OMAHA, Neb. — The late great Walter Cronkite would have likely had the perfect summation to describe the ASU baseball team's quick exit from the College World Series.
"And that's the way it is."
Visions of a national championship had, understandably, been dancing around the hopeful minds of Sun Devil fans for months — a 24-0 start and a fourth straight Pac-10 title will incite those type of aspirations — but the game of baseball often doesn't pay heed to such things. The Yankees have the biggest payroll by a large margin every season, yet still had a decade pass in between its last two titles.
"We had all the pieces," senior Kole Calhoun said. "We just came here and just didn't really play that well. You guys saw the games. But I'll take away from here just all these great memories of being on two of the best Sun Devil teams of all time, coming to the College World Series, getting two opportunities to play here, and I really wouldn't trade it for anything."
Handicapping the field
Obviously, going 2-0 to start the CWS is the best path to a national title. Opening the tournament with a pair of wins means a team gets to rest its starters and then needs to win one of two games to make it to the championship series.
UCLA has followed this formula to a tee, using dominating starting pitching — Trevor Bauer's 11-strikeout performance in the opener was topped by Gerrit Cole's 13 Ks in a win over TCU — and a surprise surge of production at the plate to take control in its bracket.
On the opposite side, scrappy Clemson, owner of the worst record among the CWS field, is also 2-0 after topping ASU and then holding on after an overnight weather delay to beat Oklahoma. The Tigers were the only No. 2 seed from a regional to advance to the CWS and are now a win away from playing for the national championship.
In the end, though, I have the Bruins bringing home the hardware, following the school's softball team as a group that says its dedicating its postseason run to the late legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who passed away at the age of 99 earlier this month.
Closing the Cathedral
I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to cover the last College World Series ever at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's clear why, after 61 years, organizers have decided the time is right to move the CWS, an event tabbed as "The Greatest Show on Dirt," to a new complex. The aisles are crowded at the 'Blatt, much of the facade old and outdated. A new stadium will help usher college baseball into a new era.
But the stadium will always be fondly remembered by those who have played, coached, and attended games there. Merchandise everywhere this week was stamped with the phrase "Last At-bat at the 'Blatt," allowing fans the opportunity to soak themselves in nostalgia when they are sharing the game they love with their kids.
If there is one thing, I've learned the most from a short, yet sweet, stay in Omaha, it's this: Baseball is truly America's game.
