GaryMrMets
06-27-2005, 02:27 PM
Larish listened to some Bonds' advice
.c The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Arizona State star Jeff Larish met Barry Bonds 3 1/2 months ago and got some pointers from major league baseball's No. 3 career home run hitter.
Since then, Larish's numbers have taken off.
Bonds was on the Arizona State campus, where he went to school, for a March 8 news conference honoring former coach Jim Brock.
Bonds stuck around and hung out at the batting cage, giving some pointers to the Sun Devils, especially Larish, and encouraging him to hit the ball to all fields.
Larish became just the third player in College World Series history to hit three homers in a game when he connected three times off Nebraska on Tuesday. He hit one to right, one to left and one to center.
Before the meeting with Bonds, Larish had five homers in 21 games. After the conversation with the San Francisco Giants slugger, Larish has 18 homers in 45 games.
Bonds hit 45 homers for the Sun Devils from 1983-85. Larish has 51 in his ASU career, five behind all-time leader Bob Horner.
MOMENTUM SWITCH:@ Florida got two days off as a reward for winning its first two games of the CWS. But the Gators came out flat Wednesday and couldn't handle Arizona State lefty Erik Averill.
The Sun Devils were playing their second straight game to stay alive in the tournament.
``We had two good days of work, we played ourselves into that position,'' Florida coach Pat McMahon said.
``Sometimes in a tournament like this to keep playing every day can be beneficial because you are seeing live pitching every day.''
The Gators weren't over relaxed just because they were not in an elimination situation, McMahon said after the 6-1 loss.
``That's an approach we did not do,'' McMahon said. ``Every day we compete as hard as we can.''
Gators left fielder Gavin Dickey said Averill's deliberate style of pitching was part of the problem.
``It's not an excuse,'' Dickey said. ``He just works slow. That's the pace we had to adjust to. There is nothing we can do. We can't hit until he throws it up there. We got overaggressive and swung at some pitches out of the zone.''
SHOW OF APPRECIATION:@ Arizona State pitcher Seth Garrison had an emergency appendectomy early Sunday, but he still got into a College World Series boxscore.
Garrison, who was in the Sun Devils' dugout in street clothes for a second straight day Wednesday, was listed as ASU's starting designated hitter for Wednesday's game with Florida.
Rocky Laguna pinch-hit for Garrison in the second inning. Garrison's Sun Devils teammates scribbled his No. 17 into their hats with whiteout.
MUSIC MAN:@ Arizona State coach Pat Murphy's slogan for the day as his team faced a fifth elimination game in the postseason: Be musical.
Do what?
Winning pitcher Erik Averill, who pitched a complete game, apparently got the message, if no one else did.
``What is music all about?'' Murphy said, explaining his instructions. ``It's pleasurable, it's rhythmic. You can't just all of a sudden put a bass drum in the middle of it. ... It spews from you, it's creative. Erik was musical today.''
SHORT HOPS:@ The first 11 games of the 2005 CWS have been decided by five or fewer runs. ... Tulane's tough 8-7 elimination loss to Baylor on Tuesday night was the Green Wave's first of the season when they led after eight innings. Tulane was 49-0 with a lead after eight before Baylor ended that streak by rallying with three runs in the ninth inning. Baylor's rally from 7-0 down was the biggest at the CWS since Stanford came back from 8-0 against Tulane in 2001 to win 13-11. ... Arizona State had to play hometown favorite Nebraska twice before loud partisan crowds at Rosenblatt Stadium. When the Sun Devils suited up against Florida on Wednesday, there were thousands of empty seats.
``We're hearing our fans for the first time in probably a little over a week,'' Arizona State star Travis Buck said.
06/22/05 19:36 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
.c The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Arizona State star Jeff Larish met Barry Bonds 3 1/2 months ago and got some pointers from major league baseball's No. 3 career home run hitter.
Since then, Larish's numbers have taken off.
Bonds was on the Arizona State campus, where he went to school, for a March 8 news conference honoring former coach Jim Brock.
Bonds stuck around and hung out at the batting cage, giving some pointers to the Sun Devils, especially Larish, and encouraging him to hit the ball to all fields.
Larish became just the third player in College World Series history to hit three homers in a game when he connected three times off Nebraska on Tuesday. He hit one to right, one to left and one to center.
Before the meeting with Bonds, Larish had five homers in 21 games. After the conversation with the San Francisco Giants slugger, Larish has 18 homers in 45 games.
Bonds hit 45 homers for the Sun Devils from 1983-85. Larish has 51 in his ASU career, five behind all-time leader Bob Horner.
MOMENTUM SWITCH:@ Florida got two days off as a reward for winning its first two games of the CWS. But the Gators came out flat Wednesday and couldn't handle Arizona State lefty Erik Averill.
The Sun Devils were playing their second straight game to stay alive in the tournament.
``We had two good days of work, we played ourselves into that position,'' Florida coach Pat McMahon said.
``Sometimes in a tournament like this to keep playing every day can be beneficial because you are seeing live pitching every day.''
The Gators weren't over relaxed just because they were not in an elimination situation, McMahon said after the 6-1 loss.
``That's an approach we did not do,'' McMahon said. ``Every day we compete as hard as we can.''
Gators left fielder Gavin Dickey said Averill's deliberate style of pitching was part of the problem.
``It's not an excuse,'' Dickey said. ``He just works slow. That's the pace we had to adjust to. There is nothing we can do. We can't hit until he throws it up there. We got overaggressive and swung at some pitches out of the zone.''
SHOW OF APPRECIATION:@ Arizona State pitcher Seth Garrison had an emergency appendectomy early Sunday, but he still got into a College World Series boxscore.
Garrison, who was in the Sun Devils' dugout in street clothes for a second straight day Wednesday, was listed as ASU's starting designated hitter for Wednesday's game with Florida.
Rocky Laguna pinch-hit for Garrison in the second inning. Garrison's Sun Devils teammates scribbled his No. 17 into their hats with whiteout.
MUSIC MAN:@ Arizona State coach Pat Murphy's slogan for the day as his team faced a fifth elimination game in the postseason: Be musical.
Do what?
Winning pitcher Erik Averill, who pitched a complete game, apparently got the message, if no one else did.
``What is music all about?'' Murphy said, explaining his instructions. ``It's pleasurable, it's rhythmic. You can't just all of a sudden put a bass drum in the middle of it. ... It spews from you, it's creative. Erik was musical today.''
SHORT HOPS:@ The first 11 games of the 2005 CWS have been decided by five or fewer runs. ... Tulane's tough 8-7 elimination loss to Baylor on Tuesday night was the Green Wave's first of the season when they led after eight innings. Tulane was 49-0 with a lead after eight before Baylor ended that streak by rallying with three runs in the ninth inning. Baylor's rally from 7-0 down was the biggest at the CWS since Stanford came back from 8-0 against Tulane in 2001 to win 13-11. ... Arizona State had to play hometown favorite Nebraska twice before loud partisan crowds at Rosenblatt Stadium. When the Sun Devils suited up against Florida on Wednesday, there were thousands of empty seats.
``We're hearing our fans for the first time in probably a little over a week,'' Arizona State star Travis Buck said.
06/22/05 19:36 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.