Arizona designated hitter Jordan Berger slides back safe to first base as ASU first baseman Dalton Dinatale tries to apply the tag. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky/azcentral sports

By Jeff Metcalfe
azcentral sports

TEMPE — The defending national champion Arizona baseball team showed up Friday night at Packard Stadium, more so than the struggling Wildcats who dropped six of their preceding seven games.

Playing for its postseason life, UA broke on top 9-0 in the first 2 1/2 innings against No. 15 Arizona State then hung on to win 10-7 behind junior right-hander Konner Wade.

Wade (5-6) of Scottsdale was back as the Game 1 weekend starter after being dropped to the No. 2 spot last week. He pitched close enough to his 2012 postseason form (4-0, 1.29 ERA) to prevent ASU from completing the kind of comeback it managed Wednesday in rallying from five runs down to beat Texas Tech 8-5.

But it took a diving catch in deep center by Johnny Field to preserve the victory. Nathaniel Causey drilled a 2-2 pitch by Matthew Troupe with the bases loaded that Field pulled in at the warning track to prevent the tying runs from scoring.

ASU also brought the tying run to the plate with no outs in the ninth but failed to score off Tyler Crawford, who picked up his first save.

“We gave it our all, but down 9-0 in the third inning, that’s tough,” ASU coach Tim Esmay said. “We still gave ourselves a chance. Johnny Field made the play of the game. That’s a hell of a catch. The kid laid out, that ball was smoked. He’s proven to be one of the best players in the conference, and he stepped up and made a great play.

“Credit to our offense. They had some at-bats late that mattered instead of letting it get away. And they used four guys out of the bullpen. When you’re up 9-0, you don’t expect to do that. Credit to us to force that issue. We could have went away and said it’s not our day and let Konner Wade get a complete game, but we didn’t let that happen.”

The Sun Devils’ chances of hosting an NCAA regional took a hit as they fell to 33-16-1 overall and 14-11 Pac-12. UA improved to 30-20 and 11-14 and takes a 2-1 lead in the rivalry series with games remaining at 6:30 Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

ASU freshman lefty Ryan Kellogg (10-0, 3.36) looks to bounce back from two consecutive shaky outings in Game 2. James Farris (4-5, 4.20) will start for UA.

ASU shortstop Drew Stankiewicz committed errors in the first and second innings when four of the Wildcats’ runs off Trevor Williams (5-6) were unearned. The Sun Devils had four errors total with their defense costing them like it did in a 10-9 non-conference loss at UA on April 16.

In the first, Stankiewicz failed to come up with a Riley Moore grounder near second base, an error that allowed Trent Gilbert to score from second. Stankiewicz then had trouble handling Kevin Newman’s grounder and had to go to first instead of starting a double play with Brandon Dixon scoring for 2-0.

With one out in the second, Stankiewicz dropped a liner by Field, allowing UA to load the bases. Four consecutive hits followed including Dixon’s bases-clearing double into the left-field corner. The Wildcats added another run in the third for 9-0 before ASU put some life back into a season-high crowd of 4,105.

Michael Benjamin lofted his eighth homer of the season to left in the bottom of the third with Jake Peevyhouse aboard. A one-out fielding error by UA shortstop Newman led to two unearned runs in the fourth after RBI singles by Peevyhouse and Kasey Coffman.

Williams, forced too often this season to eat up innings while behind, held the Wildcats scoreless in the fourth and fifth and gave up an RBI single to Jordan Berger in the sixth before exiting after 115 pitches.

Wade walked Allen leading off the ASU eighth after a Stankiewicz single and 122 pitches was pulled for reliever Augie Bill. Allen scored on a fielder’s choice then Bill hit Coffman. Tyger Talley came in to pitch, giving up RBI singles to Benjamin and James McDonald. Troupe, who took over after Talley failed to get any outs, walked Max Rossiter before escaping thanks to Field’s circus catch.

Darin Gillies pitched 1 1/3 innings after Williams followed by Matt Dunbar.

ASU football coach Todd Graham threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Andy Lopez will get a longer look at a couple of freshman pitchers. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona baseball coach Andy Lopez has only one more weekend to sort out his rotation before Pac-12 play begins, and it’s time to further see what his young arms can do.

Freshman left-hander Cody Moffett will take over the role as Sunday starter when the Wildcats play host to a three-game series against Columbia this weekend. Moffett replaces fourth-year junior Stephen Manthei, who has posted a 7.11 ERA in 12 2/3 innings.

“I’m always pulling for the older guys, but we’re getting closer to the Pac-12 season,” Lopez said after a 5-2 loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday (see video from KOLD-TV below).

“Right now, those older guys are going to have to sit and watch those younger guys perform.”

A couple of those older guys — Manthei and senior Nick Cunningham — contributed to the Red Raiders’ five-run seventh inning at Hi Corbett Field. They each faced three batters in the inning, managing to get only one out.

Freshman Tyger Talley went into the sixth inning with a no-hitter but left the game after facing one batter in the sixth. He allowed two hits, striking out three and walking two.

“He threw strikes, and he threw strikes with three pitches, and he hit his spots,” Lopez said. “He had great command, my goodness.”

Moffett last pitched Sunday, when he threw four hitless innings against San Francisco after Manthei was lifted after facing only four hitters. Lopez said he will line up Sunday as Moffett, followed by sophomore Tyler Crawford (who pitched eight strong innings in a win over Texas Tech on Tuesday) and Talley.

Moffett, from Gilbert Highland High School, has a 1.59 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. Talley, from Scottsdale Chaparral, has a 1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 innings.

Each has surpassed Manthei, Cunningham and senior Tyler Hale for now.

“The hard part is you see a couple of older guys not really performing, but the upside is you’re seeing Tyger Talley and Cody Moffett performing exceptionally well,” Lopez said. “I mean, those two guys have pitched fantastic the last two weeks.”

Arizona is set on Fridays with junior Konner Wade and on Saturdays with junior James Farris. Sophomore Mat Troupe has been great as the closer (four hits, 15 strikeouts in 8 2/3 scoreless innings) and 6-9 senior lefty Augey Bill has dominated the late innings, too.

The 11-4 Cats play a two-game mid-week set against Butler next week before starting conference play at home against Oregon State on March 15.

Tucson News Now

James Farris delivers vs. South Carolina last season. Photo by Matt Ryerson-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Wildcats junior right-hander James Farris has won the first Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week award of the season.

Farris allowed one run and two hits in eight innings Saturday in a 14-1 victory over Coppin State. He struck out eight and walked none, retiring the final 15 batters he faced.

Farris is moving up this season from third to second in the rotation behind junior Konner Wade.

Farris picked up right where he left off last season.

He went 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in two postseason starts, including the clinching game of the championship series at College World Series. He allowed one run and two hits in 7 2/3 innings against South Carolina, picking up a no-decision as the Wildcats rallied in the top of the ninth to win.

Farris, who was 7-3 with a 3.97 ERA last season, is expected to make his next start Saturday against San Jose State at Hi Corbett Field at 4 p.m.

Konner Wade allowed only one hit in the season opener. 2012 photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Arizona baseball coach Andy Lopez had an intriguing choice for his first major in-game dilemma of the season.

The Wildcats’ starting pitcher, Konner Wade, was throwing a no-hitter through six innings Friday night, but he also was getting near his pitch limit as he went out for the seventh inning.

It’s a long season; there was no need for Lopez to push Wade too hard in what ended up being a 16-0 win over Coppin State at Hi Corbett Field. On the other hand, Lopez was willing to bend the pitch count if Wade kept pitching clean.

“I wouldn’t have let him go to 140 pitches,” Lopez said.

“In my mind, I was thinking, he can get this done with 105, 110 max. That’s not too bad. He’s a junior. He’s pitched a lot. I told my staff, ‘I’m not getting him.’”

The situation resolved itself before Lopez had to worry too much.

Wade gave up a ground single through the hole on the left side of the infield to start the seventh. Wade had thrown 88 pitches, two off his limit, and senior reliever Nick Cunningham had already been warming up. Lopez came out to the mound to talk to Wade.

“This is your last hitter,” Lopez told him. “So don’t argue.”

“I didn’t argue,” Wade said. “I was pretty tired.”

Wade struck out the next batter and then left to a nice ovation from the crowd of 5,145 at Hi Corbett. Cunningham finished with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

And so, the 2013 season is underway.

Arizona celebrated its 2012 national championship before the game, with a pair of ex-Cats — pitcher Kurt Heyer and outfielder Joey Rickard — tossing ceremonial first pitches. The venerable stadium looks fresh with Arizona adding more cosmetic touches to the field, including turning the outfield walls of Hi Corbett from green to navy and putting new padding on them.

“The thing that please me the most was there was a lot of area to be distracted tonight, and rightly so,” Lopez said. “Short of a couple of elephants and a giraffe in the center field, it was all going on here. I thought the young guys did a good job with that.”

Breaking news: Johnny Field can still hit.

Field, a junior outfielder who led the Pac-12 with a .370 batting average last season, had a bases-loaded triple in the third inning and later added a pair of RBI singles.

Arizona scored seven runs in the third and five in the fourth. The innings took so long that Wade had to leave the bench to stay loose in the bullpen while the Cats batted.

“It was definitely tough,” Wade said.

“Those innings are kind of bittersweet. You’re happy they’re scoring those runs, but it just does a toll on your body when you have to sit for 20 minutes and then go out and throw again. I think I lost some juice after that.”

Wade struck out eight and walked one in his 6 1/3 innings.

While Arizona didn’t get its first no-hitter since Joe Magrane in 1984, the Cats did make the school record book, albeit in a far less sexy way, by getting hit by a pitch seven times. The old record was six. It’s not much of a surprise, really. Coppin State, which went 1-53 last season, hit a staggering 122 batters last season.

A couple of knee-jerk reactions from the opener:

–Arizona might have its leadoff hitter for the next three years. Freshman left fielder Scott Kingery has a smooth swing and went 2 for 3 with a stolen base, also reaching base three times on a hit by pitch. He missed most of January practice because of a mononucleosis, and Lopez hadn’t really been counting on him until next weekend.

“Man, he looked good tonight,” Lopez said. “He had a spectacular fall for us.”

–Cunningham can help this team. Cunningham’s career has been in reverse, with diminishing innings since his freshman season. He threw just four innings last year and didn’t appear in a game after March 21. He pitched well enough Friday night that Lopez quickly decided Cunningham will be his starter Tuesday when the Wildcats open a two-game set at Long Beach State. Cunningham was throwing in the low 90s, Lopez said.

With the opener out of the way, Arizona can get down to the grind of the season. It will all happen quickly now; the Cats play 19 more non-conference games through March 13.

“A good start,” Lopez said after Friday night’s game.

Konner Wade is the new ace of Arizona’s staff. Photo by Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

The last time we saw Arizona right-hander Konner Wade in a game, he was completing one of the most dominant postseason runs in the history of college baseball.

Now, he has a new pitch.

Wade, a junior, takes the ball tonight for Arizona in its season-opener at Hi Corbett Field. There will be a pregame ceremony to recognize the 2012 College World Series champs, and then Wade and the Wildcats will turn the page by starting 2013 against Coppin State.

Wade rode his sinking fastball to a remarkable postseason — a 4-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and three complete games, walking just three in 35.0 innings. He allowed a mere 27 hits in that span — 24 of them singles.

That fastball was death to right-handed batters, as the pitch dove down and inside, inducing misses or weak ground balls to an unerring left side of the infield.

This season, Wade is hoping to mix in an effective cutter that will tail away from righties and make use of the outside of the plate.

“We call it widening the plate,” said coach Andy Lopez.

“That makes it difficult, because no hitter can cover the whole plate. You have to cover one half or the other. He’s really worked on that. I saw his pen (Tuesday), and I was very pleased with it.”

Having a new pitch should help Wade cope with the ups-and-downs of the season. He sometimes struggled with his control and barely survived at times in 2012, including posting an 8.86 ERA in four starts in May before finding his groove.

“I think it’s just going to help me be more consistent,” he said of the cutter.

“There were games last year when I would have a curve ball or I wouldn’t. It was almost inning to inning. I think this is going to be a better pitch in the long run.”

Wade is a Louisville Slugger second-team preseason All-American and, along with Arizona junior outfielder Johnny Field, is one of 50 on the watch list for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s top player.

Wade was 11-3 with a 3.96 ERA last season, completing six of his 19 starts.

Wade inherits the role as the Friday starter from departed Kurt Heyer, a sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s more pressure and bigger stages, but there is no question that Wade can handle both. In Arizona’s pivotal second game of the College World Series — with the winner set up nicely through the rest of the bracket — he threw a five-hit shutout against UCLA.

“He pitched on the highest level a college athlete can pitch at,” Lopez said.

James Farris (7-3, 3.97) — last seen clinching the final game of the College World Series — is the Saturday starter. Mathew Troupe returns as the closer.

Lopez will have to spend the early season finding the right guys for the other roles on the staff. He has plenty of depth to choose from, including returnees Stephen Manthei, Tyler Crawford, Tyler Hale, Nick Cunningham and Augey Bill, as well as a promising freshman class.

“I think our pitching is definitely going to be the strength of our team,” Wade said.

This was the 2012 team’s moment. Photo by Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

After the dogpile at the mound, after posing with the national championship trophy, after generally whooping it up, the Arizona baseball team gathered in the clubhouse at TD Ameritrade Park.

It was about an hour after the Wildcats had defeated South Carolina 4-1 to win the College World Series in Omaha. Coach Andy Lopez addressed the joyous group.

He recalled the conversation earlier this week …

“I said, ‘Hey, I’ve been fortunate. I’ve won two national championships. They’re great moments. They’re moments you’ll remember the rest of your life. Every time you hear of the 2012 season, it will ring, ‘Boy, we won it all that year.’

“But that’s what it is: A moment. It’s a moment. It’s not your identity; it’s not who you are as a human being. You’re a human being and you had a great moment. With that said, everybody has work to do to improve in everything that they do — being a good person, a good husband, a good brother, a good son, a better baseball player.”

Which brings us to 2013.

Arizona opens its season tonight at Hi Corbett Field, taking on Coppin State at 6 p.m. The athletic department will hold a pregame ceremony to honor the championship season, unveiling a banner on the outfield wall.

But Lopez isn’t much interested in talking about last season. That moment is gone. This team has to build toward another special moment after losing six regulars in the lineup and Friday night starter Kurt Heyer.

“None of those games that we won in Omaha are going to help us win games now,” said junior right-hander Konner Wade, who is the team’s new Friday night starter. “It’s a good memory, but we have to put it in the past.”

Wade (11-3, 3.96 ERA in 2012) will be backed by junior James Farris (7-3, 3.97) in the rotation. Junior Stephen Manthei, a bullpen stalwart last season, gets the first chance to nail down the role as the third starter.

Sophomore Mathew Troupe (6-1, 3.47, six saves) is throwing in the low 90s and returns as the closer.

“He has the makeup for it,” Lopez said.

“He’s a sharp guy. He’s about a 3.8 student, but he’s just goofy enough that when he messes up it doesn’t bother him. I like that. You need that in a closer.”

Kevin Newman has big shoes to fill at shortstop. Photo by V. Valdez Photography

Lopez likes to break down the season into 10-game increments and will be looking for someone to emerge as a reliable set-up man during that time. Other areas to work through early in the season are first base, left field and right field.

Joe Maggi and Brandon Dixon shared first base last season, but Dixon is now at third base and Maggi could be deployed to a corner outfield spot, depending on how the other dominoes fall. Lopez said he would prefer if junior college transfer Sam Parris or freshman Ryan Koziol lock down first base, but he could end up sticking with Maggi.

Sophomore Trent Gilbert returns at second base. The left side of the infield will be new with Dixon and freshman shortstop Kevin Newman. He replaces Alex Mejia, the Pac-12 Player of the Year and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

“Kevin Newman brings solid defense,” Lopez said. “Even though he’s a freshman, he’s very clean defensively.”

Johnny Field, who moves from left field to center, should lead the lineup after a sophomore season in which he hit a Pac-12-best .370. Freshman Scott Kingery will land at an open outfield spot or at designated hitter. Lopez wants him to hit leadoff.

After that, Lopez said the play is to hit Maggi second, followed by Field, catcher Riley Moore (a freshman All-American in 2012), Dixon and Gilbert. Newman will bat somewhere in the bottom third, joined by a couple of mystery guests early in the season.

“There are some new guys that have to get used to the speed of the game,” Lopez said. “I can’t do anything about that. I wish I could.”

With so much turnover in the lineup — and playing in another loaded Pac-12 — the Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the league behind Stanford, UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon. Arizona is rated from 10th to 24th nationally among four major rankings.

And so it begins …

“I like getting the bugs out,” Lopez said of the season-opener.

“They’re tired of practicing, tired of intrasquads. They want to play. They need to play somebody and get all the bugs out.”

Brigetta Barrett celebrates winning the Olympic silver medal in the women’s high jump. Read on to see where that lands in the University of Arizona’s top sports stories of 2012. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

We’re in the final week of the year, and no big news is expected out of the Arizona Wildcats.

The football team played in the first bowl game of the season and the men’s basketball team is off until Jan. 3 … so now is the time to look back at a rich 2012 for UA athletics.

The athletic department’s top storylines are a mix of season-long team success, postseason prowess, individual accomplishments and off-field news.

Here is what we came up with :

12. Sean Miller lands a point guard

Consider this the whopping of a topping on a talented recruiting class, rated among the top three in the nation. The dismissal of point guard Josiah Turner was addition by subtraction, but what coach Sean Miller needed was actual addition by addition to round out his 2012-13 team. He got that with Lyons, an immediately-eligible graduate transfer who originally had been recruited to Xavier by Miller. Lyons, who picked Arizona over Kentucky in early May, is still adjusting to a full-time point guard role, but he already has displayed his value with a game-winning drive vs. Florida and his go-ahead free throws late in the victory over San Diego State.

11. Excellence in the pool

First-year coach Eric Hansen had the Wildcats right back in their usual place among the national elite. The men’s team finished fourth at the NCAA Championships, with national titles for Austen Thompson (400 individual medley), Kevin Cordes (100 breast), Cory Chitwood (200 back), diver Ben Grado and the 200 medley relay team. Chitwood won his third national title in the 200 back. The women’s team produced 11 All-Americans and was fifth nationally, its ninth consecutive top five finish at the NCAAs.

10. Mejia magic

With an infectious smile, a vacuum for a glove and what coach Andy Lopez called “intangibles that are off the charts,” junior shortstop Alex Mejia was selected the Pac-12 Player of the Year and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Mejia, who hit .357 for the national champs, became the first Wildcat to be the conference player of the year since Trevor Crowe in 2005. Mejia worked his way from lightly-recruited prospect to a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals. “He’s been everything and more than we ever asked for,” Lopez said in the spring. “I’m really happy for him and proud.”

Alex Mejia shares a light moment with an umpire during the championship series of the College World Series. Photo by Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

9. Hello, Hi Corbett

The decision of athletic director Greg Byrne to move the baseball team off campus to Tucson’s venerable minor-league/spring training ballpark wasn’t met with his unanimous approval, but it worked out better than imagined. Arizona drew an average of 2,628 fans for 40 home dates — the third-best average in school history — and had 5,677 for a May 26 game against Arizona State. That was UA’s best single-game attendance in 32 years. The attendance and the improved facilities allowed Arizona to host postseason play for the first time since 1992.

“There is no way that we do what we did this year if we’re not at Hi Corbett with the atmosphere,” coach Andy Lopez said. “I’m so thankful that the community has come out and supported us.” For the first time in a long time, Arizona baseball is a destination.

8. Titles for Lalang

Sophomore Lawi Lalang had a record-setting season, winning NCAA indoor championships at 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. He set school records in both of those events, as well as the mile, establishing a college record for 5K. Lalang went on to win conference outdoor titles at 1,500 meters and 5K, earning first-team All-America honors in the latter. In the fall, he earned Pac-12 Male Athlete of the Year honors for cross country; Lalang had been 10-0 in cross country races in his UA career before finishing third in the NCAA Championships in November. Still, hardly any Arizona athlete had a better year than Lalang.

7. Foles breaks the ice

Arizona finally erased a stunning and unwelcome drought that saw a 39-year gap — to the day — that an ex-Wildcat quarterback threw a pass in the NFL. Nick Foles, a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, made his debut on Nov. 11, stepping in for an injured Michael Vick. He went on to make six starts before a broken hand forced him out of the season-finale. Foles completed 161 of 265 passes (60.8 percent) for 1,699 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions in his rookie season. Will Matt Scott follow him into the NFL in 2013?

6. Perfect, so far

This is an ongoing storyline, but the start of the 2012-13 season couldn’t have gone any better for the Arizona men’s basketball team. The Cats went 12-0 through the non-conference portion of their schedule, coming up with a pair of thrilling one-point victories in their two marquee games — vs. Florida and against San Diego State in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu on Christmas. At No. 3 in the AP poll, Arizona has its best ranking in nine years and has matched its best start to a season since the 1987-88 squad. It all sets the table of high expectations for the next three months (and possibly a little bit longer).

Nick Johnson celebrates a 3-point shot against Florida. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

5. RichRod’s first season

Eight victories, including a bowl win, in Rich Rodriguez’s first season? Just about everyone would have signed up for that before the 2012 season. Rodriguez fashioned a school-record-setting offense (526.15 yards per game) behind a no-huddle attack led by senior quarterback Matt Scott and All-American running back Ka’Deem Carey. A young, thin, banged-up defense merely held on most of the time, but it came up with key stops, too, as the Wildcats posted victories over Oklahoma State, Washington and preseason No. 1 USC, all teams that spent time in the national rankings. Given Rodriguez’s success on the field, his public relations off of it, and the new facilities to be completed in 2013, fans have ample reasons to be optimistic about the future of Arizona football.

4. 12-15-2012: Bear Down Saturday

What a day. Across two cities, two sports and about six hours on ESPN, Arizona pulled off two of the most thrilling feel-good comebacks in recent memory. First up, the football team in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. The Wildcats were down 10, without timeouts, with about two minutes left … and Nevada had the ball inside the UA 10-yard line. Arizona held the Wolf Pack to a field goal, drove for a quick touchdown, recovered an on-side kick, scored another TD in three plays and then sealed the game with an interception for a 49-48 victory.

Later that night in Tucson, the Arizona basketball team was down six points to fifth-ranked Florida with just under a minute to go, but climbed back by forcing three turnovers in 16 seconds (and help from the Gators’ Kenny Boynton missing the front end of a one-and-one with 21 seconds to go). Mark Lyons drove to the basket for the game-winning shot with 7.1 seconds left as Arizona won 65-64.

Ka’Deem Carey is the first first-team All-American running back in school history. Photo by Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

3. Ka’Boom!

Running back Ka’Deem Carey was having a very nice season … and then the game against Colorado on Nov. 10 launched the sophomore into an entirely different stratosphere. He rushed for a Pac-12 record 366 yards that day (on only 25 carries), followed up with 204 yards at Utah and rushed for 172 yards in each of the final two games against Arizona State and Nevada.

Carey’s late surge gave him a school-record 1,929 rushing yards, a school-record 23 rushing touchdowns and made him the 11th consensus All-American in school history — the first to be chosen as an exclusively offensive player. With the bulk of bowl games to come, he has a comfortable lead as the nation’s leading rusher at 148.38 yards per game.

“Ka’Deem really, really loves football,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “The way he practices, the way he runs, the way he prepares, it’s just infectious. Every game is like a holiday to him.”

2. Precious medal

While her schoolmates were busy competing against the best in college, juniors Brigetta Barrett and Georganne Moline were taking on the best in the world. Barrett, the always-bubbly high jumper who won NCAA indoor and outdoor championships in 2011 and 2012, qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and then stunned the competition in London. She posted a personal best of 6-8 to earn silver, becoming the first U.S. athlete to win a medal in the women’s high jump in 24 years. She will be on the world stage for years to come (and look for her to sing the national anthem before the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale on Jan. 3). Moline, meanwhile, reached the Olympic final of the 400 hurdles in her first international competition, setting a personal record while finishing fifth.

1. Champs

Arizona was expected, as usual, to have a nice baseball team. But it all came together beautifully for coach Andy Lopez, including the energizing move to Hi Corbett Field (see No. 9 on this list).

The Wildcats won a share of the Pac-12 title for the first time in 20 years and then rolled through the postseason behind the indefatigable starting pitching of Kurt Heyer, Konner Wade and James Farris, the joy of shortstop Alex Mejia and a relentless lineup in which everyone contributed. Arizona won its three regional games by a score of 47-10, dispatched St. John’s in the super regional and then won the critical opening game of the College World Series 4-3 over Florida State in 12 innings. After that, Arizona allowed only five runs in the next four games, sweeping the best-of-three championship series against two-time defending champ South Carolina. It was Arizona’s first College World Series title since 1986 and the school’s 18th team championship.

Said coach Andy Lopez: “When your best players are your best human beings, it’s going to be a good year. It’s been a great year for us because my best players are my best human beings. … And that’s a real deadly combination when you suit up as a team.”

Head coach Andy Lopez and athletic director Greg Byrne celebrate with the NCAA baseball trophy. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Konner Wade, who will be a junior, went 4-0 in the 2012 postseason. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Is it too early to start thinking of the college baseball season? Of course not.

Collegiate Baseball released its Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason poll on Thursday, and the defending national champion Arizona Wildcats came in 18th.

Expect another competitive year in the Pac-12. Collegiate Baseball ranks UCLA fifth, Oregon sixth, Stanford ninth, Oregon State 10th and Arizona State 16th.

The Wildcats lose ace Kurt Heyer, but return two-thirds of the rotation with postseason stars Konner Wade (11-3, 3.96 ERA) and James Farris (7-3, 3.97). A deep pitching staff will include potential closer Mathew Troupe, Tyler Crawford, Tyler Hale, Stephen Manthei and senior Nick Cunningham, who had an outstanding fall, coach Andy Lopez said.

Lopez has to replace five regulars in the lineup — Alex Mejia, Seth Mejias-Brean, Joey Rickard, Robert Refsnyder and Bobby Brown — but junior outfielder Johnny Field (.370) is back to lead the offensive attack.

Arkansas is the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Baseball rankings. Salpointe Catholic graduate Joe Serrano, an outfielder, hit .333 for the Razorbacks as a freshman last season.

Seth Mejias-Brean takes a cut against Florida State in the first game of the College World Series. Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean just keeps hitting and hitting.

Mejias-Brean, an eighth-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds, ran his hitting streak to 22 games on Sunday for the Class A Billings Mustangs. That is the longest streak, by four games, in the rookie Pioneer League this season.

He is hitting .370 in 27 games for Billings and .404 during his hitting streak. He still has some work to do to reach the team and league record hitting streak, which is 32 games.

Mejias-Brean, a graduate of Cienega High School, earned All-Pac-12 honors as a junior last season, helping the Wildcats win the College World Series. He hit .357 for Arizona last season, also playing stellar defense at third base.

Alex Mejia shares a light moment with an umpire during the championship series of the College World Series. Photo by Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats shortstop Alex Mejia, not quite 100 at-bats into his professional career, suffered a torn ACL on Monday night.

Mejia, playing for the Class A Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League, was a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, the highest of five Wildcats selected in this summer’s draft.

Mejia was injured when beating out an errant throw to first base and “was forced to make a contorted move” around the first baseman, according to a story from The Daily News in Batavia, N.Y. Mejia was carted off the field.

He hit .250 with one home run in 23 games for Batavia after helping lead the Wildcats to the College World Series championship.

Mejia hit .357 for Arizona, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. Mejia dazzled with the glove in the postseason, making plays behind second base and deep in the hole, even earning a spot on SportsCenter’s Plays of the Day.

Coach Andy Lopez never hesitated to praise him, especially for his passion and love of the game.

“His intangibles are off the charts,” Lopez said late in the season.

The 22-year old Mejia now faces a rehab of several months, one that could last into the start of next season.

#Cardinals fourth-round pick Alex Mejia tore his ACL Monday night with Batavia and will miss the remainder of the season, 9 months minimum.

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) August 2, 2012

Alex Mejia flips to Trent Gilbert to start a key double play in the first inning of Game 1 of the CWS championship series. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images