James Farris is scheduled to get his first Friday start against UCLA.
Photo by Andy Morales

The Pac-12 baseball Series of the Year is…not here yet.

Oregon and Oregon State will be meeting next week in a showdown that will more than likely determine the 2013 league champion. This week the key stories are UCLA and ASU trying to improve their chances to host regionals while Stanford and Arizona work to get added back onto the dance card.

Let’s see who the pollsters like this week:

BA = Baseball America
CB = Collegiate Baseball
NC = National Collegiate Baseball Writers
PG = Perfect Game
US = USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll

Arizona is officially outside the top 25 for the first time in five weeks. Just in time to play a Bruin squad that two of the polls think is the second-best team in the conference.

Here are this weekend’s three-game sets:

ARIZONA (29-17 / 10-11) at #9.8 UCLA (31-13 / 14-7)
UCLA has lost four of their last five series finales. Can the Cats get to Sunday with a chance to win the weekend?

#5.6 OSU (37-8 / 17-4) at #22.2 Stanford (26-16 / 11-10)
Two ranked teams with some momentum. The Beavers have won eight straight and Stanford had an impressive series win at ASU last week.

#14.4 ASU (30-14 / 12-9) at Cal (21-26 / 9-15)
The Sun Devils had won five straight series before dropping two consecutive games to the Cardinal. Pac-12 Networks will be broadcasting Saturday’s game (7 p.m. Pacific/Arizona Time) under Cal’s new lights, as well as Sunday’s 12 p.m. game.

WSU (20-24 / 7-14) at USC (17-29 / 8-13)
This would be the worst series of the weekend if not for…

Utah (16-26 / 5-19) at Washington (16-29 / 8-13)
Watch the Huskies put up about seven total runs this weekend and really drive Wildcat fans crazy. The games on Saturday and Sunday will be on Pac-12 Networks, both at noon.

#8.0 Oregon (37-11 / 19-5) at Ohio State (32-14)
The Ducks are preparing for their showdown with OSU by playing OSU. Friday’s game will be televised on Big Ten Network at 4 p.m.

* * *

If you look at the full-season stats it looks like this is a matchup of strength versus strength. Arizona still leads the Pac-12 in team batting average (.305) and UCLA is second in the conference in team earned run average (2.72).

The power shifts, however, when you look at the numbers for Pac-12 games only. The Bruins are still a strong third in the league in team ERA (2.88) but the Wildcats only rank tied for sixth in batting (.275).

If the Cats are going to pull this off it has to be like the Oregon series where two of the games were decided by one run. But this time someone has to rise up and get that extra hit with a man in scoring position and someone else has to record outs to leave one additional runner on base.

The ideal UA weekend is James Farris and Konner Wade both turn in quality starts, Johnny Field and Brandon Dixon give the Wildcats late leads and Mathew Troupe nails it shut.

Last week Arizona faced a “small” team and played small. This series is, as they say, big on big.

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Scott Terrell will be watching the bigness of May. Tune in on Twitter and Facebook.

Johnny Field and the Wildcats started a new journey over the weekend.
Photo by Matt Ryerson-USA TODAY Sports

The 2012 Arizona Wildcats baseball team will be forever linked with greatness. Pac-12 champions. National champions. The team that brought baseball back to life in Tucson.

The fans will still wear the t-shirts and hats but the ’12 BatCats don’t live here anymore.

The new season got underway this past weekend with the latest edition of Arizona Baseball looking to establish its own identity.

Last year’s team wasn’t deep but the few guys that played were really, really good. The 2012 squad had an attacking lineup, exceptional defense and strong starting pitching. It was a formula that added up to the program’s first championship in a quarter century.

The current mix of veterans and rookies is starting over and we’re going to have to wait and see where they end up.

“That’s probably the most challenging, the most exciting and the scariest part from a coaching standpoint,” UA coach Andy Lopez said Friday night. “I believe there’s some good talent out here. There are some guys that know how to play the game. (But) I just talked about it in the clubhouse. ‘What’s going to be our identity?’”

A three-game sweep of Coppin State by a combined score of 43-10 is a great start but the level of competition left a lot to be desired.

If this team is going to have success, pitching is going to have to lead the way. The staff is not young. Starters Konner Wade and James Farris combined to win 18 games last year. Closer Mathew Troupe had six wins, six saves and was at the bottom of the dogpile after the final game of the College World Series. That’s a trio of hurlers who aren’t going to be intimidated by anything.

The mass exodus was in the UA batting order. Even with Pac-12 batting champ Johnny Field returning Arizona lost 78% of last year’s home runs and 65% of 2012’s extra base hits. “No Doubles” won’t completely go away as long as the Wildcats play at spacious Hi Corbett Field but it’s not reasonable to expect a repeat of last year’s output at the plate.

The defense is also a mystery as only two guys are back playing the same position as last year, catcher Riley Moore and second baseman Trent Gilbert. Freshman shortstop Kevin Newman’s glove work is highly regarded but Alex Mejia was good for at least one Wow! play every game. Seth Mejias-Brean was an absolute rock at third base and he is being replaced by Brandon Dixon who played first base last year.

That brings us back to the pitching and if you can only find superiority in one area, on the mound is where you want it.

The blueprint for success starts with K-Wade (6.1 innings, one hit on Friday) becoming the Omaha Wade all season and taking his game to a (Kurt) Heyer level. Farris (8 innings, one run on Saturday) needs to be better as the Saturday guy than Wade was last year. Troupe (four strikeouts and the save on Sunday) needs to develop into a dominant closer.

As for the Sunday starter and middle relief, Lopez has some experienced arms to choose from. Neither junior Stephen Manthei nor senior Tyler Hale had a strong debut in the series finale against Coppin State but seniors Nick Cunningham and Augey Bill performed well out of the bullpen over the weekend. Lopez said he hopes that group can have a season like Bobby Brown last year where they put it all together at the end of their college careers.

But the pitching stars need to be Wade, Farris and Troupe. If Arizona can have a 1-2 punch of elite starters and hand the ball to a lights-out closer, the Cats can make up for deficiencies in other areas.

As usual the Wildcats will be getting their midweek games out of the way early so there is a ton of baseball to be played in the first month of the season. Arizona next hits the road to face Long Beach State on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It seems odd to place any sort of significance on the first midweek series of the season but when you look at the schedule these are a couple of key games. LBSU is by far the best program on the non-conference slate and these are the only two road games the UA will play until the second week of Pac-12 action. We’ll see if we can get an early glimpse at the direction this team is headed.

The Cats should put up a big win total against this light out-of-conference schedule. The interesting part will be looking beneath the final scores and seeing how this bunch of guys comes together. What will they do well? Where will they struggle? What will be their ceiling when Pac-12 play rolls around?

“Three weeks from now,” Lopez said, “we’re going to sit around and say, ‘That’s their identity.’ Hopefully it’s a good one.”

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Scott Terrell is happy to be back at the ballpark. Settle in for the season on Twitter and Facebook.

James Farris is already looking forward to climbing next year’s mountain.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

The balloons and streamers have been put away. The national championship merchandise has flown off the shelves. The 2012 Arizona Wildcats baseball season is officially over.

Now what?

Bring on next year.

Of the 15 players who carried the bulk of the load this year only senior Bobby Brown is certain to be gone but the five drafted juniors will most likely sign pro contracts. They should sign. Unless they get an absolutely lowball bonus offer (or if they simply love the college experience) they should capitalize on their collective stock never being higher and chase their big-league dreams.

For the five pillars of the 2009 recruiting class, it is the end of a job well done.

For the other guys? If we put on our cap of reasonable assumptions we see Johnny Field playing center field and batting third. Joe Maggi will be a corner outfielder, Riley Moore will remain the catcher and both will be in the upper half of the order. Brandon Dixon will start as the everyday first baseman and Trent Gilbert will man second (I don’t see him having the glove skills to move over to short and he turns a really nice double play at 2B).

The rest of the lineup will have to be incoming freshmen or someone tucked away on the bench a la Brown. Either way you have to be curious about the run production and especially concerned about the defense on the left side of the infield.

Looking at the returning pitching staff, however, is when you raise your eyebrows, make a Robert De Niro face and slowly nod your head in admiration.

There wouldn’t have been nearly this much optimism at the end of the regular season because neither of Konner Wade’s first two seasons matched what Kurt Heyer did his first two years. But, as the entire baseball world witnessed, the light came on in June.

So K-Wade is your ace and James Farris moves up to the #2 starter role. This is another guy who could have seen his confidence waiver but, with a championship on the line, his teammates wanted him to have the ball.

“It was huge,” Farris said of support from players like Alex Mejia and Robert Refsnyder. “It gave me a lot of confidence going into that last game.”

The sophomore knows even more will be expected of him next year.

“I gotta get better,” he said. “I’m never going to plateau in this program. This program’s built to always go up the mountain and get better and better and better.”

Who will be the Sunday starter? The early leader might be Tyler Crawford who started two games in 2012 and turned in extended outings in middle relief.

It could also be Mathew Troupe, the winner of the series-clincher out of the bullpen. It’s easy to point to the freshman’s strong showing as a starter against Arizona State on May 16 as the game that turned things around for him.

Troupe says he’s ready for anything next year.

“I love the closer role,” he said. “I did a little bit of everything this year: long relief, closing and starting. Whatever the team needs next year, I’ll do it.”

The bullpen and midweek starts shouldn’t cause nearly as much anxiety next year with plenty of experience available. Tyler Hale and Stephen Manthei combined to win eight games this year and will be seniors next spring. Freshman Lucas Long will be back with three starts and a couple wins under his belt along with the new arms that come in ready to be the next Troupe or Crawford.

Moore expects the men on the mound to help the Arizona hitters.

“Our pitching’s going to keep us in every game which gives a relaxing feel to our offense,” he said. “If we just relax and be ourselves I think we’ll be just fine.”

The most stable aspect of 2013 is Andy Lopez will be back to run the program for his 12th year at Arizona – his 31st overall – and the coach will be approaching the new season like all the others.

Even after two full decades Lopez never stopped believing he’d win another championship.

“I don’t think coaches think that way,” he said. “I think we’re going to get a chance to win it every year.”

“I never thought we wouldn’t do it but I knew we had to get there and we had to get there with the right group,” Lopez continued. “And obviously this was the right group.”

What goals will the two-time College World Series champion set for the 2013 Wildcats?

“When we start practice next year I’ll talk about winning the national championship.”

* * *

Bonus quotes from Tuesday’s celebration at McKale Center:

James Farris

On preparing to start game two of the championship series:
“I’m turning everything off. No electronics. Except for Workaholics. I watched Workaholics that whole morning.”

Mathew Troupe

On the self-induced bases-loaded drama Monday night:
“In the ninth inning the nerves kind of kicked in (and I) gave everyone a little bit of a heart attack I’m sure. But Mejia and Riley Moore settled me down, Coach came out to talk to me and I had a little bit more poise on the last couple batters.”

On his goggles flying off after a pitch:
“That was actually the first time that happened. I was praying Riley didn’t throw me the ball. If he threw me the ball there was no chance I would’ve caught it. It would’ve gone into the outfield and the runners would’ve scored.”

Riley Moore

On catching 64 of 65 games:
“The legs get tired, the arm gets tired, the body gets tired but you fight through it. It got tiring up until postseason. The postseason’s like a rebirth. You’ve got that extra fire in you. You’re ready to go.”

On the freshmen’s role in the championship:
“I would hardly consider us freshmen right now. What we’ve been through with Lopes, the whole program, spending a year in that, it’s hard to be considered a freshman.

“Troupe and Gilbert showed a lot of poise, doing what they’re expected to do. It was real good to see that out of them. They’ve got a bright future coming.”

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Scott Terrell has begun the countdown to next year. Join in the waiting on Twitter and Facebook.

Wildcats Own Omaha.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

All year the University of Arizona baseball team broke its huddles with a call of “Omaha!” Once they got to Omaha the cry switched to “Win it!”

It has been won.

The Arizona Wildcats are the 2012 College World Series champions, completing a perfect 10-0 run through the NCAA tournament.

I don’t believe it. I don’t believe a team this thin just won a month-long tournament. Swept the tournament. Never trailed at the College World Series.

The three UA starting pitchers combined to throw 85 of the 94 innings in the postseason. The other 27 outs were recorded by two guys.

Tyler Parmenter had a single at-bat in one of the regional blowouts. Every other swing was taken by 10 players.

It was Mathew Troupe – half of that two-man bullpen – who was on the mound when the dogpile started. And that one bench player? All Brandon Dixon did was drive in the championship-winning run.

A 10-game streak to win a title, using just 15 players. Somewhere Kevin O’Neill is wondering if he chose the wrong sport.

The Look was legitimate. The domination continued. South Carolina had its back against the wall and only got three hits Monday night. The Gamecocks scored just one run – and if Dixon throws home on that grounder in the seventh maybe they don’t score at all – off a guy who hadn’t pitched in three full weeks.

This isn’t to diminish what South Carolina did. Not one bit. That team set record after record during the best three-year run at the CWS in 38 years. It just makes Arizona’s performance even more remarkable. The Cats faced the greatest champion the sport has seen in almost four decades and completely shut them down.

Two total runs in the two-game championship series sweep, and Kurt Heyer didn’t have to do anything but show off his goatee.

Arizona coach Andy Lopez continued to push the right button every single time. Bring back Heyer on short rest? Take down Florida State a second time to sweep the bracket. Save Heyer and go with James Farris against South Carolina? 7 2/3 innings of two-hit ball.

(By the way, the only UA baseball replica jersey you could buy all year? The same blue one the Cats happened to be wearing Monday night. I’m going to say the coach was somehow behind that too.)

Lopez now goes from a guy who won a title with a one-hit-wonder Pepperdine club, or who couldn’t win the Pac-12, to just the second coach to win the College World Series at two different schools. Last year he was recruiting players who weren’t even born the first time he won a championship. Now he’s the face of a program that combines the foundation of tradition with the buzz of a new home and the shine of a big new trophy.

He also proved the authenticity of two historical truisms:

When Arizona hosts a regional, Andy Lopez wins the national championship.

Every other time the Wildcats go to the College World Series they win it all.

Believe it.

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Scott Terrell thanks everyone who followed the updates on Twitter and Facebook!

Alex Keudell and the Ducks catapulted past Arizona.
Photo by Thomas Patterson/Statesman Journal

It took a while for the battle for first place to settle in. The Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats each won handily in the first two games of the baseball series in Tucson.

The rubber match, however, was worthy of championship-level hype. The contest featured quality pitching, pressure-packed at-bats, and a Hi Corbett-sized helping of controversy.

On Friday good pitching beat good hitting as the Wildcats were held to fewer than two runs for just the second time in conference play. Saturday saw good hitting beat good pitching as the Ducks allowed a season-high 12 runs.

So, naturally, Sunday was decided by…a balk?

Oregon’s Kevin Garlick was caught leaning toward second with Arizona leading 1-0 in the top of the 7th inning. Wildcat pitcher James Farris’ pickoff throw clearly beat Garlick and the first-base umpire called the out.

The problem was home plate umpire Greg Charles saw it differently. He immediately ran toward the mound and indicated that Farris had committed a balk with his front leg before throwing to first. Arizona coach Andy Lopez disagreed with Charles disagreeing and argued the call until getting ejected.

“I was more concerned that (the home plate ump) would make that call,” Lopez said, “when there’s a first-base umpire out here not making a call.”

Sure enough, Garlick eventually came around to score to tie the game when Farris’ pitch went off catcher Riley Moore‘s glove to the backstop. The Ducks took the lead in the 8th and added an insurance run in the 9th to win the series and maintain possession of first place in the Pac-12.

The balk was definitely the turning point but the real credit goes to Oregon’s pitching staff. The first time Arizona was held below two runs in Pac-12 play – in the conference season opener against Washington State – the Cats bounced back to score 20 runs in the final two games to take the series. The UA had its way on Saturday but the Wildcat lineup was stifled again in the finale, this time by Duck hurlers Jeff Gold and Jimmie Sherfy.

Oregon still has work to do but there is no question the Ducks deserve to win Pac-12 title. Arizona had fellow contenders Stanford, UCLA and Oregon all at home and the Cats lost two of the series (albeit with a 5-4 record). The Ducks played Stanford, UCLA and Arizona all on the road and won all three series.

Now we have the answer to the age-old question: How long does it take to build an elite college baseball team when you have a national champion coach and the financial backing of a sporting goods empire?

OK, maybe you weren’t asking that question but the answer is four years. Here’s what George Horton’s Ducks have left on the schedule:

I fully expect Oregon to sweep USC at home next week. That leaves Oregon State, who helped Arizona (and Oregon) by taking two of three from Stanford this weekend. Even if the Ducks drop two in Corvallis they’ll still finish with a 20-10 league record.

UCLA was playing out of conference and won a series against a ranked Purdue team. How could the Bruins possibly feel bad about that? How about taking a five-run lead into the 9th and giving up ten runs to lose the finale. That’s one way to put a damper on your weekend.

The Bruins aren’t out of the race but their margin for error is much thinner than leading by a handful in the final frame.

Stanford getting its 10th loss on Sunday is big because the Cardinal may very well win out. Oregon State and Washington are also 11-10 but the Beavers will not sweep Oregon and the Huskies will not sweep UCLA and ASU so neither can run the table.

So to win the conference the Cats have to get to 20-10 and hope for help. That means the UA needs to go 5-1 on the road the next two weekends and then see where things stand going into the final weekend against ASU. Not an easy task.

Lopez said, “I teach our guys ‘microscope and telescope.’ Microscope: today, tough loss. Great one to win, tough one to lose. Telescope: got three weeks left. That’s a lot of baseball.”

“That’s a lot of balk calls.”

* * *

Even though the end result wasn’t what anyone in Red and Blue wanted, the news wasn’t all bad. The Wildcat bats were held in check in the deciding games but some positive steps were made on the pitching front.

Freshman Tyler Crawford gave fans hope for the bullpen with his winning performance after transitioning from midweek starter to weekend reliever.

And Farris, a sophomore, turned in another quality start on Sunday, even in a losing effort, pitching seven-plus innings for the sixth time this season.

It’s not common for a college team to keep the same Sunday starter all season (Oregon hasn’t done it) yet Farris has taken the ball in the final game of each weekend series this year. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t on the radar at the end of his freshman season.

After a disastrous debut last year – facing five batters and giving up three runs without recording a single out – Farris sat for two months and only appeared in one game the rest of the way.

“Some freshmen plug right in,” Lopez said, “and others, it takes them a little bit longer to figure out what they have to do to be successful at this level. (Farris) is doing it now.”

When Farris was asked what changed for him from last year the right-hander replied, “I think I’m more mentally tough. I know what to expect in this program. I know what Coach Lopez wants us to do.”

“You gotta have high standards in this program,” Farris continued. “I’ve raised my standards a lot from last year.”

Those higher standards will need to be met for this team to rebound from the loss to Oregon and build momentum as the postseason approaches. Lopez sees Farris as a big part of the team’s future.

“It’s nice to see that as the season is progressing he seems to be getting a little bit better,” Lopez said. “That bodes well for us this year and – with him being a sophomore – next year.”

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Scott Terrell approves of higher standards. Raise the bar on Twitter and Facebook.

Robert Refsnyder bashed his first home run at Hi Corbett Field.
Photo by Pat Shannahan/The Arizona Republic

I messed up.

We talked about how one Arizona win against Stanford would keep the Wildcats on pace to host a regional. We said winning twice would allow the UA to dream of a conference championship.

I didn’t even consider the possibility of winning all three.

Friday was the stuff of which dream seasons are made. After five UA errors led to five unearned runs the Wildcats trailed 7-4 before a shocking four-run rally in the bottom of the 9th. The final three tallies came around on Bobby Brown’s bases-loaded single with the help of a Jake Stewart error in center field allowing the only unearned run charged to Stanford all night.

That’s the beauty of baseball. At some point in a basketball game it becomes humanly impossible for the losing team to score enough points in the time remaining to come from behind. In baseball, as long as you don’t make outs you can come back from being down infinity and score infinity plus one.

The Cats weren’t quite down infinity Friday night but the comeback sparked something equally hard to quantify.

Momentum, magic, mojo – whatever term you want to use, Arizona had a lot of it against the Cardinal. And it on Saturday and Sunday was dominant starting pitching.

Konner Wade and James Farris combined to throw two complete games, giving up nine hits, three earned runs and just one walk compared to 12 strikeouts. Both guys got sharper as the games went on as Wade shut out Stanford over the final three innings and Farris retired 14 in a row from the end of the 4th until one out in the 9th.

The blueprint for this team was clearly on display: strong starting pitching handing the ball directly to the back end of the bullpen (or nobody at all). When you need your relievers to face all of three batters in three games you’re in great shape.

The 2012 BatCats are built for weekend series when the best arms are available. There will be struggles in midweek games and any time one of the three horses is off his stride but the Pac-12 doesn’t play four-game series.

Everything is on the table now. A conference championship. The ideal scenario of finishing as a national seed and hosting tournament games up to the College World Series. It’s all achievable if the team continues pitching, hitting and sprinkling in the unquantifiable.

The fans in Tucson feel it. Over 10,000 came out to Hi Corbett Field in the series, the most Andy Lopez has seen during his coaching tenure at Arizona. Fan energy is another necessary ingredient when baking dream seasons.

“Really thankful for the crowds that came out the whole weekend,” Lopez said. “It feels great when you hear ‘U of A’ (chants) and two strikes/two outs people are clapping and on their feet.”

“The crowd’s awesome,” said Farris, Sunday’s pitching star. “We love playing in front of them. They’re loud, they’re energetic and that…motivates us to get a win for them.”

“(Stanford’s) coaching staff even mentioned (the crowds) to me,” Lopez added. “They said, ‘Wow, you’ve got a different deal going on here, coach.’”

Now is the moment when everybody says they can’t look ahead. This past weekend the Cats were in the national spotlight. This upcoming week takes the UA off college baseball’s beaten path with a trip to Utah.

“I told these guys on Tuesday if you sweep Stanford they don’t send you to Omaha on Monday,” Lopez said. “And if you lose three to Stanford they don’t turn this (field) into a Wal-Mart. You have a lot of baseball left.”

“You can always improve,” said outfielder Robert Refsnyder. “If you get complacent that’s when teams sneak up on you. It’s going to be a tough one. Utah has shown they can be competitive in the Pac.”

No, the coaches and players should not look ahead in any way shape or form. But the fans can. The next home series is just 11 days away and when UCLA comes to town the Bruins may have worked themselves up to the #2 ranking that Stanford just vacated.

When we say the next home games will be bigger than the last ones it might not just be a cliché. Arizona went 5-1 over the past two weeks and separated not an inch from UCLA. But before the Cats can try and beat the Bruins they have to keep pace with the Bruins.

“It’s tough not looking at ‘ranked #2’ but we really try and just go out every day and play every team the same,” Refsnyder said. “(The sweep) definitely puts a bulls-eye on our back but we’re going to handle it fine. We’re looking forward to every challenge.”

The list of potential challenges got a lot bigger after this sweep. The kind of challenges you dream about.

- – - – -

Scott Terrell wonders what dreams may come. That is the question on Twitter and Facebook.

Strike one.
Photo by Anthony Gimino/TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats baseball team had a new home but a familiar opponent, a North Dakota State team that got swept in Tucson by a combined score of 30-2 last year.

The crowds came out to Hi Corbett Field but the home team’s season of high hopes got off to a sluggish start.

Opening night’s 3-1 win, with the exception of a few technical difficulties and a lack of offense, went as well as the UA could’ve hoped. The struggles at the plate continued into Saturday and the Arizona bullpen faltered late giving the Bison a surprising 8-2 victory. The Cats bounced back on Sunday behind an impressive debut to win the game, 8-0, and the series.

Fan support was strong in all three games and the weekend’s attendance equaled just shy of a quarter of the home attendance all of last year. That shows how much interest in the program had eroded but it underlines what a positive jolt the change in venues has been in the community.

The crowds were appreciated in the Wildcat dugout. “Our guys had a great time playing in front of this kind of atmosphere,” coach Andy Lopez said.

Sophomore left fielder Johnny Field added, “The atmosphere was just unreal and we hope that crowds like this can continue all year. It can definitely help us out a lot if they do.”

Will the fans from opening weekend come back? If they like good starting pitching they certainly will. The rotation of junior Kurt Heyer and sophomores Konner Wade and James Farris combined to throw 23.1 innings while striking out 26, walking four and allowing just three earned runs for a 1.16 ERA.

Farris, the least experienced of the trio, turned in the best performance. The first out the right-hander recorded on Sunday was just the fourth out of his college career. Twenty-six outs later his first start turned into his first win, first complete game and first shutout. Not a lot of room to top it when his second career start comes around.

At the plate the Wildcats weren’t quite ready for prime time. Even in the Friday night victory the three runs and seven scattered hits didn’t come close to the thrashing of NDSU in last year’s opening series.

“Offensively, it’s sort of embarrassing,” said Robert Refsnyder after Saturday’s loss. “I hold myself accountable as an older guy, as a junior.” The right fielder led by example in the rubber match posting four hits and three RBIs. Refsnyder and Field combined for 13 of the Wildcats’ 22 hits in the series.

Alex Mejia, who hit .335 as a natural right-hander last year, hit .333 (3-for-9) for the weekend batting left-handed for the first time in his career due to a wrist injury. The way some of the other guys struggled they may want to consider a similar strategy.

The UA had a total of six runs in the first 23 innings of the series. You hope the seven-run outpouring over the final three innings was the faucet turning on and the start of things flowing the way they should.

“We’ve got some real good hitters on the team,” Arizona pitcher Konner Wade said. “They’re going to turn it around.”

I agree with him. Field and Refsnyder will anchor the middle of the lineup, Mejia will only get better when his wrist heals and leadoff man Joey Rickard had three walks to go with his three hits. Once the new starters in the bottom half of the order get comfortable I expect the team to look similar to the squad that collectively hit .320 last year.

I’m not as optimistic about the Wildcat bullpen.

Stephen Manthei looked good with two shutout innings on Friday but the next night Manthei combined with fellow juniors Vincent Littleman and Nick Cunningham to face eight batters in the 8th inning and give up six runs while only recording one out. This was the unit that held the Cats back last year and the 2012 edition didn’t do anything to show things will be different.

Lopez may have to look at his other options. He said, “Not a situation to panic but you get a couple chances when you’re a junior and if that doesn’t happen we’ve got to go to the next level. We’ve got some freshman arms and they may want to be out there more than some of the juniors right now.”

From a marketing standpoint the opening weekend was a big success. The fans were energized and involved (the groaning on borderline calls was in midseason form). There were grandparents, college students, couples and kids. From the music to the concessions to the between-inning promotions it was a lively atmosphere completely unlike the last few years at the on-campus stadium.

If you used to go to Toros games or watch spring training you need to give the college game a try at Hi Corbett Field. If you follow UA sports but never got into baseball there’s not going to be a better time than now to see if there is room in your fan life for the BatCats.

On the field? It wasn’t as sexy a start as 30 to 2 but there’s a long way to go before we find out if this team can improve on last year’s regional final. And if you’re building a baseball team, strong starting pitching and a couple red hot hitters in the heart of your lineup is a good foundation.

Baseball is back.

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Scott Terrell is happy to be back at the ballpark. Swing for the fences on Twitter and Facebook.