2010 College World Series: One Day Late, Arizona St. & Clemson Take The Field

Rain has caused havoc at the 2010 College World Series and unfortunately for Arizona St. and Clemson, they are the two teams most affected by mother nature’s fury. A day after their game was postponed by rain, the Sun Devils and Tigers will finally get to take to the Rosenblatt Stadium field for the first time. For Clemson, it will be the first time since 2006 that the Tigers step on the field at Rosenblatt Stadium, while Arizona St. will look to improve upon last year’s 2-2 College World Series performance.

As the top national seed, Arizona St. has come to Omaha as the national title favorite. Armed with a potent offense and quality pitching to go along with outstanding defense and big game experience, there isn’t much that the Sun Devils don’t have. 24 games into the season, Arizona St. was still undefeated, the longest win streak to start the season in the country. A 20-7 conference record earned them the Pac-10 title and a perfect 3-0 Regional was followed up by a pair of extra-inning Super Regional wins to earn their spot in Omaha for the 22nd time in school history.

Like Arizona St., Clemson got off to a hot start this season, but unlike the Sun Devils, they ran into midseason trouble. Five consecutive losses and nine losses in 12 games put the Tigers in a bind, but they found their form late in the season and made a bit of a run. Following a 1-2 ACC Tournament, the Tigers were sent to Auburn for a Regional, which went to a deciding Monday game, but Clemson won. The Tigers found themselves on the brink in the Super Regionals after losing the first game, but consecutive wins booked their spot in Omaha.

The big question is whether or not the Clemson offense can keep their hot hitting going. Averaging over nine runs per game since the last week of the regular season, the Tigers have been hitting machines. Kyle Parker, who also starts at quarterback for the Clemson football team, leads the way for the Tigers’ offense. The junior comes into the College World Series hitting .353 with 20 home runs, 64 RBI and a .481 on-base percentage.

Just because the Tigers can hit doesn’t mean the Sun Devils can’t. With a .338 team batting average, Arizona St. gets production all the way up and down the order. Riccio Torrez is hitting a phenomenal .399 to go along with 10 homes runs, while Zach McPhee isn’t bad either with a .394 average, nine home runs and 14 triples.

The difference in the ballgame could be the bullpens, where the Sun Devils have a massive advantage. While they don’t have much beyond their top three and could face trouble if they end up in the loser’s bracket, in a single game with a fresh ‘pen, Arizona St. can light it up at the end of games. Jordan Swagerty has 14 saves and a 2.06 ERA, Mitchell Lambson has a 2.10 ERA while opponents hit just .162 and Brady Rogers has limited the opposition to a .192 batting average while holding a 2.03 ERA.

When you have an incredible edge at the end of games like that, you’re tough to beat. Arizona St. didn’t get to be the number one national seed by accident and cruise through their Regional and Super Regional because they weren’t any good. While Clemson is good, there isn’t a single aspect in which they are superior to Arizona St. The atvantage is with the Pac-10 team here.