TEMPE, AZ Arizona State Baseball will begin its quest for its sixth National Championship and 22nd trip to Omaha and the College World Series on February 19th when the Sun Devils host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Winkles Field- Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark in the 2010 Season Opener. Announced today by head coach Tim Esmay, the 2010 schedule features 35 games at Packard Stadium, including two non-conference match-ups with in-state rival Arizona on April 20 and May 4.

ASU Interim Head Coach Tim Esmay (ASU Photo)

regular season on March 16 and 17 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.

Complete 2010 ASU Schedule

Arizona State will play an exhibition game at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark on March 2, when they host Meiji University from Japan.

The rest of the non-conference slate features two straight four-game series to open the 2010 season. Northern Illinois opens the year in Tempe from Feb. 19-21, followed by Towson from Feb. 26-28. The SEC’s Auburn Tigers will visit Tempe for a three-game set beginning March 12, and the Houston Cougars will play at Packard Stadium for three games starting March 19. Grand Canyon (March 9), San Diego (April 5-6), San Francisco (April 27-28) and BYU (May 10-11) will also visit Tempe.

The leader in West Coast attendance for the past five years, Arizona State will once again enjoy one of the nation’s best home field advantages. Over 125,000 fans came through the turnstiles to watch the Devils play in 2009, as ASU averaged 3,207 fans per home game. Thanks to tremendous fan support that creates an unmatched atmosphere at home, the Sun Devils went 36-4 at home, winning their third consecutive Pac-10 championship and advancing to the College World Series for the third time in five years.

For the eighth straight year, Arizona State will travel to Surprise, Ariz., for the Coca-Cola Classic at Surprise Stadium, Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Devils will face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly, who played in the Tempe Regional, on March 4, Pac-10 rival Oregon State in a non-conference match-up on March 5, UC Riverside on March 6, then wrap up the weekend in Surprise against former ASU assistant coach and current Florida International head coach Turtle Thomas and the Golden Panthers on March 7.

In addition to an always difficult non-conference schedule, the three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils will once again compete in one of the toughest conferences in all of college baseball. Conference adversaries visiting Tempe include Cal (March 26-28), USC (April 16-18), Washington (April 23-25) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Oregon State (May 21-23). The Sun Devils will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first time in school history when they take on the Ducks for a three-game series beginning April 1. ASU will also travel to 2009 NCAA Tournament team Washington State (April 9-11), UCLA (April 30-May 2), in-state rival Arizona (May 15-17) and close out the regular season at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif. for three games with Stanford (May 27-29).

Arizona State will be seeking its 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on June 4. Super Regionals will follow from June 11-14 with the college baseball season culminating in the College World Series, beginning June 19 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. 2010 marks the final season the College World Series will be played at Rosenblatt Stadium, as the annual championship tournament will move to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha beginning in 2011.

(Release)

This was probably the busiest week since June.  Here’s a look at some of the new things on the site this week.  (Just in case you missed them!)

1.  Two Sport Report #5…an update on college baseball players (including Toby Gerhart, Golden Tate & Russell Wilson) who are playing other sports this fall.

2.  Arkansas Pine Bluff pitcher Kevin Edwards tragically dies in car crash.

3.  Arizona State names Tim Esmay interim head baseball coach.

4.   Andy Stankiewicz leaving ASU to join Seattle Mariners organization.

5.  UK pitcher James Paxton sues the University of Kentucky.

6.  A By The Numbers look at Toby Gerhart’s college football & baseball careers at Stanford.

7.  A classic podcast interview with Notre Dame receiver/outfielder Golden Tate.

8.   Gerhart & Tate shine in regular season football finale (Stanford vs. Notre Dame football).

9.  Villanova receiver/infielder Matt Szczur leads Wildcat football team to FCS playoff win.

10.  NC State quarterback/infielder Russell Wilson throws 4 TDs in Wolfpack football season finale.

11.  University of South Florida to get new baseball stadium.

12.  Texas to retire Longhorn great Keith Moreland’s jersey number.

13.  A slew of 2010 schedules released this week, including: Miami (FL), Oregon State, Oklahoma, and Arizona.

Stankiewicz Named Minor League Field Coordinator For Seattle Mariners

Andy Stankiewicz

The Mariners are managed by former Sun Devil standout Don Wakamatsu, who was an All-Pac-10 catcher for ASU from 1982 to 1985.

Stankiewicz played seven seasons of Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Montreal Expos and Arizona Diamondbacks. He also managed the Staten Island Yankees, single A affiliate of the New York Yankees prior to joining ASU.

ASU has not named an interim coach since Pat Murphy resigned as the Sun Devils’ head coach on November 20th.

(Release and staff report)

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

Murphy Was 629-284-1 In 15 Seasons At ASU

Nothing has been confirmed, but the two most prevalent theories are that Murphy’s resignation either had to do with possible NCAA infractions, a dispute over a contract extension with ASU Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love or some combination of the two.

In the time since his resignation I have talked to several people who know Murphy, and while most of them were “shocked” to hear of his depature, most of them were not shocked at the idea that Murphy might have left ASU in a huff after a disagreement with his AD.

Tim Prister played baseball at Notre Dame in the 1980s.  He currently writes for Irishillustrated.com, and he covered Murphy when Murphy was the head coach of the Irish.  When I asked Prister this week if he would be surprised at such a scenario Prister said with a wry grin “I would not be surprised at all if that were the case.”

Brian Cleary counts himself among Murphy’s supporters.  The current Cincinnati Bearcats head coach was a Murphy assistant in 1993 & 1994 in South Bend.  Cleary credits his mentor for “kick-starting” his coaching career and said that Murphy has been good for the game “There probably isn’t a more colorful personality on the national stage.  He’s passionate about college baseball and about coaching and about what we all do as coaches.  He is willing to speak on behalf of the sport”, he said.

Cleary also added “Certainly I think his personality adds to whatever event it is.  Be it a three game Pac-10 series or Omaha.  One of the things I think Murph brings is the willingness to speak his mind and speak on behalf of college

Brian Cleary

baseball.  I think the head coach at ASU is different than the head coach at a lot of places, because that program in relation to football and basketball is probably a lot different than it is at a lot of schools.  I think he was really a great ambassador for college baseball during his time there.”

Certainly Murphy’s departure at one of the premiere programs in college baseball (and possible return…somewhere) will have a ripple effect throughout the coaching ranks, whether it’s this year or next.

Here’s a “By The Numbers” look at Murphy’s career:

10…wins in his first season (1983) as a college head coach at Maryville (Tenn)

51…wins in his 25th season (2009) as a head coach at ASU

49…consecutive 30 win seasons by ASU baseball teams

2…head baseball coaches (Bobby Winkles and Jim Brock) in Sun Devil history prior to Murphy’s arrival in Tempe

17…NCAA Tournament appearances in 22 seasons as a Division I coach

12…NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons at ASU

18…years between NCAA Tournament appearances for Notre Dame before earning a berth in 1989, Murphy’s second season at the Fighting Irish helm

4…College World Series appearances by ASU in the last 15 seasons

113…combined home wins by the Sun Devils over the last three seasons

12…ASU home losses in that span

441…wins since 2000 by ASU, the most by any Pac 10 team in that stretch

7…ASU players named Pac 10 Player of the Year in the last 15 seasons

506…games Arizona State played without being shutout between April 7, 1995 and February 15, 2004-an NCAA record

9.4…runs-a-game the Sun Devils scored in that 9-year stretch

119…Arizona State players taken in the MLB draft during the Murphy era-the most of any school

1…of those players tabbed a big league MVP-Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia-2008 AL MVP

914…games played in Murphy’s 15 seasons at ASU

914…home runs hit by the Sun Devils in those 15 seasons

8,084…runs scored in those games-an average of 8.8 runs-a-game

Here’s our weekly recap of some of the new stuff we have added to the site last week.

1.  Podcast interview with West Virginia’s Jedd Gyorko, who was also a Cape Cod League All Star.

2.  Virginia’s Kevin McMullan named National Assistant Coach of the Year.

3.  LSU and Texas each received their College World Series rings.

4.  East Carolina honored at this week’s football game for its 2009 Super Regional season.

5.  Rhode Island named the top college team in New England by the BoSox Club.

6.   Southern Illinois’ Dan Callahan named Most Courageous by MVC.

7.  Wichita State is auctioning logos from its old field turf.

8.  Sacramento State has a succession plan in place to name a new head coach when current skipper John Smith retires.

9.  Our exclusive final statistics compilation from the 2009 College World Series.

10.  Muhammed Ali, Dustin Pedroia and Andre Ethier at Friday’s Pat Murphy/ASU fundraiser.

11. Schedules, schedules and more schedules.  Seriously, we posted more than 30 2010 schedules this week.

A few notes and thoughts from Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires while waiting for the Virginia-Arkansas game to start…

• ASU’s loss to Texas last night snapped their 7-game winning streak, and it leaves LSU as the only team without a loss in this year’s NCAA Tournament (7-0).

• Arkansas starting pitcher  (and OF) Brett Eibner had a tough time in his last start Monday vs. LSU when he allowed four runs in just 1 1/3 IP. That’s nothing compared to what happened to an Omaha motorist at Tuesday’s Arkansas practice when Eibner hit a home run during batting practice that smashed the window of a van parked on the street outside the park.

Collegebaseball360.com Editor, Sean Stires, shares some thoughts from a day of baseball at Rosenblatt Stadium…