For a big-city kid like ASU pitcher Jason Urquidez, rolling into dusty little Coolidge, Ariz., home of Central Arizona Community College, brought home a few things for him.
"It was a culture shock," Urquidez's father, James, said. "We never did take him there [before] and I don't think he would have gone there if we would have."
Urquidez, a right-hander from Simi Valley, Calif., had the talent to pitch anywhere he wanted to, but he did not qualify academically. Central Arizona Community College was his only option.
"I wanted to come to [ASU] right away," Urquidez said. "I was disappointed that I wasn't coming here, but I brought it on myself."
Urquidez was determined to make the most of Central Arizona. And with former Sun Devil catcher Clint Myers - father of former ASU catcher Casey Myers - coaching him, that was just what Urquidez did.
Described by Myers as a "skinny little kid from California," Urquidez had to learn a few things after he arrived in Coolidge.
"He worked really hard to get to the point where he was with us," Myers said. "He had to learn to settle down, go to class, to do his homework and get what was needed to get better. One of the things we talked about was the mental side - to have a plan and stay with it, and to go out and pitch [his] ballgame. He had to understand what it takes to throw on that next level."
Urquidez was a quick study his freshman year, finding success quickly at Central Arizona. He led the Vaqueros to a national championship with two wins in the National Junior College World Series, and posted a 1.89 ERA over the course of the season. During his sophomore year, Urquidez was just as dominant, going 10-1 with a 3.18 ERA.
Urquidez had always been a stiff competitor, and full of composure, according to Myers. It was something that had been instilled in him by his father - with whom Urquidez had practiced in the backyard of their Simi Valley home.
Urquidez, an only child from his father's second marriage, had been taught the game of baseball by his father at an early age. Urquidez said his father, James, a former pitcher who had played semi-professional baseball in San Fernando Valley, Calif., had always preached to him about the sport.
James Urquidez, now a pitching coach for several kids in Simi Valley, fine-tuned Jason's pitching by building him a small pitcher's mound when he was 9 years old.
During his first three years of high school, Urquidez attended Chaminade College Prep in Union Hills, Calif., a 40-minute drive from his home in Simi Valley.
For his senior year, Urquidez decided to go to a school closer to home, Royal High. It was there that Urquidez ran into the trouble with his grades that kept him from going directly to ASU, according to his father James.
"It was a different crowd at [Royal]," James said. "They seemed to be a lot looser in public school, and it kind of hurt him academically."
Once Urquidez arrived at ASU, head coach Pat Murphy said he knew that Urquidez had the talent, but it was just a matter of how to use it. Going into the season, pitching coach Chris Sinacori and Murphy struggled with the decision of where Urquidez would fit in the staff.
Sinacori thought Urquidez would best be used out of the bullpen, but after he struggled in spring and fall practice to take on the role of closer, Murphy decided Urquidez would be a starter.
"When we made the decision to make him a starter even though he was pitching horribly, that was the adjustment he needed," Murphy said.
The decision turned out to be the correct one. Urquidez has had one of the best starts in the program's history under Murphy. In Urquidez's first five starts, he has gone a perfect 5-0, beginning with an impressive nine-strikeout performance against Florida State on Feb. 8.
Urquidez's breakout game, however, came a couple of weeks later when he faced off against last year's national pitcher of the year Jeff Niemann of No.1 Rice. Prior to the two players' duel, Niemann had not lost a decision in more than a year.
Urquidez outlasted Niemann for the complete game. The performance was good enough to earn him National Pitcher of the Week.
"I felt like I could keep going because I was running on so much adrenaline," Urquidez said. "I didn't even know I threw that many [pitches], but I knew the next day."
With a quarter of the season already behind him, Urquidez is in position to take Niemann's National Player of the Year award, in addition to his winning streak.
Reach the reporter at matthew.schubert@asu.edu.
