The state of Arizona has a long and storied baseball tradition on the collegiate level, with both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona being perennial College World Series participants.  Numerous major leaguers have played at one of the Arizona schools.  ASU has won 5 championships, and UofA has 3.  They've done this all while competing in a very intense conference that features some of the best programs college baseball has to offer.

College baseball isn't for everyone, though.  There's the initial sound, of course, with the metallic twong of balls hitting aluminum, not wood, bats.  College baseball's natural habitat is spartan at best.  If you're looking for baseball without distractions, this is where you should look.

Given that there are two top universities in the state, both academically and in baseball, a meet-up will always be charged with bias.  The truth of the matter is that the Diamondbacks play in Phoenix, and since many of us also live in the Phoenix area, ASU would be the most logical location for an afternoon of college ball.  This isn't to take anything away from the Wildcat team, and certainly the various Tucson Snakepit members could organize their own meet-up.  What I want to here is explore the possibility of what Jim expressed interest in during Spring-Fest.

The great thing about college baseball is that it isn't a money sport.  Tickets are cheap, and if you're an ASU student then you can get in for free.  Tickets are also open seating, so it makes it easy for people to show up on the day without planning ahead.  Packard Stadium is a great place to see a game, and the Sun Devils are having one hell of a season.  Currently, they're 20-0 which is the best start to a season for ASU since the 1961 team started 21-0.

They have only a few Sunday games coming up, but all three are big conference games.  USC is a historic rivalry, with both schools having appeared in 21 CWS, and ASU has lost 4 championships at the hands of the Trojans.  The Oregon State Beavers have recently become PAC-10 elite, but they recently won back-to-back championships 2006-07.

EDIT 2: I guess tickets are now assigned seating, so please let me know if you really want to go so I can get tickets near each other.  I've got Jim (and Chris?) so far, with some interest from BattleMoses and kishi (and social director).

This weekend is the last homestand of the regular season for ASU, so I'm going to go hit up a game on Saturday.   Anyone who wants to join me is more than welcome.  Should be a great game against a PAC-10 rival.