Nebraska to face rested Urquidez
ASU starter gets 2nd chance
Jun. 21, 2005
OMAHA, Neb. - Arizona State's Jason Urquidez is scheduled to pitch against Nebraska.
And the difference at 11 a.m. Arizona time today vs. Friday, when Urquidez exited after two innings, will be . . . ?
Mainly that the Cornhuskers (57-14) didn't see the real Urquidez (10-4, 3.73 ERA) in the College World Series opener because he wasn't fully recovered from throwing 154 pitches in two super regional appearances. The senior right-hander didn't have bite on his slider or an out pitch in general, being extended to nine pitches in the opening at-bat by Jesse Boyer and eight more by Boyer in the second inning.
"That kid killed me," Urquidez said. "They had a good plan against me and it didn't look like I was fooling them, so it was time for somebody else to get in there."
ASU eventually led, taking Urquidez off the hook, but couldn't close in a 5-3 loss. Now both teams have a loss, and the loser today goes home.
Nebraska will start lefty Zach Kroenke (7-2, 2.59), who got two outs Friday before giving up a double to Colin Curtis. That might bode well for Curtis, who is hitting just .125 here.
"We're not little show dogs, we're pit bulls," Kroenke told the Lincoln Journal Star. "We're not going to back down. We've done it before."
Specifically, they did it at the Big 12 Tournament by rebounding from a first-game loss with an 11-game, postseason win streak that ended Sunday against Florida.
ASU (40-23) is 3-0 in postseason elimination games, two of those against defending national champion Cal State Fullerton.
The Sun Devils may make a defensive swap today by playing Joey Hooft at second base and Seth Dhaenens at third. Pitcher/designated hitter Zechry Zinicola continues to struggle with the flu and nose bleeds and center fielder J.J. Sferra also has had the flu.
ASU head coach Pat Murphy prefers playing the Cornhuskers once out of the loser's bracket over having to beat them twice out of the winner's bracket.
"It's better to find out in one game than have to play them back to back (Wednesday and Thursday)," he said. "If there's any advantage of having the (home) crowd, we only have to face it once (more)."
