Of all the super regionals, this is the matchup that's least regional, which makes it more super than most of the rest.

Southeast vs. West.

SEC vs. Pac-10.

Can't ask for much better than that.

And actually, I'm up on the roof of the pressbox. And here's the ladder I used to get up here.

I feel like Anne Frank up here.

The wind is whipping in behind me and feels like an industrial-sized hair dryer. It's blowing straight out to right, which will give the most potent offensive team in the country a little more assistance.

Arizona State leads the nation in just about everything. The Sun Devils have scored an NCAA-high 570 runs in 59 games. They bat .351 as a team and sport an on-base percentage of .439, both tops in the nation. That's boosted a bit by their home park -- only 368 to the alleys -- but the Devils are still loaded with bats.

1B Brett Wallace swings the biggest bat. The junior first baseman led the Pac-10 in nearly everything -- batting average (.426), slugging (.735), on-base average (.505), runs (69), RBI (73), and home runs (15). About the only thing Wallace didn't lead the league in was walks, and catcher Petey Paramore actually holds top spot in that category (48), which pushes his on-base percentage to .496. 2B Eric Sogard had a .490 on-base percentage to finish third-best on the team and in the league, and batted .390, second-best in the league behind Wallace.

ASU stats

The Rebels' Will Kline will face the huge task of slowing that offense down. Kline, the 65th overall pick in the MLB draft, is 7-2 with a 3.72 ERA. He's a big-time power pitcher, with 127 Ks in 116 innings. Opposing batters hit only .234 against him.

Kline will have to have a strong start, because he's backed by an offense that's not very imposing. The Rebels bat .309 as a team, but don't hit with much power or draw many walks. Brothers Justin (.385) and Jordan Henry (.375) lead the team in hitting, but have combined for only one homer.

Ole Miss stats

ASU coachPat Murphy has waited until the last possible minute to announce his starting pitcher for today's game, and I actually still haven't heard official word, but I'm assuming that it's freshman Mike Leake by the way he's stretching. Leake is 13-1 with a 3.58 ERA. In 110.2 innings he has struck out 85 and walked only 27. He started against UC Riverside in the regionals and threw a complete game 4-hitter with one walk and 10 Ks in a 9-2 win. The good karma for Ole Miss is that his only loss was to an SEC team, March 3rd in a relief appearance at Auburn.

Packard Stadium is no Swayze Field, but it is one of the nicer stadiums in the west.

The see-through outfield fence is backed by hedges, which give it kind of a Wrigley Field effect, but the most notable feature of the stadium rings the safety fence behind it. The Devils have retired 16 numbers, which are featured on these large baseball signs.

You might recognize these names -- 24 Barry Bonds, 27 Rick Monday, 33 Jim Brock, 44 Reggie Jackson.

Tonight's game will be flat-out full. ASU has sold every reserved seat, plus the full allotment of lawn seating that's available down the lines.

It's a late arriving crowd, as people don't tailgate here. I saw only one group tailgating when I arrived, and they were cooking steaks on the grill.

Without charcoal or propane.

Have I mentioned that it's hot here?

Touching the Bases will return at the end of the game with complete analysis and a wrapup of today's game. To follow the action with live pitch-by-pitch information, head to Gametracker.