SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The final games of the Pac-12 Conference as we know it are happening this week at Scottsdale Stadium. For Sun Devil Athletics, it's the end of one era and the beginning of another with Arizona State University's new Athletic Director, Graham Rossini, spending his first day on the job at the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament.
“This has been a neat week for us as we celebrate the Pac-12, and having the final conference championship as we know it in our backyard, it's been a great chance to say thank you... the conference and all the relationships that have been built over 40 plus years,” Rossini told 12News exclusively. "We'll turn the page this summer to get ready for the Big 12 and take that on as it comes.”
The entire ASU football team and head coach Kenny Dillingham came out to the ballpark to show support for their fellow Sun Devils. Dillingham and Sun Devil baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist are two of the nine ASU alumni who are now head coaches at their alma mater. Bloomquist’s team was eliminated from the Pac-12 baseball tournament after a 3-2 loss to the Oregon State Beavers, but the skipper believes ASU is worthy of a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“These guys really improved and got to the point where, like I said, I believe we're, we're we are a regional team. Whether or not that happens, we'll see, but these guys played extremely well down the stretch the last six weeks or so,” Bloomquist said. “I think it goes to show you the importance of every game whether it’s early in the season or late in the season, ultimately it all matters… Little things matter but at the end of the day the belief in one another, the care that these guys have for each other, that’s something special they’ll take with them.”
The Pac-12 Baseball Tournament Championship Game will be on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Scottsdale Stadium. The NCAA Baseball Tournament’s 64-team bracket will be revealed on Monday morning.
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