Catching up with: Mike Esposito

Thursday, March 22, 2001 | 9:52 a.m.

MIKE ESPOSITO

High School: Cimarron-Memorial ('99)

Where he is now: Arizona State

Class: Redshirt freshman

Sport: Baseball

Currently: Less than a year after undergoing "Tommy John" surgery on his throwing arm, Esposito is back on the mound for the Sun Devils. After opening the season in the bullpen, the 6-0 right-hander has made three starts for ASU, going 1-0 with a pair of no-decisions. In his last start, Esposito held California to four hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out six and walking none and prompting Sun Devils coach Pat Murphy to say, "What you saw today was one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen from a kid."

Looking back: One of Nevada's dominant prep pitchers in the 1990s, Esposito earned the Sun's State Player of the Year award following a senior season in which he went 10-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 78 innings. He led the Spartans to the Southern Zone title and an appearance in the 4A State Tournament in his final campaign and finished with a sparkling 18-3 mark over his final two high school seasons. Esposito was selected by Cincinnati in the fifth round of the 1999 draft.

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