Surrounded by controversy, ASU prepares for weekend tourney

 by Andrew Pentis
 published on Thursday, February 28, 2008

Bettina Hansen / THE STATE PRESS

A SURPRISING START: Freshman Seth Blair pitches his first career victory in front of almost 4,000 fans at Packard Stadium against Oregon State Sunday, where ASU shutout the defending champion Beavers, 11-0.

Amid the news that ASU's baseball program is under the scrutiny of a university investigation, the No. 1 Sun Devils may find refuge by returning to the field.

ASU coaches and players are declining to comment and will only answer "baseball questions," after the allegations made by a former Sun Devil team employee and player were made public.

Serving as the host of the sixth annual Coca-Cola Classic, ASU (3-0, 0-0 Pac-10) will counter No. 18 Michigan, Hawaii and Portland. Northern Illinois, a late addition to the field, will open its season Friday with two games.

ASU offered to accommodate the school, whose students returned to class this week after a campus shooting on Feb. 14.

The Sun Devils will play Michigan Thursday, one week after outscoring its previous three opponents by a combined score of 36-6.

After ASU's sprint out of the gate, it was likely a smart idea for the Wolverines to find unique competition in its scrimmage against MLB's New York Mets Tuesday in Florida.

Michigan (3-0), the defending Big-10 champion, swept Villanova last weekend and is led by a trio of experienced starting pitchers in juniors Zach Putnam, Mike Wilson and Chris Fetter. Putnam doubles as a designated hitter.

Hawaii (4-3) will send junior Jared Alexander to the mound Friday against ASU in Surprise. Alexander is 2-0, with the opposition hitting just .218 against him in 14.2 innings pitched.

ASU junior third baseman Brett Wallace, named Pac-10 Player of the Week, batted .417 with three home runs and nine RBIs over the weekend, leaving coach Pat Murphy no reason to remove Wallace from the leadoff spot.

"I think Wally is on it," Murphy said. "I don't think you're going to see him in too many funks.

While Wallace's play was expected, the pitching performance offered by true freshman Seth Blair Sunday against No. 7 Oregon State simply wasn't.

"It was exactly what I thought it would be," Blair said. "Just another game. After I threw strike one, it was just me against the hitter. It's the same thing you've been doing you're whole life to get here."

After Blair pitched four scoreless innings in his collegiate debut, Murphy revealed that Blair was preparing as a one-inning reliever in the wake of sophomore Jason Jarvis' struggle to gain eligibility.

Reach the reporter at: apentis@asu.edu.