From the first pitch at Hi Corbett the plan was for a season like this.
Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

They say if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. The point being, we have no idea what the future holds so to make grandiose plans and assume everything will go exactly how we want is an exercise in futility.

But sometimes – every once in a while – a plan works perfectly. Exhibit A: the 2012 Arizona Wildcats baseball season.

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The Cats and Devils collided in the Pac-10 for more than three decades.
Photo by David Wallace/The Arizona Republic

The Pac-12 is 234 years and 362 days younger than the United States.

Sounds like the perfect time to break down the Pac-10’s baseball history!

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ASU had little to leap about at the CWS.
Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona State Sun Devils just completed a historic run at the College World Series.

They became the first #1 overall seed to go winless.

The CWS is tough. ASU will just have to give it another go next year…the 30th anniversary of the Devils’ last national championship.

Thirty years is a long time. Can you truly be considered a national power if you haven’t won a championship in three decades?

The ASU baseball program is certainly powerful. Going to Omaha 11 times in 29 years is impressive. But when you look at the teams that have been equally successful since 1981, something is missing for the maroon and gold.

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There’s something strange about this year’s college baseball tournament bracket.

West Coast fans will see a lot of familiar fonts this weekend.
Photo by Matt Pavelek/The Arizona Republic

Half of the 16 regionals feature a Pac-10 team.

It is very possible we will never see this again. But at the same time, with the exception of Oregon, each of this year’s Pac-10 participants has been in the tournament within the past two years. Even the odd men out, USC (2005) and Washington (2004), have made recent appearances.

Maybe this is just the result of a good baseball league becoming great.

Here is what each Pac-10 team is up against as it tries to survive and advance:

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Beep, beep, beep…

You hear that? It’s the sound of Arizona Baseball backing into the NCAA tournament.

I-80 is going to be crowded coming from the west.
Photo by Jeff Metcalfe/The Arizona Republic

The Cats got the news they were hoping for when they were included among the 64 teams in the 2010 Big Diamond Dance. The Pac-10 got the news it wanted when all eight teams in contention made the field. The previous record for the league was six bids in 1992.

What’s interesting is not only did Cal get in but the Bears were seeded higher than Oregon, Arizona and OSU. It appears the committee used the RPI to select teams but then put a higher weight on the conference standings to seed them.

Here is a look at the competition the Wildcats will face in the Fort Worth, Texas regional:

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