Los Angeles Regional: Preview, expectations and predictions for the Sun Devils

PHOENIX – Head coach Willie Bloomquist and the Arizona State Sun Devils have finally returned back to the NCAA Tournament after a three year drought.

The Sun Devils were placed in the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA who is the No. 1 seed in the region.

The top seeded Bruins and the No. 3 seed Sun Devils will be joined by No. 2 seed UC Irvine and No. 4 Fresno State.

This will be the first time a Willie Bloomquist-led Sun Devils team will appear in a regional.

ASU’s first game will take place this this evening at 6 p.m. AZT on ESPN2. The Sun Devils will be matched up against UC Irvine in the two versus three seed game.

Now, let’s take a quick look at what each team brings to the table and what to expect for ASU in the regional.

No. 1 UCLA

The Bruins come into this regional off the back of a 42-16 season. They won a share of the Big 10 regular season title and lost in the championship game of the Big 10 tournament.

UCLA is led by sophomore infielder and Big 10 Player of the Year Roch Cholowsky who had a monster season starting all 58 games. His slash line included a .369 AVG, 1.290 OPS, 23 HRs and 69 RBIs.

He is also joined in the lineup by infielders Mulivai Levu and Roman Martin along with utility man AJ Salgado who all received Big 10 second team honors.

On the pitching side the Bruins ace this season has been Michael Barnett who has an 11-1 record with a 4.18 ERA. He was also selected to the Big 10 all second team.

The bullpen is littered with top arms as it boasts four pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA.

ASU and UCLA did meet up earlier in the season for two games in a midweek showdown where the two squads split the set in Los Angeles.

The Bruins will look to cash in on hosting a regional and return to a super regional for the first time since 2019.

No. 2 UC Irvine

The Anteaters come into Los Angeles after a 41-15 season and a Big West regular season championship. This UC Irvine lineup top to bottom is full of talent. They had five different hitters receive either the first or second team All-Big West honors.

The team hit a combined 63 home runs and had a team OPS of .894.

Shortstop Colin Yeman is someone to note as he took home the Big West Field Player of the Year boasting a .342 AVG, 1.065 OPS and 13 HRs.

On the mound is where UC Irvine can be especially impressive. They have a three man rotation coming into the regional with an average 3.99 ERA.

In addition, the Anteaters have the Big West Pitcher of the Year Ricky Ojeda who had a 3.63 ERA in 62 innings – majority out of the bullpen.

The Sun Devils and Anteaters did not meet at all in this year’s regular season.

UC Irvine will be looking to make its first super regional since 2014.

#3 Arizona State

ASU come into their first regional since 2021 after a 35-22 season, but did stumble to end the season. The Sun Devils were swept by Oklahoma State in the last series of the season and then lost to No. 12 seeded BYU in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

This Sun Devils team is known around the country as an offensive juggernaut with eight of the nine players in their everyday lineup batting .290 or higher.

ASU is led by Big 12 Co-Newcomer shortstop Matt King who had a .405 AVG, 1.064 OPS, 7 HRs and 54 RBIs. He is joined by seven other ASU hitters who made Big 12 first team or second team or were an honorable mention.

On the pitching side they are led by a two man tandem of starting pitchers Ben Jacobs and Jack Martinez who don’t have ERA’s of elite tier starting pitchers due to the nature of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. However, looking at their batting average against will tell you a different story. The two men have held hitters to a .227 AVG.

The Sun Devil bullpen can have its ups and downs depending on the day, except for Cole Carlon.

Carlon pitched to a 2.82 ERA in 51 innings, all out of the bullpen, and was selected to the Big 12 first team.

ASU will look to reach its first super regional since 2011* (vacated by the NCAA).

#4 Fresno State

The Bulldogs are coming off an average 31-27 season that saw them finish second in the Mountain West before winning the conference tournament to secure their spot.

The Fresno State offense is led by Mountain West Player of the Year Murf Gray who had a slash line of .330 AVG, 1.063 OPS, 18 HRs and 73 RBIs. He was joined by Justin Stransky on the All-Mountain West first team. Stransky hit .319 with a .938 OPS, 12 HRs and 43 RBIs.

On the pitching side they are led by Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Aidan Cremarosa who pitched to a 4.13 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He was joined by Jack Anker on the All-Mountain West first team. Anker pitched to a 5.72 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

The Sun Devils and the Bulldogs did not meet at all this regular season, but many will remember in 2008 when Fresno State came into Tempe for a super regional as number four seed and won it. They would use that momentum to go all the way to win the national championship and become the first four seed to ever do so.

The Bulldogs will be looking to return to their first super regional since that memorable run in Tempe in 2008.

What to expect?

This regional could be won by any one of the four teams in it as none of them are dominant in any way. With that being the case, expect chaos and a lot of close games throughout the entirety of the regional.

I believe with the Sun Devils high powered offense and two top line starters they can put themselves in a position to take control of the regional by being 2-0 after Saturday.

My Prediction

I think the Sun Devils will win game one against UC Irvine and then beat UCLA in the 1-0 game.

This will then put them in the driver’s seat allowing them to lose a game to UCLA after they return from the loser’s bracket, but in the end win the Los Angeles Regional.

In short ASU will go 3-1 on their way to a super regional against the winner of the Austin Regional.

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