It was an ASU baseball season of youthful ambition, breakout freshman performances and seniors stepping out from the shadows. It was also a season of pitching woes, suspended players and sophomore slumps.
And finally, on Sunday, before a crowd of 1,413 fans at HoHoKam Park, it was a season that came to an abrupt end for the Sun Devils as the team lost to the University of Houston 8-3 to end the 2002 NCAA Baseball Regional hosted by ASU.
Sunday's loss ended the fifth regional appearance by the Sun Devils in the past six years and the 26th appearance in school history.
The defeat came at the hands of a Houston team that arrived in Mesa with the number one seed and promptly dispatched New Mexico State University on Friday and the Sun Devils on both Saturday and Sunday.
For ASU, beating the third-seeded University of San Diego 6-3 on Friday
meant the team found itself in the first of two games against the red-hot Cougars on Saturday.
In that game, a three-hit, one-earned-run performance from Houston pitcher Danny Zell helped stake the Cougars a 3-1 lead before Zell exited the game in the sixth inning. Houston then outscored ASU 5-1 over the next two innings en route to an 8-4 victory that sent the Sun Devils to the loser's bracket and a rematch with San Diego just a few hours later.
ASU promptly beat the Toreros 11-1 to earn another shot at the Cougars on Sunday, but it was to no avail as the Sun Devils were once again out-pitched on the mound by Houston, ending any hopes of an ASU advancement to the NCAA Super Regional in Texas.
But the weekend also held a few bright spots for a Sun Devils club that will more than likely better its 2002 record of 37-21 next season, as the ASU pitching staff continues to grow and develop.
Former walk-on Cesar Castillo took center stage in the eighth inning Friday night when he belted a pitch from San Diego pitcher Ricky Barrett to left field for the only home run of his Sun Devil career. Castillo, who did not figure into Coach Pat Murphy's plans in January, emerged from the ASU dugout in mid-season to lead a team craving senior leadership, hitting .385 over the weekend while being named to the All-Regional Team on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, as Castillo was marking the end of his career, freshman infielder Dustin Pedroia was setting a new school mark, cranking out two hits to give Pedroia the new ASU freshman hits record with 82, surpassing Clay Westlake's 1973 mark of 81 hits in a season.
Reach the reporter at al.stevens@asu.edu.
