An exciting time

Well our young but “fierce” team was able to fend off a tough
Clemson Tigers program and brings us one step closer to our goal of winning a
College World Series. I am very proud of what our boys have done this year and
eager to see what we are capable of doing on a big stage.

It’s the night of the Draft and I am VERY excited…I’m also
ready for the Draft to be over with. It has been awesome to be thought of as a
“Top Prospect” over the last few years and I am anxious to see if my hard work
paid off in the eyes of a Major League organization. My three years of what
people like to call a “vacation” at ASU have been indescribable and I am ready
to finally pursue a career in playing our national pastime. Baseball has been my
dream job and it will feel weird to be paid to play a sport I love so much. I am
not very nervous to see where I am picked; actually I am curious and anxious to
see which team will be giving me my next opportunity.

I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts and experiences with you
all over the last month and appreciate everyone stopping by.  This is something
I’ll never forget.

Take care and GO DEVILS!

Draft’s a week away, but Super Regionals come first!

Well, we survived our first test by fending off Kent St. and
Oral Roberts twice…both are really solid programs. Oral Roberts played us tough
and showed why they deserved to be a two seed. They were able to overcome a lot
of obstacles both before and during the season. I tip my hat to Coach Roberts
for having a very successful team with such limited resources off the bench.

I am proud of our guys for battling this weekend even though
we all feel that we did not play our best baseball. I would have liked to see
how we would have done if we put all our elements together.  With another tough
opponent in either Oklahoma State or Clemson in the Super Regional, we can’t
afford to slip up. Both are top notch teams and it will be a tough super
regional whoever we face. It would be nice to play Oklahoma St. because I know
Oliver and Lyons and it is Coach Holliday’s alum as well. Regardless, it will be
an exciting challenge to face a team we have not played yet.

I am happy for the guys on our squad and their
accomplishments thus far. However we have another road block coming our way and
we will have to prepare ourselves as best we can for this weekend. It’s just
another three game series in our season that we have to win to get where we need
to go.  Make no mistake about it, these are high pressure games with our season
on the line here.  But you have to remember to stay loose, focus on the task at
hand, not press and have fun…the rest should take care of itself. 

The draft is just over a week away but I am not letting it
get to me. When the 9th comes I will be excited to see where I go,
but I will have to wait until that day to get involved with that. Lots of
speculations and mock drafts going around, but you never know where you are
going to end up until your name is drawn from the hat. Right now my goal is for
our team to take care of business this coming weekend and worry about the next
obstacle at the appropriate time.

Thank you for your time! GO DEVILS!

 -Leaker

Regionals here we come!

The postseason is an exciting time of the year because everyone starts fresh. The regular seasons are erased and it is down to business from here on out. All teams that barely scooted by are ready to prove why they are worthy of being in the final 64. Every team is equal at this point and every team is in for the same reasons.
 
As for us, we are excited to see what we can do. You cannot make predictions because postseasons are unpredictable, but I am curious to see where we end up. I am looking to go a little farther this year than the last two years. We have the team and coaching staff to do it. We have Kent St. for our first game and it will not be an easy game. They have some great talent both on the mound and in the batters box and we cannot look past them one bit. Our second game will be either against Cal Poly or Oral Roberts. It would be nice to play against Oral Roberts because I played for Coach Walton this summer with Team USA. It will be nice to see him either way.
 
We feel good coming into this postseason with some experience under our belts. It will be nice to have Spence back in the rotation or in relief, however we decide to use him. We are healthy with little or no injuries and eager to get started Friday. It will be nice to play in front of our home fans as well considering we have the best attendance on the West Coast. Perhaps being my last college postseason, I will cherish every second.
 
We have a tough Regional to get through before we can start thinking about the next step, but we will fight every pitch and every out until the last catch is made.
 
Thank you for your time!
 

An introduction to “the Leaker”

What’s up everyone? My name is Mike Leake (A.K.A. Leaker) and I am a pitcher at Arizona State University. I am honored to have the opportunity to share some of the experiences that have taken place throughout my baseball career thus far and what the future holds over the next few weeks.

I grew up in Rancho Bernardo, California, a suburb just outside of San Diego where it seems there are baseball and soccer fields on every corner. Believe it or not, my favorite sport was soccer. As I child growing up, I was fortunate enough to play many sports with a supportive family. I could talk all day about my childhood as it was one of the most enjoyable times of my life! Being able to follow my brother Ryan to the Westwood Club where all the kids would hang out and play basketball and hang by the pool…even though he did not want me to.  There I go, off on a tangent about my childhood again!

Fast forward to my high school years, where our family moved to Valley Center. I made some amazing friends that I still keep in touch with, but ended up transferring to Fallbrook High after two years, where Coach Parker got me into shape and made me respect the game. From there I was drafted by the Oakland Athletics, a team known for developing their prospects and moving them up fairly quickly. At one point I was fifty-fifty on whether or not I should sign, but decided to experience college and continue my education. I like to think it proved to be a smart decision! No offense to the A’s organization, of course!

My years at Arizona State have been somewhat surreal. Coach Murphy, Coach Stankie, Coach Ez and Coach Holliday have taught me so much about the game, that I would not know where to begin, although I like to think I knew everything before I came to ASU!  This is a special place, but not made for everyone. The few that make it through should feel very honored and fortunate. ASU is a tremendous university with an amazing athletic program and I will miss it deeply when I am gone, whenever that may be!

I am looking forward to the next month of baseball and will cherish every moment. I am very excited about the draft, however, those thoughts will have to stay in the back of my mind for now because my heart is dedicated to the Devils as we have a lot of unfinished business! I thank everyone that has been involved in my life up until this point and look forward to what tomorrow has in store!

I’m glad that I was able to tell you a little about myself in the first entry. Please feel free to send me questions as I will be answering a few of them over the next month or so.

Thanks for stopping by and GO DEVILS!