Danny Dorn	.279/.423/.490, 10 HR, 49 RBI
Top Pitchers	W-L, ERA, Key Stats
Jr. Ricky Romero, lhp	12-5, 2.95, 132-33 K-BB, 125 IP
Jr. Ryan Schreppel, lhp	6-0, 1.83, 39-28 K-BB, 64 IP
Sr. Scott Sarver, lhp	9-3, 4.37, 57-26 K-BB, 82 IP
Fr. Wes Roemer, rhp	7-3, 3.36, 70-13 K-BB, 88 IP

Players Taken In The 2005 Draft

Ricky Romero, lhp (Blue Jays, 1st round)
Sergio Pedroza, of (Dodgers, 3rd)
Bobby Andrews, of (Orioles 7th)
Ryan Schreppel, lhp (Diamondbacks 8th)
Ronnie Prettyman, 3b (Mariners 10th)
Neil Walton, ss (Devil Rays, 16th)
Scott Sarver, lhp (Astros 21st)
Danny Dorn, of (Devil Rays, 23rd)
John Curtis, c (Indians (29th)
Justin Turner, 2b (Yankees, 29th)
Trevor Mortensen, of (Indians, 33rd)
Felipe Garcia, 1b (Yankees, 34th)
Brett Pill, 1b (Yankees, 45th) Blake Davis, ss (Indians, 46th)

Cal State Fullerton Scouting Report

Their best players make big plays. It's like a family that doesn't want to be the guy that makes the last out. It's something going right now, it's magical. I hate to say it, but I knew they would come out and beat Arizona twice (in the regional). It's that experience that defines them. They're so well prepared. Even if they get beat, the next day it doesn't faze them.

They pressure you with small ball, and they will force you to prove you can field a bunt and execute. Teams that don’t handle that well will fold. They have smart baserunners that pressure you by taking the extra base, jumping when (a pitch) hits the dirt. If you get the leadoff hitter out, they're a different offensive team.

Pedroza and Pill are solid in the middle. Both are susceptible to the slider; but if you leave a flat one, (Pill will) kill it. There's not a lot of holes in the lineup, but lefthanders can create some problems. The San Diego State lefty (Ben Coon) gave them some troubles. A righthander needs a real good changeup to keep the lefties honest.

(Ricky) Romero, I've heard his velocity has dropped a little, but he was the best pitcher in college when we faced him. He was 92 and spotting up like crazy and has a good curveball. Romero was most intense guy we saw. (Scott) Sarver is a solid lefty who throws strikes, and now with (Ryan) Schreppel back they are even stronger.

If you get the starter out early, I wonder what they have in the pen. (Wes) Roemer could be that guy out of pen if he doesn’t start. He's like Kirk Saarloos. He can be used in so many different ways, and he's the trump card. He's a sinkerballer to mix with those lefties. Sinker in, slider away and guys are bailing out to cheat to the two-seamer. For a freshman to show the poise of a veteran is a credit to how they run things.