Coach Andy Lopez meets with pitcher Kurt Heyer during the sixth inning of the game against Florida State last Friday. Photo by Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats get three days off from games at the College World Series, leaving coach Andy Lopez with the most pleasant of decisions.

Does he come back with ace Kurt Heyer on Thursday?

By winning its first two games in Omaha, UA avoids the longer, tougher road of the losers’ bracket, thereby preserving its pitching staff and putting more good options on the table for Lopez.

His choices are Heyer, who pitched 7 2/3 innings Friday night in a 12-inning win over Florida State, or sophomore James Farris.

Farris (7-3, 4.18) is the usual third pitcher in the rotation behind Heyer and Konner Wade.

“Haven’t made a definite decision,” Lopez said on Monday afternoon during an interview on 1290-AM KCUB. “But I’m leaning very heavily toward throwing Kurt.”

(more…)

Johnny Field signals a runner to hold up after he scored Arizona's first run in the fourth inning. Photo by Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

Konner Wade threw the first Arizona shutout at the College World Series since 1980, leading the Wildcats to a 4-0 victory over UCLA on Sunday night.

Arizona moves into the driver’s seat in its half of the bracket, having won its first two games. The Cats are off until Thursday at 2 p.m. Tucson time, when they will play the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between UCLA and Florida State.

If Arizona loses Thursday, the teams will play again Friday with a berth in the best-of-three championship series on the line. The championship series begins Sunday.

Wade retired the first 14 batters before allowing three consecutive hits with two outs in the fifth. He got out of the bases-loaded jam when second baseman Kevin Williams flied out to left.

Wade (10-3) finished with a five-hitter, striking out four and walking none.

The last Arizona shutout at the College World Series was accomplished by Craig Lefferts against Michigan in 1980.

* * *

Three outs away. Konner Wade gives up a single with one out in the eighth, but quickly puts out the fire by getting a groundball to third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean, who starts a double play.

* * *

Freshman catcher Riley Moore’s one-out single in the seventh chases UCLA starter Nick Vander Tuig. Moore, the eighth hitter in the order, is now 11 of 26 in the postseason (.423). Just another example of how there are no soft spots in the UA lineup.

The new pitcher is freshman lefty Grant Watson, who is 9-2 with a 4.41 ERA. He retires left-handed hitting Trent Gilbert, who does his job with a sacrifice bunt that gets Moore to second.

UCLA continues to play the matchups, bringing in freshman side-arm righty David Berg to face leadoff hitter Joey Rickard. Berg wins the battle in one pitch, getting Rickard to bounce out.

Going to the eight. Arizona up 4-0.

* * *

Konner Wade is through six scoreless innings, with only 72 pitches. He could be looking at his second consecutive complete game. His postseason ERA (four starts over two seasons) has dropped to 1.20.

* * *

The Arizona lineup is back to its three-up, three-down pattern vs. UCLA’s Nick Vander Tuig. Leadoff hitter Joey Rickard has struck out three times. But with a 4-0 lead going to the sixth inning, the rest of this game might be all about pitching and defense.

* * *

Andy Lopez on Konner Wade during the in-game ESPN interview: “Throwing a lot of strikes. If he throws strikes, he’s pretty effective. So far, so good.”

* * *

Konner Wade’s perfect game lasts 4 2/3 innings. He then leaves a pitch up at the top of the strike zone, and shortstop Pat Valaika takes it the other way and plops it into right field.

Just as what happened in the bottom of the fourth with Arizona, the floodgates open … and UCLA follows with two more singles to load the bases.

Wade needs only one pitch, though, to get second baseman Kevin Williams to fly out to left to end the inning.

* * *

UCLA’s Nick Vander Tuig threw 35 pitches in the fourth inning. He needed only 33 through the first three innings.

* * *

First 22 batters of the game: No hits.

Next five: All hits.

Arizona strings ‘em together with one out in the bottom of the fourth, with Seth Mejias-Brean coming up with two RBIs with a bases-loaded line-drive single just over the glove of the second baseman.

Bobby Brown follows with another two-run hit — this one a stand-up double down the right-field line.

Arizona isn’t able to do more damage, but it does bat around and will take that 4-0 lead into the fifth.

* * *

And there’s a hit. The first 22 batters of the game were retired in order until Arizona’s Johnny Field became the first baserunner when he sliced an opposite field shot just inside the right-field line with one out in the fourth.

* * *

Konner Wade makes it a fourth perfect inning. He has been working down in the zone — his pitches have natural arm-side sink — and has gotten eight of 12 outs on the ground. He had two strikeouts and two flyouts.

* * *

A pair of perfect games through three innings. Jinx!

UCLA’s Nick Vander Tuig has thrown 33 pitches. Konner Wade just 26.

* * *

Fifteen batters up, fifteen batters down. Not much more say to that.

* * *

Konner Wade needs only 14 pitches to get through two innings. He drops his postseason ERA — this is his fourth such start — to 1.38. Feeling pretty good about next season’s Friday starter?

* * *

Each team goes down 1-2-3 in the first inning. Konner Wade needed only eight pitches to get through the top of the winning, looking calm and in control.

* * *

Same ol’ Arizona lineup. You know it, you love it:

1. CF Joey Rickard
2. LF Johnny Field
3. SS Alex Mejia
4. RF Robert Refsnyder
5. 3B Seth Mejias-Brean
6. DH Bobby Brown
7. 1B Joseph Maggi
8. C Riley Moore
9. 2B Trent Gilbert

* * *

Konner Wade has made three postseason starts, including throwing seven scoreless innings in an elimination game against Seton Hall in a regional in College Station, Texas, last season.

Wade has thrown 24 postseason innings, allowing 19 hits and eight runs — only four earned. That works out to an ERA of 1.50. He has struck out nine and walked five in that span.

* * *

UCLA won the season series against Arizona, taking two of three at Hi Corbett Field in mid-April.

Of particular interest is the second game of that series, when the Bruins knocked around UA starter Konner Wade, touching him for 10 hits and six runs (five runs) in three innings. UCLA went on to make more hay against reliever Vincent Littleman.

Wade comes in confident, though, coming off last weekend’s complete game victory that clinched the Super Regional against St. John’s.

UCLA will counter with sophomore right-hander Nick Vander Tuig (10-3, 4.35), who was the winning pitcher in Tucson in the game Wade started. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, while striking out one and walking one.

* * *

Pac-12 co-champs Arizona and UCLA will be meeting in Omaha in a critical winners’ bracket game tonight.

The second game of a double-elimination tournament is where a team can take the easy path … or the hard path.

Consider the options:

–If Arizona wins, it is off until Thursday, having two chances to win one game to advance to the best-of-three championship series. The Cats would play either UCLA or Florida State, which eliminated Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon. If Arizona were to lose Thursday, the teams would meet again on Friday.

–If Arizona loses, it has to play Tuesday in an elimination game against Florida State. Win that game and then the Wildcats would need to beat UCLA on Thursday and Friday.

Given UA’s lack of pitching depth, Option A becomes even more desirable.

Joey Rickard gets ready to high-five Alex Mejia as he scores the go-ahead run in the 12th. Photo by Matt Ryerson-US PRESSWIRE

The one question about the Arizona Wildcats baseball team: The bullpen.

No one dominant emerged. This season’s pitching staff is the reverse of Andy Lopez’s last great team. The 2008 squad had Daniel Schlereth, Ryan Perry and Jason Stoffel in the back end, and Lopez learned hard on those guys, able to get multiple innings from each to finish games.

That trio combined to throw 176 1/3 innings in 61 games.

This season, Lopez is riding his starters as long as he can. The not-so Big Three relieving crew of Tyler Crawford, Mathew Troupe and Stephen Manthei have combined for only 107 1/3 innings, also in 61 games.

But two of them came up huge Friday night in the first round of the College World Series.

Crawford and Troupe — a pair of freshman — combined to throw 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, successfully holding down the fort while Arizona finally solved Florida State’s All-American closer Robert Benincasa in his fourth inning of work.

(more…)

Fred Evander got to sit in on the biggest moment of Andy Lopez's coaching career, after Pepperdine won the 1992 national title. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine athletics.

Fred Evander waited at the gate at the airport for coach Andy Lopez and the Pepperdine baseball team. He was 11. It was 1992.

The Waves were arriving for the College World Series in Omaha, and the boy who had become their biggest fan — and a bit of an inspiration — was waiting at Eppley Airfield.

“Hey, guys!” Lopez shouted as he spotted the boy. “This is Fred!”

Players and coaches converged on Fred. Someone planted a Pepperdine hat on his head. He got to ride on the team bus to the hotel.

According to a newspaper story from 20 years ago, an assistant coach told Fred: “Yours was the first face we wanted to see when we got to Omaha.”

Twenty years. It’s been 20 years since Lopez steered that Pepperdine team to a national title, and he’s trying to lead the Arizona Wildcats to one this season. UA begins play in the College World Series on Friday night against Florida State.

“I never once walked away, saying, ‘This is easy,’” Lopez said about winning the championship. “You’re really thankful when you get to that position. If you’re fortunate enough to win it, you’re very thankful.”

Twenty years. It’s been 20 years since Fred Evander was that baseball-obsessed boy who managed to befriend an entire team and make a memory for a lifetime.

(more…)

Andy Lopez was 13-15 against Florida State's Mike Martin while the head coach at Florida. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats coach Andy Lopez will face an old rival in the first round of the College World Series — at least, most people think his opponent should be a rival.

But Florida State coach Mike Martin is actually what Lopez calls an “extremely close” friend.

And Lopez’ seven years coaching at state rival Florida from 1995 to 2001 did nothing to change that friendship, which includes sharing a deep Christian faith.

“We were friends before I took the Florida job, and then I took the Florida job … and we were still friends,” said Lopez, whose UA team will take on the Seminoles on Friday in Omaha, starting at 6 p.m. Tucson time.

“Before the games, we would be talking, laughing and giving each other a hug.”

Not that everybody appreciated the civility.

(more…)

(NOTE: Here is a Florida State baseball story from our Gannett partner, the Tallahassee Democrat, which runs nolesports.com. The Seminoles will take on Arizona in the first round of the College World Series on Friday at 6 p.m. Tucson time.)

Florida State outfielder Josh Delph is congratulated at home after scoring against Stanford last weekend at a Super Regional. Photo by Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

By Jim Henry
Democrat assistant sports editor

Devon Travis isn’t a player who needs to check the lineup card.

Florida State’s junior second baseman has started 62 of 63 games this season and has hit in the No. 2 slot behind Sherman Johnson in 60 games. Yet, Travis does review the lineup prior to each game to see what coach Mike Martin has up his sleeve.

FSU’s batting order — specifically the bottom third — has been a guessing game among players.
Martin has employed 30 different combinations at the No. 7 through No. 9 slots heading into the College World Series. The No. 3 national seeded Seminoles (48-15) meet Arizona (43-17) in an opening-round game on Friday.

“It’s interesting because coach Martin loves tweaking things — he’s not afraid to put a guy into the lineup even if he hasn’t hit in three weeks,” Travis said.

“Every time you look at the lineup you are like, ‘That’s different. That’s different.’ But it works. It’s actually pretty cool.”

FSU’s latest hero at the bottom of the lineup is freshman Josh Delph, a left-handed hitter from Bartow. Delph was expected to play a reserve role this season, but his sharp eye and smooth stroke helped him work his way into the lineup in right field.

(more…)

A crowd of 3,907 came out for a hot Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Super Regional. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats baseball team ranked 26th nationally in average home attendance, leading to increased ticket revenue of 407 percent over last season.

The average attendance of 2,628 fans for 40 dates at Hi Corbett — including the postseason — ranked second in the Pac-12 behind Arizona State (2,834), according to numbers collected by Tami Cutler of Wichita State athletic media relations.

LSU ranked first with an average of 10,736 fans per home game. Five of the top six teams in average attendance were from the SEC.

Arizona averaged 1,103 fans for 33 home dates in 2011, its final season at Kindall/Sancet Stadium on campus before moving to Hi Corbett. This season’s average attendance works out to be a 138 percent increase.

(more…)

Brian Jeffries broadcasts from last year's NCAA regional. Facebook photo

Brian Jeffries, the voice of Arizona athletics, will be broadcasting from his fourth College World Series, starting Friday when the Wildcats take on Florida State from Omaha.

Friday’s game starts at 6 p.m. Tucson time. All UA games can be heard on 1290-AM (KCUB).

Jeffries first covered the College World Series in 1985, when the Wildcats were eliminated in two games in Omaha.

UA won it all the following year, boosted by a comeback win over Maine in the first game. The Cats trailed 7-0 going into the bottom of the seventh, winning it all on Dave Shermet’s two-out, full-count, pinch-hit home run for an 8-7 victory.

I caught up with Jeffries earlier this week for some baseball-related questions, including his recollections of 1986, when he shared UA radio duties with Dave Sitton:

(more…)

Only a few minutes after Arizona Wildcats sophomore Konner Wade pitched the game of his life last Saturday, coach Andy Lopez brought up one of Wade’s worst performances.

Something about throwing 20 balls in 22 pitches in an outing earlier this season.

That would have been a mid-week relief appearance against New Mexico State on March 21. The strike zone might as well have been a pinhole, as Wade walked four and hit two batters, allowing four runs in one inning.

And this was the same guy who pitched a complete game — with no walks — to clinch last weekend’s Super Regional against St. John’s.

“It’s exactly what you hope for from your children — that they get through the tough times; they grow,” Lopez said.

“That they understand adversity. That they understand that life isn’t fair, and that whoever told you that lied to you. because it’s not fair. It’s a grind, it’s a grind, it’s a grind.”

(more…)

Florida State celebrates winning a Super Regional last weekend. Photo by Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE

(NOTE: Here is a Florida State baseball story from our Gannett partner, the Tallahassee Democrat, which runs nolesports.com. The Seminoles will take on Arizona in the first round of the College World Series on Friday at 6 p.m. Tucson time.)

By Corey Clark

He hasn’t come out and actually said the words.

But you get the feeling that out of the 15 Florida State teams he has taken to the College World Series, the 2012 version just might be Mike Martin’s favorite.

Maybe because unlike many of his previous clubs, this one didn’t have high preseason expectations placed on it. The Seminoles were ranked 20th in the preseason by Baseball America.

They lost their first-round ace (Sean Gilmartin), All-ACC closer (Daniel Bennett), All-American two-way player (Mike McGee) and three-year starting catcher (Rafael Lopez).

There were no spots in the starting rotation that were known before the year began.

Two wound up being taken by freshmen.

(more…)