Road To Rosenblatt: Arizona State

One team that seems to be a regular at Rosenblatt Stadium every summer is five-time College World Series champion Arizona State.

The Sun Devils have been one of college baseball's premiere programs for some time and have been the training ground for some of baseball's most feared hitters, including Bob Horner, Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson.

Arizona State has made 22 appearances in the College World Series, but has not come away with a title since 1981. The last time they were in the finals was in 1998, when they lost home run derby to Pac 10 counterpart USC 21-14.

Last year, the Sun Devils were one of the favorites to win it all, but came up on the losing end of a 9-8 extra-inning affair to Cinderella team UC Irvine.

Many of the key players are back for the Sun Devils in 2008, and they are ranked at or near the top in most of the major rankings. They are led by slugger Brett Wallace, who led the team in home runs (16), RBI's (78) and batting average (.404) in winning the Pac 10 triple crown.

Wallace is one of four key hitters back from last year, including Ike Davis (.349, 8 HR, 61 RBI), Kiel Rolling (.356, 15 HR, 63 RBI) and Petey Paramore (.329) that directs an offense that has not been shutout in several years.

Arizona State also has a very strong pitching stafff returning, including 13-game winners Josh Satow and Mike Leake and Jason Jarvis, who had a team-best 11 saves.

The SUn Devils are off to a very good start and will no doubt be one of the teams to keep an eye on for the 2008 College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Get your College World Series tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.