Arizona baseball recap: Wildcats use big inning to down USC in series opener

Another offensive explosion.

In the first game of a three-game set, the Arizona Wildcats and USC Trojans were tied halfway through.

That all changed in a hurry as Arizona sprinted to a 9-4 victory to open the series.

It all started in the bottom of the fifth.

With one out in the frame, Cal Stevenson, Alfonso Rivas, and Jared Oliva all picked up singles, giving Arizona a 3-2 lead at the time.

After JJ Matijevic grounded out to the pitcher, a balk scored Rivas, and a Nick Quintana double scored Oliva, putting the Wildcats up three.

Mitchell Morimoto and Cesar Salazar added RBI singles of their own, leading to a 7-2 advantage when all was said and done.

“We made a nice adjustment that third time through the order,” head coach Jay Johnson said afterwards. “Our murderers row — if you will — doing their thing.”

This also ended USC starting pitcher Chris Clarke’s night, who allowed 10 hits and a walk in his 4 ²⁄₃ innings of work.

Opposing Clarke was Arizona ace JC Cloney, who allowed a solo home run in the second and an RBI double in the fourth.

Those would be the only two runs he gave up in seven innings of work. Cloney scattered six hits and walked two Trojans on 114 total pitches. He also recorded three strikeouts.

“If you’re gonna be put in a Friday night role, you need to go out and perform,” Cloney said of his consistency. “You’re in the Pac-12, you need to put your team in a position to win every game, and if coach thinks I’m the guy to do that then I’m gonna go out and do that.”

“Yeah, I am,” Quintana responded when asked if he expects this from Cloney now. “After opening day and his start that he had, it’s just a different feel when he’s on the mound. When he gets on the mound it’s gonna be either a blowout because we scored so many runs and he’s just shoving, or it’s gonna be a 1-0 game and he’s just on point, so it’s always fun to play behind him.”

“It’s about as simple as he’s just hard to hit,” added Quintana about what makes Cloney so good. “His velo may not be the fastest on the team but it’s sneaky; it runs. His offspeed’s great and sharp, and he’s just difficult to hit all around.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Arizona padded its lead a little more. On a 3-0 count, Quintana smashed a meaty pitch to left center field, skying it just shy of the red boundary line.

“Off the bat I thought it was gone,” Cloney said. “I heard it hit the wall and I thought he was going to pull up for a double.”

“When I hit it off the bat, I knew it wasn’t going to go out because it’s the deepest part of the field,” Quintana explained. “So I’m running and rounding second base, and I see the ball’s far from the outfielders so I’m like ‘Alright, stand up triple’.”

USC played the bounce poorly, and the ball slowly made its way back into center field. Quintana rounded the bases as quickly as he could.

“I’m kinda running, looking over my shoulder, seeing where the ball’s at,” continued Quintana. “Coming up to third I kinda slowed down a little bit, and I just see Coach Johnson waving his arm and I’m like ‘Oh alright, let’s go’.”

“All of the sudden I saw coach waving him home,” Cloney added.

“To be honest, yeah,” Quintana replied if he was surprised to see Johnson waving him home. “If Johnson thinks there might be a play at the plate, he’ll just send you. I’ve seen him wave some of our players home all the time and it’s fun to see. I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m not gonna stop at third base while he’s waving me around. I’m gonna trust him.”

“I never wanna get anybody thrown out with no outs,” explained Johnson. “I got kind of caught up in the play. It was hit so hard I couldn’t believe how much it caromed in here and the guy had to pick it up still. They made a really good relay and I’m glad it worked out the way that it did.”

The throw home beat Quintana, but the USC catcher dropped it while applying the tag, giving the freshman third baseman his first inside-the-park home run of the year and fourth dinger total this year.

“They probably had me by like three steps,” Quintana said. “I didn’t want to run into the guy because you can’t do that, so I saw the tag, and I kinda slid into the left portion of his body hoping the ball came out and it did.”

“Then there was a mosh pit right here and I knew I had to take my helmet off because I’d be concussed after,” he joked. “It kinda just happened so fast, but it was cool.”

Nick Quintana puts on the burners and races home for an inside-the-park home run! The Cats lead 9-2! #FlowKnowshttps://t.co/82vW96dCah

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) April 1, 2017

And he's......SAFE #FlowKnows ⬇️ http://pic.twitter.com/RLNqoDLz8Y

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) April 1, 2017

Quintana would come out of the game after the play, letting Sawyer Gieseke take his spot in the field.

“He’s fine,” Johnson said of Quintana afterwards. “He’s not hurt. Sawyer’s been playing third base and it’s a good role he plays for our team. He would’ve gone in normally.”

Austin Schnabel also took over on the mound for Cloney.

The Trojans got a couple of guys in scoring position with just one out in the 8th. A fly ball to right was not deep enough to score the runner from third, but a bloop single that Oliva almost got to dropped in for a two-run, two-out hit by David Edson.

Rivas took over for Schnabel, and after a poor showing on Wednesday picked up a strikeout looking to end the inning. He followed that up with a scoreless ninth to close out the victory, moving Arizona to 3-4 in Pac-12 play. USC is now 4-3. U of A is also a perfect 14-0 at home this year.

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Arizona and USC play game two of the three-game set on Saturday night at 6 PM PT. Randy Labaut will make his second career start.

“I don’t see why he couldn’t go out and give us seven, eight, maybe nine innings of solid work,” Cloney said of his teammate. “He’s a solid guy on the mound with a solid three-pitch mix, so he’s gonna go out and compete for us.”

“I think his maturity,” Cloney added about what Labaut has improved the most this season. “Finally getting into Pac-12 play, that’s what’s going to keep you alive in this conference, and I think his maturity is outstanding for a freshman — or a sophomore, whatever you wanna call him — but to be a Saturday guy or any guy in this league, you gotta have some confidence, and his maturity is adding to that confidence.”

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Arizona football: Wildcats to play BYU in new Las Vegas Raiders stadium

Book your hotel rooms now

The building of a new football stadium in Las Vegas could change some things for the Pac-12 in the somewhat near future, and we already know one way it will impact the Arizona Wildcats.

U of A was already scheduled to play the BYU Cougars in Las Vegas in 2021, a game that was slated to be played in UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium. Well, it appears that game has already been moved to the yet-to-be-built Raiders stadium.

BYU vs Arizona will be played at the new Raiders stadium in Vegas instead of Sam Boyd in 2021. https://t.co/jRQ712Gvcm http://pic.twitter.com/IAbtFy5VgY

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 31, 2017

This is a no-brainer. The full ESPN article shares plenty of other ways this new $1.9 billion stadium will change the college football landscape.

Kyle Bonagura details how this will help the UNLV Rebels, the Las Vegas Bowl, the Pac-12 Championship Game, and the College Football Playoff. All of these things could be moved to the new Las Vegas stadium, which will be located just off The Strip.

The Pac-12 would have to consider moving its football title game there, as the Santa Clara deal has not really worked well for the conference. If they don’t want to put it at the site of the team with the better record like they used to, moving it to Vegas is likely the best option. The 2017 men’s basketball tournament drew very well at the new T-Mobile Arena, and now fans will have another reason to book a weekend in Vegas.

Anyways, that Arizona/BYU tilt is scheduled for September 4th, 2021, so get those rooms booked now.

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Arizona basketball: Lorenzo Romar rumored to be candidate for Wildcats coaching staff

Will the ex-Washington coach make his way to Tucson?

The Arizona Wildcats now have an opening on their coaching staff with Joe Pasternack taking the UC Santa Barbara head coaching job. With the Final Four in Phoenix, Sean Miller has a chance to meet some potential replacements for Pasternack, and one name that has been whispered for a few days is starting to pick up some traction now.

Former Washington Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar is being rumored to join the Arizona staff.

Not there, but rumor at Final Four says @APlayersProgram's Sean Miller may consider former @UW_MBB coach Lorenzo Romar for assistant job.

— Percy Allen (@percyallen) March 31, 2017

Lorenzo Romar said he was interested in another HC job and didn't seem thrilled about an assistant gig. But Arizona tho. Different story.

— Percy Allen (@percyallen) March 31, 2017

Romar’s obvious strength at Washington was his ability to recruit, bringing in some of the top NBA talent in each class. However, he wasn’t able to translate that into success on the court in recent years, putting up the worst season in Washington history this past year.

After Washington fired Romar, its highly-ranked recruiting class fell apart, and now they’re essentially starting over with Mike Hopkins moving from Syracuse to Seattle.

Washington’s biggest issue this year — among many — was its ability to defend the ball. The Huskies wound up being ranked 224th in adjusted defense, while putting up a ranking of 111 in adjusted offense in KenPom. But the thing Romar could bring to Arizona is more of an up-tempo philosophy, as well as a fresh take on how the Wildcats could play the game on the offensive end.

And obviously, this wouldn’t hurt recruiting one bit.

Romar’s familiarity with the Pac-12 would certainly be a positive as well when looking to replace Pasternack. After all, he was the longest-tenured coach in the conference before his firing, an honor that new belongs to Sean Miller.

It will be interesting, but I’d imagine Arizona makes a move quickly as the end of the 2017 recruiting cycle heats up and the Wildcats look to add to an already loaded class.

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Arizona basketball recruiting: Marvin Bagley III releases new top six

Arizona is still in the mix.

Marvin Bagley III is the holy grail of college basketball prospects and according to him, “the decision is near”.

He does not allude to a timeframe but it’s likely he’s an early signee to get the process over before he starts his senior basketball season.

At 6-feet-11, 200 pounds, the point-forward — as he calls himself — is literally a season-changing player regardless of who else you have on your team.

Yes, he’s that good.

On Friday, Bagley III released a new video detailing the teams he is considering. While the number of teams did not change, he’s kept it at six, he swapped out the Arizona State Sun Devils for the USC Trojans.

The other five of Arizona, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, and Oregon remained the same.

2018's No. 1 basketball recruit just revealed a new list of colleges he’s considering http://pic.twitter.com/wfttpPd7kl

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 31, 2017

It’s quite evident the top prospect in the 2018 class has the west coast on his mind, though Kansas and Kentucky are formidable recruiting foes. Even with those two blue-bloods still involved, I do feel the Arizona Wildcats are in good shape.

Bagley averaged over 24 points and 10 rebounds per game last season while shooting 66% from the field and wraps up the video saying “I’ll never be outworked”.

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If you’re interested in the 2018 Big Board, you can view it here.

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You can follow Alec on Twitter: @UofAlec

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20 years ago today: Let’s revisit Arizona’s 1997 National Championship

Two decades, remembered

This year’s Final Four finally arrives Saturday and will emanate from University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Four programs who have scratched and clawed their way over the last several weeks will fight for a National Championship — two of them searching for their first in program history, one looking for their first since 1939, and the last looking to add a sixth to their championship collection.

The Arizona Wildcats are not involved. You know that by now. If you didn’t, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Hopes were high this March as the Wildcats grabbed a share of the Pac-12 regular season championship and added a Pac-12 Tournament Championship on their way to the 2-seed in the West region.

With the Final Four in their backyard, many people believed this was THE YEAR for Arizona to break through and go to their first Final Four since 2001.

It wasn’t.

So for those that can’t bear to watch the Final Four this Saturday or the National Championship Game on Monday night, I invite you to join me on a trip back to a much simpler time.

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20 years ago today. March 31, 1997. A gallon of gas was $1.22. Puff Daddy’s “Can’t Hold Me Down” was the number one song in the country. For kids out there, that’s Diddy, two names ago.

And the Arizona Wildcats were about to capture their first National Championship.

Led by the incomparable Lute Olson, the 1997 Arizona Wildcats did the unthinkable in the NCAA Tournament, defeating three 1-seeds on their way to glory, to this day, the only team to accomplish such a feat.

Now, this was 20 years ago. I was 8 years old. So, while I can remember where I was and the moment it happened, and I recall the joy of the moment, I was just a kid. I didn’t understand the magnitude of a National Championship win, or Coach Olson shutting his critics up with a title, or what it took for Arizona to defeat three Goliaths in a ten day span.

So, I chose to relive it as a 28 year old man.

I own very few things on VHS tape. Some of you may not know what VHS is and I’ll get to that in a second.

I own Wrestlemania 17, the greatest wrestling show of all-time.

I own Michael Jordan’s final game as a Chicago Bull (Game 6, 1998 NBA Finals in Utah) and as a Washington Wizard (Game 82, 2002-03 regular season in Philadelphia).

I own a Chappelle’s Show marathon that aired on Comedy Central some random Saturday night in 2003. This is before DVR, people. If you didn’t want to miss something or watch something at a later time, you needed a VCR and a tape.

And last, but not least, I own the entire NCAA tournament run of the 1997 Arizona Wildcats.

My grandmother recorded it at the time. I’d never known why or how she managed to pick the right year to want every single game on tape. What a random coincidence.

My decision to relive Arizona’s championship sent me on a mission to that Grandmother’s house, in search of one thing: A VCR.

While I was there, I had to ask, what drove her to record those 1997 games? Was it just a feeling she had? Did she think Mike Bibby, Miles Simon and company had something special in them? I awaited this beautiful anecdote about how that 1997 team differed from any other Arizona team in history.

“I recorded all of Arizona’s March Madness games back then. ‘97 just felt like the only ones worth keeping.”

Oh.

She revealed that she had at one point owned Arizona’s 1992 first round loss to 14-seed, East Tennessee State, the 1993 first round loss to 15-seed, Santa Clara, and the 1994 Final Four loss to eventual champion, Arkansas. She would just record over the games with movies that aired on TV and hope the next year would end in a better fashion.

She finally got her wish in 1997.

When I arrived back at home with the VCR, my two stepsons reacted like I’d brought in a famous relic from some museum.

“What is that thing?!” asked my 7 year old.

My 8 year old quickly responded, “It’s an old DVD player, you idiot.”

He was pretty close. Also, when you’re an adult, you never realize how often you end up finishing sentences with, “...and don’t call your brother an idiot.”

After having a lengthy discussion over what a VCR does, or did, I watched the first five games of Arizona’s magical run in perpetual fast forward.

The Wildcats entered the tournament as a 4-seed that was really struggling to find itself, having had a mediocre Pac-10 season. They were 19-9 and were coming off back-to-back losses in the Bay Area to Stanford and Cal.

As magical as the run would end up being, things didn’t look promising in the first round. Arizona, who had suffered first round defeats in three of the past five years, trailed by double digits early on against South Alabama. But after a strong second half from Michael Dickerson and a 16 rebound effort from AJ Bramlett, Arizona survived, 65-57.

The story was similar in round two, trailing early to 12-seed, College of Charleston. 38 combined points from Simon and Bibby kept Arizona alive, 73-69.

With their close calls against lesser teams, many expected Arizona’s season to end in the Sweet Sixteen. The 1997 Kansas Jayhawks were an overwhelming favorite to at least reach the Final Four, and more than likely capture a National Championship.

They didn’t see Arizona coming.

Much like the Wildcats’ first two games of the tournament, the underdog jumped all over the favorite to take the lead. Except this time, it was the Wildcats who were the underdog.

The Jayhawks had a furious rally in the final minutes but several game tying threes with under 10 seconds to play all fell short. Arizona won, 85-82.

Jim Nantz described it as "the biggest upset of the tournament." But this would just be the beginning of Arizona’s accomplishments in 1997’s edition of March Madness.

After the Kansas win, the Final Four felt like a lock. But awaiting the Wildcats in the Elite Eight was a feisty 10-seed, the Providence Friars, led by NBA talent Austin Croshere and the man with the best handles in the country, God Shammgod. It was an overtime thriller that had fans on the edge of their seat. The game was 20 years ago and I’m well aware of the result and even I felt nervous. Despite Michael Dickerson fouling out, Miles Simon’s 30 points carried the Wildcats past Providence, 96-92 and into Indianapolis for the Final Four.

Four games. Three against opponents that Arizona was easily favored against. Arizona nearly lost all of those. One against a heavy favorite where Arizona pulled off the unthinkable. The Wildcats were the only team in the Final Four not to be a 1-seed. And they had become an unpredictable lightning rod, impossible to forecast how they were going to perform next.

The North Carolina Tar Heels, in what would be legendary coach Dean Smith’s final game, would find out the hard way just how tough it was to predict what the Wildcats were capable of. North Carolina fell, 66-58. Bibby and Simon combined for a Russell Westbrook-esque 44 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

This was Lute Olson’s fourth trip to the Final Four, third at Arizona. And this would be his first National Championship game.

On that cool Indianapolis Monday night, it would be Arizona facing the defending National Champion, Kentucky Wildcats.

From the get-go, the two men that have carried Arizona through March are on the attack.

Bibby, just a freshman, and Simon, a junior who lost the first half of the season due to an academic suspension, were defiant in their play. People believed Arizona didn’t belong on the floor with Rick Pitino’s Kentucky team. They were out to prove a point and put the Arizona program on the map.

But Kentucky was game. They wanted to repeat as champions and had Nazr Mohammed and Jamaal Magloire snatching offensive rebounds left and right. The crowd made it sound like Rupp Arena as most of the 47,028 in attendance had made the short trek from Lexington to Indianapolis.

The two teams are going shot for shot. Kentucky is used to being the quicker of the two teams on the floor. They have no such advantage against UA. Arizona is used to running the floor whenever they please. Kentucky’s pressure slows Arizona and forces them into the half court.

Arizona led by one at half but leads meant very little in this game. The action is so dizzying, I can barely even register all the plugs about how good next week’s Everybody Loves Raymond is going to be and Pepsi commercials with dancing bears.

The final two minutes of regulation is a microcosm of the entire game.

With just over two minutes remaining, Kentucky leads 68-67. But in one minute, Arizona has scored five straight to go up 72-68. Big Blue has been silenced and a smattering of U of A chants echo throughout the RCA Dome.

With just 1:01 left, Tucson is dying to celebrate. Lute Olson is so close to his first National Championship, he can taste it. But a Ron Mercer three pointer cuts it to 1. A perfect Mike Bibby pass finds Bennett Davidson for an easy bucket at the other end. Kentucky guard, Anthony Epps, coolly steps up to the three point line and drains a shot to tie the game with 12 seconds left.

An errant Miles Simon floater, a tough Kentucky rebound, a Jason Terry steal and last second heave clanks iron.

74-74. Overtime.

How did grown adults watch this live without having a heart attack?

In overtime, something Lute Olson’s teams were never known for, stepped up – defense.

The Wildcats held those other Wildcats to five points in overtime. Meanwhile at the other end, Arizona didn’t need to make a field goal. They would sink ten free throws in the overtime.

Of all the goofy puns and one-liners Jim Nantz has attempted to deliver in the final moments of National Championship games over the years, “Simon says: Championship” is his finest and most iconic.

And he did indeed. The Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player scored 30 on the defending champ and the third 1-seed that the Wildcats vanquished.

Lute Olson, always among the most dapper coaches in the land, has his hair ruffled by Bennett Davidson as the clock hits zeroes. Among the many emotions you can see, the one that stands out is Olson’s relief. Finally, all those people that said he couldn’t win the big one know where they can stick their opinions.

And, in a way, as One Shining Moment kicks off and the trophy is raised in the air, that brings us full circle.

Following this year’s Sweet Sixteen loss to Xavier, Sean Miller, the man that resuscitated the program following Lute Olson’s retirement, has been getting crushed. He can’t win the big one. He can’t make the Final Four. And yes, it’s been 16 long, arduous years since Arizona’s last Final Four. And, now 20 since their lone National Championship.

But if anyone can understand the unpredictability of the NCAA Tournament, shouldn’t it be Tucson, Arizona? Because this city has seen many excellent teams come through. 1988, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015. Any of those teams would be in the running for the finest team Arizona has ever put on the floor. None of those won the National Championship.

But for three weeks in March of 1997, a group of youngsters who were told they were “one year away” did the unthinkable. The Godfather of Tucson led a group of young men –- the basketball IQ of Michael Dickerson, the smoothness of Miles Simon, the maturity beyond his years of Mike Bibby, the leadership and unselfishness of Jason Terry, the uniqueness of Eugene Edgerson and the toughness of AJ Bramlett and Bennett Davidson –- put it all together and made magic.

Are the 1997 Arizona Wildcats the best team in program history? Absolutely not. But they were responsible for the greatest run in NCAA Tournament history.

So is next year THE YEAR? There’s no way of knowing. But no matter your expectations, there’s always a chance that THE YEAR will be when you least expect it.

Happy anniversary.

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Wildcat Radio Podcast: Arizona Wildcats Sweet Sixteen defeat and who will return next year?

A new podcast for your listening pleasure

Listen to the Wildcat Radio Podcast by clicking play below, clicking this link, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, TuneIn Radio, Google Play, or any other podcast player.

Wildcat Radio's Bryant Conger and Arizona Desert Swarm's Ronnie Stoffle breakdown the Arizona Wildcats’ loss to Xavier in the Sweet Sixteen, discuss the players who are likely to turn pro, and potential podcast topics during the offseason.

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Arizona baseball: Wildcats open Pac-12 home slate vs. USC Trojans

Arizona faces Corey Dempster and the USC Trojans at Hi Corbett

A great adage coined long ago states that there's no place like home.

That phrase rings true for sports teams of all shapes and sizes, but especially for Arizona Wildcats head coach Jay Johnson and company after last weekend's debacle in Corvallis.

The Wildcats, who entered last week's series against the top-ranked Oregon State Beavers as the ninth-ranked team in the nation, endured a nightmarish three day stretch.

They lost the first two games of the series in heartbreaking fashion, falling 4-3 and 5-4, respectively, on dueling walk-offs.

The Wildcats followed that up by getting run out of Goss Stadium in Sunday's finale, losing 11-7 on a fog-laden Sunday.

Veteran southpaw Rio Gomez was hammered by the Beavers in that tilt, surrendering five runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings pitched.

The Cats’ inconsistent pitching on Sunday sullied a phenomenal effort turned in by sophomore infielder Alfonso Rivas, who went 3-5 with four RBI.

Luckily for Johnson and the Cats, they return to the cavernous enclave in Midtown Tucson that they call home, as they'll face the USC Trojans this weekend for a three game tilt.

The Trojans, who were picked 10th in the 11-team Pac-12 in the preseason, have put together an encouraging season so far. They come to Tucson with a 15-8 overall record, and are 4-2 in Pac-12 play.

They're fresh off a series win against ASU in the City of Angels, winning two out of three games, despite being outscored 15-11 in those contests.

The Trojans' surprise start has a lot to do with their balanced lineup, with four hitters in their starting nine hitting above .300. They are led by Brandon Perez, who's hitting .338 in 22 games.

The Wildcats’ starting rotation of JC Cloney, Randy Labaut, and Rio Gomez will have to get back to doing what they do best; pitching to contact.

They'll also need their offensive attack led by Rivas, who's fourth in the conference in batting average (.395), ninth in slugging (.579), first in on-base percentage (.525) and second in RBI (30), to carry them forward.

Rivas, as well as contact-turned-power threat Jared Oliva, who surprisingly ranks third in the conference with three dingers and first with 32 RBI, will need to be sharp for Arizona to get the series win.

With that being said, here are the Trojans that the Wildcats would be smart to study up on, ahead of Friday's 7 p.m. first pitch:

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1. Brandon Perez (Sophomore SS) — As listed above, the Newport Beach native has been a phenomenal two-way infielder for the Trojans this year, leading the team in average (.338) and hits (27), while only making two errors in 22 games in the field. The Mater Dei product has posted an impressive .756 OPS as well, and seems to be the go-to bat for head coach Dan Hubbs. Arizona pitchers would be wise to keep a close eye on the six-foot-tall infielder, as he's proven he can put the ball in play with ease.

2. Corey Dempster (Senior outfielder) — Dempster is really the Trojans’ version of Cody Ramer, as the senior's proven himself to be the team's unquestioned leader and offensive tour de force. Dempster is punishing pitchers so far, posting a .325 average in 19 games started, plus an .857 OPS and 40 total bases. Dempster will likely slide into the two or three hole in the Trojans’ lineup this weekend, and can put pressure on corner infielders, as the Loyola High School product has above-average speed, posting a team-high 10 stolen bases last year. Arizona should be all-too-familiar with Dempster, who torched them for six hits in ten at-bats during their three-game series in late April last year. Don't be surprised if Dempster, who's hit a team-high eight doubles this year, finds a way to be a nuisance for Arizona once again this weekend.

3. Brad Wegman (Junior pitcher) — Wegman, after a rough start to his junior season, has rebounded nicely in two Pac-12 starts. The Temecula native, who went 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 20 2/3 innings a year ago, has an uninspiring 2-3 record and 4.60 ERA this year. His conference stats have been much better though, posting a 1-1 record and 1.69 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings pitched. Wegman is not listed as a starter this weekend, but when used, he and Chris Clarke (who stands a whopping 6-foot-7-inches tall) could provide some serious issues to the heart of Arizona's order.

4. Lars Nootbaar (Sophomore infielder) — The real pop in the Trojans’ lineup this year has been Nootbaar. He leads the team in home runs (4) and has put up a ridiculous OPS of 1.053. His power threat has turned him into the conference’s leading walk drawer, earning 23 bases on balls this year, three more than the next best mark in the Pac-12 (Arizona’s Cal Stevenson — 20). You would expect him to strikeout a decent amount, but there are three other USC players with more Ks this year. Shut down Nootbaar, shut down USC.

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Join the BeantownCats for their annual Boston Marathon celebration fundraiser event

Get together with other Arizona runners

If you are in the Boston area on Saturday, April 15^th, join the Boston University of Arizona Alumni group as they gather for their annual fundraising event. This is a celebration for Wildcat alumni who are participating in the world famous Boston Marathon.

All of the proceeds go to the Beantown Cats scholarship fund which is awarded each year to incoming UA freshmen.

Be sure to save the date and spend the night with fellow Wildcat Alumni. Use this link for more details.

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NCAA Tournament: The Final Four All-Name Team

Sindarius Thornwell leads list of great tournament names

What's in a name?

As the calendar flips from the Ides and hoopla of March to the ever-promising month of April, the eyes of millions of Americans shift to the heart of the Sonoran Desert.

Four teams — ranging from programs whose blood matches its primary uniform color (North Carolina) to teams that haven't played in the seminal event since the year World War II started (Oregon) — remain in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

It's a bittersweet time of year for many Arizona Wildcats fans, who will have to watch as former conference punching bag Oregon and longtime non-conference sparring partner Gonzaga play on the sport's biggest stage in their own backyard.

There are thousands of pieces this week that'll get you set for the actual action on the stained-wood court at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. They'll analyze all the hard-hitting statistics and jargon that's become synonymous with sports journalism, and they'll be worth your time.

This article, however, strikes a different chord completely.

Instead of looking at what'll go down in what's sure to be a jaw-dropping, wallet-busting basketball extravaganza, let's look at something far more light-hearted and entertaining.

Let's take a look at the best names of the four teams that have survived the two-week-long gut punch that is the first three rounds of the tourney (sorry, not sorry, First Four).

Without further adieu, here's the unscientific poll of the best names left in the Big Dance...

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Sindarius Thornwell (Sr., South Carolina) — Thornwell, for those of you who have either lived under a rock or not watched a game east of Boulder this season, has been a stud at the guard position for Gamecocks coach Frank Martin. Thornwell, who's the lone South Carolinian in the Cocks’ starting five, has been a monster so far in the tournament, scoring more than 20 points in all four of the team's games, including 26 points on 8-13 shooting against the Florida Gators.

Not only is Thornwell a beast on the hardwood, but he carries a name that sounds like some mystical character from a beloved southern folktale or song. Thornwell's meteoric rise across the board offensively, improving his shooting percentage by 6.5 percent this year alone, has been remarkable. The 6-foot-5 former four-star prospect has averaged 21.6 PPG this year, the most of any player from a "Power Five" conference.

Thornwell's hot streak of late has him on NBA radars, as CBS Sports ranks him as the 64th-best prospect in this year's draft. It's clear (to me, at least) that Thornwell's got more than just a great name to hang his hat on, as his game's not too shabby either.

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Jack Beach (Soph., Gonzaga) — Not gonna lie, prior to doing some extensive research on team rosters I had no idea who this guy was. Part of that has to do with the fact that Beach, who's name is all-too-perfect for a guy from San Diego, has played a mere 20 minutes this season, scoring a whopping two points for Mark Few and company.

As I stated above, this is not a list of most-deserving players or any of that garbage — this list simply exists to reward those whose parents had the foresight (or sense of humor) necessary to produce some top-notch names. I have no clue if the 6-foot-2 sophomore, who weighs a whopping 175 pounds, will ever see the promise of playing time in his waning years in Spokane. What I do know, however, is that Beach's name will live on thanks to this list. You're welcome, Jack, now where's my royalty check?

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Seventh Woods (Fresh., UNC) - Woods, like Beach, makes the cut for name recognition alone. First off, I've never heard of anyone with a first name that's also a number, which makes me ponder what motivated his parents to name him as such. Did his father lose a bet, a la Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics? Did his parents have some odd sort of emotional attachment to that number, which led them to pick it?

These are questions we may never know the answer to, especially since the 6-foot-2 frosh from Columbia, SC has registered eight minutes of playing time per game this season. Woods is highly-regarded by checker-board suit enthusiast Roy Williams, who put the freshman in for a season-high 15 minutes of garbage time in the team's 39 point thrashing of Texas Southern on March 17.

Whether Woods will have any impact on Saturday's game against Oregon is yet to be seen, but his awesome first name warrants mention on this worthless list nonetheless.

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Kavell Bigby-Woods (Junior, Oregon) — There are two things about the 6-foot-11 junior that fascinated me when I was doing my research for this piece. First, the fact that Bigby-Woods hails from London, which isn't exactly a basketball mecca. Second, that his name was simply the most British thing I've heard since my days hopping the pond for family holidays in London.

Bigby-Woods, who grew up playing football (or soccer, pick your poison), did not pick up a basketball until he was 15, according to USA Today. The English big-man only picked up the sport after suffering a broken tibia, shattering his hopes of playing between the pipes for one of England's premier football clubs. The English Sensation originally committed to Montana State, but couldn't make grades and eventually transferred to Gillette College in my father's home state of Wyoming. He's been tasked by Oregon coach Dana Altman with filling the void left by Chris Boucher, who notoriously was lost for the season during the Pac-12 Tournament with a torn ACL.

The junior, who's played 44 minutes total in the team's four tournament games, has my vote for player I'd least like to face, either on the pitch or on the hardwood.

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Ran Tut (Junior, USC) - The South Carolina roster, as you might imagine from a folksy Southern team, is chocked-full of must-see names. The one, besides Thornwell, that stood out the most to me upon closer inspection was Mr. Tut here.

Tut, who has played 61 minutes this year, hasn't even seen game action in the team's four tourney games to date, last playing a single minute against Tennessee on Feb. 25. The 6-foot-9 Australian import will likely never see the court this weekend in Glendale, but that doesn't detract from his entertainingly short name.

Props to King Tut, may his shots be as memorable as his six-letter nom de jour.

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Arizona basketball: DeAndre Ayton says Kobi Simmons will declare for the 2017 NBA Draft

Lauri Markkanen likely won’t be the only Wildcat departing for the NBA

The Arizona Wildcats held a press conference Thursday allowing Lauri Markkanen to officially declare his intentions to enter the 2017 NBA Draft.

A similar press conference — maybe more than one — will likely be held in the near future, only it will be someone other than Markkanen sitting next to Sean Miller at the podium.

The Wildcats still have three players — Kobi Simmons, Allonzo Trier, and Rawle Alkins — expected to consider entering the 2017 NBA Draft, and the plan is to have each of them hold separate press conferences should they choose to declare.

“We’re going to do each one of these guys individually for obvious reasons because each one of them has a different situation,” Miller said Thursday. “We care equally about all of them.”

So, whose turn is next? According to incoming UA recruit DeAndre Ayton, it will likely be Simmons.

Ayton revealed to Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer that Simmons is planning to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft.

DraftExpress.com projects Simmons will be selected 51st overall by the Denver Nuggets.

The freshman, like all early entrants, has until April 23 to declare so Simmons’ decision will be known sooner rather than later.

And if Ayton is right, at least one more press conference is on the horizon.

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Arizona basketball: It’s time for Lauri Markkanen to ‘reach his goals and dreams’ in the NBA

Markkanen is ready to make his dream of being an NBA player a reality

When Lauri Markkanen was 10 years old, his father Pekka kept a diary to chart how many hours his son was on the basketball court.

“He was practicing something like four and a half hours a day,” Pekka recalls. “He was playing a lot.”

Lauri practiced with and against his father, as well as his two older brothers, Eero and Miikka.

They didn’t go easy on him.

“He always lost against his older brothers, so maybe that’s why his feet are well on the ground right now,” Pekka said.

Evidently so, as nine years later Lauri is heading to the NBA, choosing to declare for the NBA Draft after just one year with the Arizona Wildcats.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to it,” said Lauri, exactly one week after playing his final college game. “It’s a big challenge for me and I think I’m ready to go and do my best.”

Lauri said playing in the NBA has always been a dream of his, and that’s not surprising to anybody that knows him.

“He’s so special,” Pekka said. “Whatever he does, he only thinks about basketball. Sometimes I get tired of that. ... [It’s like] ‘can we talk about something else?’”

But, to Lauri, there is nothing else.

When asked in December what he would be doing if he wasn’t a basketball player, Lauri had no idea.

“I’ve been trying to think about that,” he said. “But there’s really nothing that interested me.”

His health even takes a backseat to basketball.

Once, Lauri was in the emergency room four hours before he was scheduled to play, but it didn’t deter him from taking the court.

He didn’t tell his dad though.

“I didn’t know,” Pekka said. “But he’s lucky because I got so mad.”

At Arizona, Lauri battled through illness and injury, but played in all 37 games for the Wildcats and only missed one practice.

A practice “which we decided ahead of time for him to sit out,” Miller said.

Simply, basketball is Markkanen’s life and, like his Twitter bio states, he’s “just trying to improve [his] game every single day.”

“His love of the game, his work ethic, and how he handled himself, if every situation was like this it would be too easy,” UA head coach Sean Miller said. “He gave us his heart and his soul. He also gave us his talent and the season he had speaks for itself.”

Indeed. Lauri’s combination of talent, size, and an unrelenting work ethic allowed him to produce a seemingly unprecedented freshman season at Arizona.

Lauri averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, finishing tied for second in program history in points scored by a freshman, third in rebounding, third in made 3s, third in made free throws, and fourth in free throw percentage.

He was also a third-team All-American, a member of the Pac-12 All-First-Team, and possibly the greatest shooting 7-footer the college game has ever seen.

“If you think about this,” Miller said, “you can make the argument that he had the greatest year in history of our program ... for every freshman that’s been here.”

It’s why Lauri is projected to be a top-10 pick in June and just the second Finn to ever be selected in the NBA Draft. It’s why everywhere Pekka goes in Finland, there’s a “big hype” surrounding Lauri.

It’s why Arizona finished 32-5 and won the Pac-12 Championship and Pac-12 Conference Tournament, despite being thumped by adversity.

It’s also why it’s time for Lauri to say goodbye to Tucson.

“When a decision like this is made and it’s made for the right reasons for a bright future, I think we all feel really good,” Miller said. “I 100 percent support his decision. I think it’s the right decision, he’s going to be an incredibly high pick in this year’s NBA Draft. That’s not my opinion, that’s the feedback that all of us have received.

“With that, it’s time for him to reach his goals and dreams.”

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Arizona basketball: Lauri Markkanen declares for the 2017 NBA Draft

The 7-footer is going pro after one season with the Wildcats

Lauri Markkanen is heading to the NBA after one season with the Arizona Wildcats, the big man announced Thursday at a press conference in Tucson.

Markkanen said he will enter the draft and intends to hire an agent per DraftExpress.com, ending any chance of him returning to the Wildcats.

DraftExpress.com projects Markkanen will be the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft, and most publications project he will be picked in the top 10, making it understandable why he would forgo his final three years of eligibility.

The 7-footer averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in his lone season in Tucson, shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3.

Markkanen was voted a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press, USA Today, Sporting News, NBC Sports, and NABC. He was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and twice was the conference’s Player of the Week.

Before landing at Arizona, Markkanen was a five-star recruit out of Helsinki Academy in Finland.

Markkanen may not be the last Wildcat to declare for the draft as Kobi Simmons, Allonzo Trier, and Rawle Alkins are expected to consider heading to the professional ranks.

Early entrants have until April 23 to declare for the NBA Draft and then have until June 12 to withdraw (unless they sign with an agent).

Markkanen will likely become the sixth Arizona Wildcat to be selected in the first round in the Sean Miller era, joining Derrick Williams, Solomon Hill, Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Stanley Johnson.

The NBA Combine is set for May 9-14 and the 2017 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 22.

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Arizona basketball: Wildcats ranked 8th on AP’s all-time programs list

Not a bad position to be in

The Associated Press has been celebrating its 100th year of existence all year, and the latest rankings list they came out with is the top 100 college basketball programs.

To get their released rankings, the AP looked at how many polls teams have appeared in over the years (plus how many times teams were ranked No. 1), and the Arizona Wildcats came up with an 8th-place ranking all-time.

Here’s how the entire top ten looks:

1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. North Carolina Tar Heels
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. UCLA Bruins
5. Kansas Jayhawks
6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. Louisville Cardinals
8. Arizona Wildcats
9. Syracuse Orange
10. Cincinnati Bearcats

Arizona’s best decade was the 1990s, where they were unranked in only one (!) poll over those ten years. Only the 1970s UCLA Bruins did better, being ranked in every single one of those polls in that particular decade.

The Wildcats are also the only team in the top nine that spent an entire decade outside of the polls. In fact, Arizona was never ranked from the 1951-52 season all the way until the 73-74 season.

Syracuse and Arizona are the only teams in the top ten to win just one National Championship. The Orange’s only championship run came in 2003 with Carmelo Anthony. Cincinnati won back-to-back titles in 1961 and 1962, which has allowed for them to be the top “mid-major” school in this particular ranking.

What do you think of where Arizona ended up? Was it higher, lower, or right about where you expected?

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College baseball: Grand Canyon appreciative of ability to play Arizona

With one year until postseason eligibility, GCU is taking on the big boys whenever possible

In 2014, the Grand Canyon Antelopes made the two hour trip south to Tucson and came away with a win over the Arizona Wildcats.

It took three years, but they returned to Tucson on Wednesday, grateful for the opportunity the Pac-12 has finally given them.

“I think it does a lot,” GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said ahead of his team’s meeting with Arizona. “If you want to build a program for the long haul, we gotta play the best, and you look at the Pac-12, and certainly U of A is one of the best in the country, let alone the Pac-12.”

“Anytime we get a chance to compete with a program that’s been doing well for a long time, we get better in the long haul. It means a lot and we’re appreciative to U of A for doing the home-and-home versus them, and hopefully as we move forward we’ll be able to schedule more Pac-12.”

Whenever two in-state schools play each other, especially in this particular state, the players on both sides are quite familiar with each other, adding a little more to the game even if Arizona and GCU are in pretty different conferences.

“It’s kind of a chance for them to compete against each other once again,” Stankiewicz said of the significance of having a bunch of Arizona players on his team.

“For a lot of people I know it’s fun,” Arizona pitcher JC Cloney said about facing a new in-state school. “For fans it might give ‘em a little extra motivation to come out and be chippy. The Arizona guys might take it a little more. It’s good to get ‘em down here, get another good team in here for midweek, and get us prepared for USC.”

That 2014 game, a 3-1 victory for the Lopes, helped establish an identity for the school that was just dipping its toes into the Division-1 pool.

“It kind of got the guys excited about the first year of Division-1 and come play a team that’s been good historically since the beginning of time,” Stankiewicz recalled about that night. “I think it kind of boosted our confidence, like hey if we play good baseball, we have a chance to compete against some really good teams. So it went a long way, at least in that initial year, and that’s a matter of us building consistency in our play.”

“But we shouldn’t be a one-hit wonder. We want to build this thing really well for the long haul.”

After that game, the Pac-12 prevented all schools from scheduling GCU in any sport for two years, but the ban was lifted to start the 2016 academic year.

Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said that he reached out to GCU right away, but the wheels were already in motion before that decision had come down.

“I reached out to Jay right when he got the job,” Stankiewicz explained. “Initially that first year it didn’t go over, but I think in time, they’re going to see that we’re a good option just because we’re in-state; you don’t have to go out of state to schedule your Tuesdays or your Wednesdays, so that means a lot and from a budget standpoint as well.”

“So I said ‘Well, when your administration says it’s a go, we’re certainly going to be a go too’, so it’s good as we move forward just being able to play at U of A or a home-and-home every year.”

One school that’s not a go with GCU is Arizona State, who has said they won’t schedule GCU because "We are against using athletics as a mechanism to make profits. It's contrary to what we're trying to do." Sure, Grand Canyon is a for-profit university, but don’t pretend that you don’t make money off of athletics in Tempe.

Either way, GCU’s head baseball coach was an assistant at ASU from 2007-09, and his son Drew played there through 2014. But Andy admits that he hasn’t been able to have any say in the political struggle between the two Phoenix-area schools.

“There’s nothing I can really do about it,” the GCU coach said, despite being on a coaching staff that won three conference championships and made two College World Series appearances. “It’s the powers that be up top, and we certainly welcome that opportunity because again, it’s Tempe...it’s 15 minutes down the road, and we’re scheduling big teams and it would be nice to not go that far. Obviously ASU, like (Arizona), is great and has been forever, so hopefully that time will come.”

“At this point I can’t worry about it too much,” he continued. “It’s been pretty much a moot point, so I wish I could tell you more than that.”

One thing that has kind of defined GCU in its last year of postseason ineligibility is its tough scheduling in all sports, most notably men’s basketball. Dan Majerle has said he’s doing it to prepare his team for when it makes the NCAA Tournament, and Stankiewicz is doing the same with baseball.

“We know when we get to a Regional, we’re gonna be the four-seed,” Stankiewicz explained. “The WAC is always typically a four-seed if you look at it, and we’re gonna play the one, and the one’s gonna be U of A or ASU or Irvine or Fullerton or Oregon State in the West, so our thought has always been let’s play them, that way when we do hopefully get to that point where we’re in a regional, we’re just more prepared to compete.”

This year’s schedule for the Lopes started with Oklahoma State, a 2016 CWS participant. GCU was able to win two of those three games to open the season.

“That was big,” Stankiewicz said. “We got out of the blocks well, and we’ve kinda slowed down a little bit since, but it was just a reminder to our guys that if we play good baseball — throw strikes, play good defense, put the ball in play — we’re skilled enough to compete well. So that was just a reminder to our guys that sometimes you get caught up in the opponent, and when you see the big program we want our guys to not look at that and just focus on playing really disciplined, fundamentally sound baseball and we’ll be in the game til the end.”

With that possible Regional bid looming in 2018, the head man in Phoenix admits that the program still has a ways to go even with the postseason potential on the horizon.

“You look at what U of A and ASU has done in this state, they’ve been doing it well for a long time, and it takes time,” explained Stankiewicz of the state of his program. “It’s a roller coaster ride: you go two steps forward, you go two steps back; you go a step forward, you go a step back.”

“I’m happy, and our guys are playing summer ball in the big collegiate leagues, so I think that helps as well,” coach continued. “We’re getting ‘em out there, so we for sure still have a ways to go, but we feel like the ball’s moving in the right direction.”

The Antelopes are slated to get a major overhaul of their ballpark in the very near future as well, which will just keep the ball rolling in the right direction.

“Our field is great, it’s just the stadium is a little outdated,” said Stankiewicz. “I think when we get the new stadium built it’ll help in recruiting. We’ll have a nice clubhouse inside the stadium for the guys, and that’ll be a big shot. And I think the university just growing as a whole. With that many students, if we play well, we get students out to our ballgames, get ‘em excited about coming out to a game on a Friday night and fill that place up.”

Just like GCU has seen with the new basketball and soccer facilities, Stankiewicz is hoping that a renovated baseball stadium will change the overall culture of the program, and allow him to bring in better talent.

That combined with the fact that they’re showing they can compete with the big boys should put baseball fans on notice that the Antelopes are coming, and they’ll be here sooner rather than later.

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Arizona baseball recap: Wildcats earn 3-2 win over Grand Canyon

One inning of runs is all the Cats needed in this one

Usually when a Wildcat and an Antelope do battle, things end pretty quickly.

But on Wednesday, the Arizona Wildcats and Grand Canyon Antelopes battled for all nine innings, with Arizona coming out on top 3-2 to improve to 17-7 on the season.

The Wildcats scored all of their runs in the fourth inning.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top half of the inning, a one-out double by JJ Matijevic and a couple of walks loaded the bases for Shane Martinez, who was making his first career start.

Martinez also walked, scoring Matijevic and tying the game at one.

That brought Cesar Salazar to the dish with the bases juiced. The sophomore catcher smacked a single to left-center, giving Arizona a 3-1 lead.

Grand Canyon tried its best to rally back in the top of the fifth.

After the two first Lopes hitters were retired by Seve Romo, a Louis Boyd error allowed Marc Mumper to reach base. This was the last batter Romo would face, as Jay Johnson put Alfonso Rivas on the mound.

Rivas would give up a walk and a one-run single, which got him replaced by Landon Faulkner.

The junior college transfer induced a hot shot right back at him, but was able to get his glove on the ball, and tossed it over to Matijevic at first to end the threat and keep the Wildcats in front.

“It was just instincts,” Faulkner said about getting his glove up in time. “I saw the first bounce, and I saw it was coming right at me so I got my glove up and glad I put leather on it. It had top spin on it so it might’ve got me in the chest but I’m happy I got my glove up in time.”

Faulkner actually ended up having the longest outing of his Arizona career, pitching the final 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. He did not allow a single baserunner.

“I want to give him a big kiss,” Johnson joked afterwards. “That’s what I think about that.”

Numbers-wise, Faulkner had been struggling a little bit, but he has arguably the best stuff on this pitching staff when its working.

“We’re working on some mechanical things with him,” Johnson said about Faulkner on Tuesday, prior to this Wednesday outing. “To get the ball what we want it to do or to do what it was doing earlier in the season. He’s shown some flashes.”

“I think its more than the mechanical part of it, it’s the intent part about it and what he’s doing with his pitches,” Johnson elaborated on Wednesday. “I mean, he’s my height, and you’re not gonna survive unless you think you’re a tough dude and you can get after it.”

“He shortened up his arm in the back a little bit which allowed him to get his release point a little more consistent,” coach continued. “So a combination of mentality and a slight adjustment was awesome to see.”

“The difference for me was stay within myself, not be too fast with my lower body,” Faulkner explained about what he changed. “It was able to let me get on top of the ball because when I was too fast with my lower body, my arm was flattening out and I was dragging, but tonight I just stayed within myself and it worked.”

His previous longest outing had been a two-inning appearance against Oregon State the previous weekend. Faulkner was charged with three earned runs on four hits in Sunday’s game.

“Their stuff is all in there, but it’s a matter of getting it out consistently,” Arizona’s head coach added about Faulkner as well as Tylor Megill and Romo. “Hopefully they can help us piece together 81 outs if you will on the weekend.”

“I think we figured some things out today with him,” Johnson said on Wednesday night. “You can’t get any better than that. He’s such a competitor.”

“I know Sunday it didn’t look like it, but I felt like I did a lot better and it was a confidence booster,” Faulkner added about his confidence level on the mound recently. “During my practices this week I’ve just been working hard on it and it showed out there today, so I’m pretty stoked about it.”

---

Arizona also saw the return of Louis Boyd on Wednesday after missing four and a half weeks with a torn UCL in his non-throwing elbow.

“The only thing I won’t be able to do is throw left-handed to my kid,” Boyd joked about deciding on not getting Tommy John Surgery after the season’s over. “I’m okay with that.”

The decision was dependent on how the senior did in Tuesday’s practice, and to Coach Johnson, it was like watching Ozzie Smith out there.

“In one practice, it was clear how much we were missing him,” coach said. “We had a coach pitch scrimmage, so balls were getting torpedoed at him and he was picking ‘em, a lot of what you saw tonight, which was great to see.”

The original timetable was six weeks, but it ended up only being four and a half.

“The start is just a waiting game. You have to wait until you can extend your arm and thankfully that happened quicker than most,” Boyd explained of his recovery. “After that it was just rehab, get the strength up, so all credit to (the training staff) for why I’m out here so early.”

Boyd found out he was playing Wednesday afternoon when he walked out of the dugout for warmups.

“Just looked at the lineup, I was there, and just another day of being in the lineup.”

It may have been just another day in the lineup, but it led to more confidence among all the other players too.

“Oh my gosh it’s just great having a mature middle infielder back in there,” Faulkner explained. “K-Lew (Kyle Lewis) did a great job taking his place, and having Boyd back directing everything in the whole infield just makes a big difference.”

“Just age itself is a big thing,” Boyd explained of his leadership role. “Regardless of skill, younger guys look at older guys because they have their business under control, and I think it might just calm a couple of the freshmen down a little bit, and if they have any questions they can come and ask me.”

Boyd was sporting a brace on his elbow which he’ll have to wear for likely the rest of the season to help keep that joint in place.

“Keeps my elbow in one plane so I can’t do the throwing motion on the left side if like a ball takes me to that side or on a swing if I get overextended,” Boyd said of the brace’s function. “It’s just there for stabilization.”

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Arizona returns to action on Friday night when they host the USC Trojans. First pitch is scheduled for 7 PM PT at Hi Corbett. JC Cloney will likely start for the Wildcats.

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Arizona football recruiting: Wildcats are at top of the list for 3-star defensive end Adam Plant Jr.

The Vegas defensive lineman is high on the Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats have been making some noise with Las Vegas-area prospects the past couple of recruiting cycles. They have been doing a good job to say the least.

One player who has his eye on Arizona is Adam Plant Jr.

The 3-star 6-foot-4, 240 pound defensive end from Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas, NV) recently took a visit to Tucson and came away impressed.

“It was great,” Plant said. “It was my first time going down there too, so it was great.”

“What stood out the most was the atmosphere of the school and how open and welcome the students and coaches were,” he continued about his trip. “And I loved the facilities at the school.”

Before Plant had even made it to campus he was in contact with the coaching staff and the Wildcats were keeping an eye on him.

“Well I’ve been hearing from the coaches for awhile and my good friend — Coach (David) Hill from Desert Pines (High School) — was talking to the coaches for awhile about me,” he explained. “Once they met me and got to know me they offered me at the end of the visit.”

All Glory to God Beyond Blessed to receive my 2nd Offer from The University Of Arizona #BearDown http://pic.twitter.com/Og0A3fXiJh

— Adam Plant Jr. (@adamplant9) March 5, 2017

“Yeah I talk to Coach Vince Amey — the defensive line coach — the most,” he continued with who he communicates with on the staff. “We keep in touch often.”

Plant’s former teammate Malik Hausman, an incoming freshman this summer, has been talking to him about the Wildcats as well.

“Yeah Malik is one of my closest friends and he talks about getting me to Arizona.”

“Arizona is one of my top schools right now,” Plant stated about his interest level in the Wildcats. “I like the area and the atmosphere of the school.”

On Plant’s end of things, there is a possibility that his recruitment will pick up in the near future. Right now he has two offers — Arizona and USC — but has Spring Break visits set up for California, Boise State, and Utah.

“We’ll see how things go after those visits.”

Plant is looking to major in business once he gets to college. He also has qualities that he is looking for when choosing a school.

“When choosing a school I want to be able to build a foundation there so that if football doesn’t work out then I’ll be set for life.”

Plant is extremely quick off the line. He has an explosive burst of speed to start off and has a great motor. He is able to stop on a dime and change direction to stop the ball carrier in the backfield. He also has the awareness to pinpoint the quarterback and give chase. I believe he is an under-rated defensive end.

In his junior season with the Gaels he finished with 25 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 4 PBU, and a fumble recovery. His highlights can be found here.

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Arizona football: Paul Magloire to work out for Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants

Four teams are heavily involved with Magloire in the pre-draft process

Former Arizona Wildcats linebacker Paul Magloire Jr. is starting to line up meetings with various NFL teams, including upcoming workouts with the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants.

Magloire met with the Cardinals, Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Pro Day. All four teams have needs at linebacker or strong safety.

Mock drafts and position rankings consider Magloire to be a fourth round pick. Overall, he is a top-10 outside linebacker and a top-150 player in the draft.

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Foote, inside linebackers coach for the Cardinals, has been working with Magloire for the past three months, serving as the defensive coordinator for the West in the East-West Shrine Game. At Pro Day, Foote spent individual time with Magloire during his workouts as well.

“It’s good having Coach Larry Foote out here from the Cardinals, out here working me out,” Magloire said after his Pro Day. “I had him at the Shrine Game, he was my coach. I feel like we have a really, really good relationship.”

Magloire will work out at the Cardinals’ facilities in Tempe. The Cardinals have pick No. 119 in the 2017 NFL Draft. They also have the No. 77 pick available in the third round.

New York Giants

Holding pick No. 140, the Giants were the first team to make a move on Magloire. This was his first private workout he was able to set up a few weeks ago. He will visit with the Giants on April 7.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also favoring Magloire heavily, and they have the 125th pick in the NFL Draft.

A pro comparison for Magloire has been Mark Barron, another hybrid safety/linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams, who was originally picked No. 7 overall in the 2012 draft by the Buccaneers.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have been showing more interest in Magloire over the last few weeks. The team currently has three fourth round picks, with No. 127, 137, and 144.

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Arizona basketball recruiting: Brian Bowen waiting for Wildcats to decide on NBA Draft before committing

Bowen will commit in April, but is waiting to see who declares for the NBA Draft first

With the NBA Draft’s early entry deadline being less than a month away, sooner or later a few Arizona Wildcats — namely Lauri Markkanen, Allonzo Trier, Kobi Simmons, and Rawle Alkins — will have to decide whether to return to school or go pro.

And when they make that decision, five-star recruit Brian Bowen will make his.

The undecided 2017 prospect told reporters Tuesday at McDonald’s All-American practice that his decision to commit to Arizona hinges on which Wildcats head to the NBA.

“That's really the thing that I'm waiting on,” Bowen told 247Sports. “Not just with them, but all the schools.”

Aside from Arizona, Bowen’s final five consists of Texas, Creighton, Michigan State, and NC State and he asserts that he will pick a school in April.

“I've just been analyzing all of the schools, watching the games, and everything,” Bowen told 247Sports. “... In April, I'm going to make my decision, 100 percent. I'm not sure what day yet, but 100 percent April. I've just been listening to coaches and I've been analyzing who's staying, who's not, and the guys that are coming in as well. It's a lot to think about.”

Bowen, the 15th overall prospect, took an unofficial visit to Arizona on Feb. 25 when the Wildcats fell to the UCLA Bruins in McKale Center.

“It was my first game there. It was amazing,” Bowen told PrepHoops. “Even though they still lost, the crowd was live. I really enjoyed myself and enjoyed being around the players.”

The 6-foot-7 forward also gave some insight to 247Sports on what Sean Miller and Arizona are pitching him.

“Really, their big pitch is the amount of wing guys they have going to the NBA,” he said. “That's really a big thing for me. I want to go to the NBA. I really enjoy them recruiting me and everything as well and they're really pushing the guys that they already have committed and just winning National Championships.”

53 percent of 247Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions have Bowen heading to Michigan State, while the other 47 percent predict he will commit to Arizona.

However, four of the last five predictions project Bowen will head to Arizona.

Arizona already has the No. 3 recruiting class in 2017 after signing DeAndre Ayton, Brandon Randolph, Ira Lee, and Alex Barcello, and Miller has said he expects the Wildcats to add at least one more player to the mix, maybe even two.

But the number of players Arizona can add is directly tied to how many of its underclassmen leave for the NBA, thus putting Bowen, and other UA targets, in wait-and-see mode for the time being.

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Arizona softball: Wildcats believe they have something magical going in 2017

This team is definitely living up to the preseason hype

For the first time in a while, Arizona Wildcats softball had a lot of preseason hype, which was led by Mike Candrea himself.

And so far, this team has lived up to that and more.

After sweeping No. 6 Washington over the weekend and giving Candrea his 1,500th career victory, Arizona now has an overall record of 32-1, and are on a 17-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s double header against Grand Canyon.

“We played very well,” Candrea said after completing the sweep of the Huskies. “We got great pitching, played good defense, and the timely hitting was unbelievable.”

A weekend like that spoke volumes about what this team could end up being as it looks to become the first Arizona team to reach the Women’s College World Series since 2010.

“We know that we can make it happen, but I think the big thing about this right now is they’re playing loose and they’re playing relaxed,” explained Candrea. “We have a saying that it’s just another wiffleball game today, because you don’t think when you play wiffleball, and we’ve got some great athletes right now.”

“We walk onto the field expecting to play the game at a very high level, and we’re doing that.”

The players themselves are starting to acknowledge that feeling as well.

“I’m having a little more fun because of the record we have right now,” senior pitcher Danielle O’Toole said. “It’s fun to be playing. It’s fun to be zero-zero, and know that it’s gonna happen at some point, you just gotta figure out when.”

“It feels, I know magical’s cheesy, but that’s kind of the word I’m using,” O’Toole continued. “It’s just a good atmosphere to be around. Everybody’s all on the same page; it’s really nice.”

“Even after our loss, we were like ‘It’s okay, we lost to the number one team in the nation 1-0’,” redshirt freshman Alyssa Palomino added. “We know we can beat this team and we just had to keep pushing forward and keep working. We know this is going to be a long journey but we know we can get there.”

After the doubleheader against GCU on Wednesday, Arizona will put its 6-0 Pac-12 record on the line in Berkeley when they face Cal in a three-game series Friday through Sunday. All three games will be on Pac-12 Network.

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Arizona baseball: Wildcats pounce on opportunity to schedule Grand Canyon Antelopes

Getting another in-state game is big for the overall schedule

When the Arizona Wildcats face the Grand Canyon Antelopes on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett, it won’t be the first time the two teams have faced each other since GCU started its transition to Division-1.

But it will be the first time since the Pac-12 lifted its scheduling ban of the for-profit school.

“Immediately,” Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said of how long it took to reach out to GCU after the Pac-12’s decision. “Greg Byrne said yes, I got on the phone with Coach (Andy) Stankiewicz, and we got it done. I’m glad we get a chance to play each other.”

When the two schools met back in 2014, former UA head coach Andy Lopez had said how nice it was to have another in-state team to play midweek games against, and Johnson echoed those sentiments ahead of Wednesday night’s clash.

“It makes life easier, I will say that,” Johnson said of the benefits of being able to play GCU. “The RPI is such a big part of what we do, and it all comes down to scheduling. They’re traditionally, I believe, going to be a really good program in the WAC, and they could end up with a good win-loss record, so that’s the first part of it; it’s good for us in terms of positively affecting the RPI in the long haul.

“And just logistically, getting two more games that you can just put in there on a Tuesday and not have to go searching for where we’re going to stay over and those types of things.”

This could also help UA’s recruiting efforts in Phoenix.

“Playing a road game up there will give us an easy opportunity to expose the program in maybe our most important recruiting ground,” Johnson said.

The Wildcats will play at GCU on Tuesday, April 11.

But back to Wednesday night’s game. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, and it’s not like Arizona’s just easing back into things after a tough weekend at No. 1 Oregon State.

“They have some good players,” Johnson said, previewing GCU. “Five guys at the top of the lineup that I’d love to have on our team, and I know their weekend pitching has been pretty good.”

GCU will come to Tucson with an overall record of 9-13, but it did take two-of-three from Oklahoma State in Phoenix on opening weekend, and started WAC play by sweeping a pretty good Cal State Bakersfield team at home last week.

“They’re gonna play good baseball,” Johnson said about GCU’s big wins. “They’re gonna catch the ball on the infield, they’ll have some ability to execute on offense, and just like us, it depends which guys you’re rolling out on the mound — which versions of themselves show up.”

Wednesday night’s game will not be shown on TV, but it will be streamed online. Arizona had not decided on a starting pitcher as of Tuesday afternoon, but Johnson did say the plan is to have five guys lined up to get through the game.

GCU will start freshman LHP Tyler Hansen from Snowflake, Ariz.

Hansen has pitched in two games (both wins) this year, going just 1 ¹⁄₃ innings in each appearance. He’s given up one earned run (a home run) and three hits. According to his bio, Hansen’s brother Zach has battled leukemia, and “My brother would die for the game of baseball and he cannot play for himself, so I play for him."

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Arizona baseball: Louis Boyd close to returning to Wildcats lineup

Some much-needed help in the infield may be coming back sooner than later

Heading into the third weekend of Pac-12 play, the Arizona Wildcats may be getting a crucial defensive piece back in the lineup when they host the USC Trojans this weekend.

Louis Boyd, who suffered a left arm injury on February 26th against McNeese State, was supposed to miss six weeks, but it looks like it could end up being closer to five.

“Possibly,” head coach Jay Johnson said when asked if Boyd would be in the lineup this weekend. “He’s emptying the tank. This might be it for him and his baseball career so he wants to get out there and make a positive contribution to what we’re doing.”

“There’s some tests with that we have to pass,” Johnson expanded on what has to happen. “I’m comfortable with saying I think he can play defense right now. He took some batting practice (Monday) on his own, and the communication was that he felt good in doing that. We’re going to see him against a live pitcher (Tuesday), and we’ll assess that. But if we can use him in any capacity that’s going to be a positive for our team.”

As a Canadian, Boyd has that mentality hockey players are known for, which makes it harder for Arizona’s coaching staff to truly assess how he is physically.

“That’s a problem,” Johnson joked. “I love him and I hate him for it. I was amazed last week when he did some live defensive stuff with us. I was almost caught off-guard that he’s really tough or you have some special healing going on in that arm.”

Two things have been missing from the team the past several weeks that Boyd should be able to provide. Those things are defense and leadership in the infield.

“If he comes back, that gives us another defender,” senior pitcher JC Cloney said of Boyd’s impact. “We could always use some defense and some good, sure hands, so it’ll be good for the team to have some veteran leadership come back as well.”

“Kyle Lewis has been an unsung hero for us last year and this year,” Johnson said about Boyd’s replacement in the early going of Pac-12 play. “We’re asking him to do something he’s never really done in his life, in the Pac-12, which is be an everyday shortstop for a few weeks. He did an admirable job.”

The leadership role of a shortstop, especially a senior like Boyd, means a lot to everyone, including the pitchers that are out there.

“When you’re out there in the middle of the game, you can’t be turning to your dugout guys to figure things out,” Cloney explained. “You need your guys beside you, so for him to be a senior, having played in the College World Series, the big stage isn’t a shock for him, so when we travel wherever we go to, and there’s a freshman out there and they have a question, he’s there to answer it.”

“He just has that calming tone to him,” continued Cloney. “He kind of has a reassuring confidence that he brings to you whenever you’re on the mound. When things hit the fan, he can kind of come up and say a couple words to you and he gives you that tone that all the eight, nine guys behind you are there to help you.”

So even if it is just a late-inning, defensive role that Boyd fills early, it could be huge considering Arizona has suffered three walk-off losses in Pac-12 play already.

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Arizona softball: Danielle O’Toole earns Pac-12, national Pitcher of the Week honors after dominating Washington

O’Toole threw a no-hitter against Washington on Friday

After two stellar starts against the No. 6 Washington Huskies, including her first career no-hitter, Arizona left-hander Danielle O’Toole was named the NFCA National Pitcher of the Week, USA Softball Player of the Week, and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, it was announced Tuesday.

The redshirt senior tossed 14 innings over the weekend as the Wildcats swept the Huskies, surrendering just three hits and two runs, while striking out 10.

"I'm proud of the outing our team had this weekend and I am thankful to have them and be a part of such a special group,” O’Toole said in a statement. “I'm happy and honored to be pitcher of the week and I never would have achieved the success without them. I'll never forget my teammates coming through in big moments, and am excited to continue to compete with them."

This the second time this season O’Toole has won the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week nomination. O’Toole is 16-1 with a 0.69 ERA in 111.1 innings.

She also leads the Pac-12 in opponent average (.153) and strikeouts (119).

“I don’t know if I’m enjoying it more — I’ve always enjoyed it — I just think it’s a little different because it’s my last year, so I’m trying to soak everything in,” O’Toole said when asked if she’s having more fun this season. “And I’m having a little more fun because of the record we have right now and it’s fun to be playing.”

Arizona is 32-1 this season (6-0 Pac-12) and is currently riding a 17-game winning streak.

O’Toole and the Wildcats return to action Wednesday when they will host GCU in a double-header.

The first game is scheduled for 3 p.m. PST at Hillenbrand Stadium.

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April: Nirvana Food and Wine Debuts at Sanctuary on Camelback Resort

Food festivals are the rock shows of the eating world. In every major market they’ve become unavoidable spectacles of kitchen star power, industry big-wigs, PR minds, established food media, and the digitally determined.

While critical to sell tickets and generate relevant exposure for all parties involved, the existential reality about these big events remain: Flexing and self-adulation among industry peers is equally paramount.

Thankfully, for the general public looking for a fun afternoon of well-earned sunburns and stomach aches, such behind-the-curtain politics and stagecraft remain unnoticed.

There is no shortage of food festivals these days, and Phoenix is certainly no exception. Be it the region’s remarkably pleasant weather, most of the year, or its unshakable resort-town handicaps, whether the event happens to pizza-focused or beer-focused, pie-focused or beyond, anyone with a will and a way hopes to take advantage of a national craze that shows zero signs of slowing down.

The latest upcoming test will be the very ambitious Nirvana Food and Wine Festival, being hosted at Paradise Valley’s Sanctuary on Camelback Resort over a stretch of four days, April 27-30. Billed as a “star packed” culinary moment, Nirvana is a departure from the traditional one-stop, all-day festival formula, pushing instead a weekend-long circuit of intimately over-the-top food, wine and cocktail receptions held at venues throughout Sanctuary’s mountainside property. The brand-new Mountain Shadows Resort will be hosting Nirvana’s only off-property event, a celebrity golf tournament.

Nirvana’s event schedule stages national kitchen table names like Scott Conant, Todd English, Robert Irvine, and more, with a growing rank of Phoenix-based talent like Justin Beckett, Bernie Kantak, Alex Stratta, Christopher Gross, Gio Osso, Mark Tarbell, Stephen Jones, Cullen Campbell, Sanctuary’s own Beau MacMillan, and many more. The region’s cocktail class will be represented by local notables Micah Olson (Crudo, Okra), Jason Asher (Undertow, Counter Intuitive), among others. There will also be wine-centered programming and live entertainment throughout.

 

Leveraging Nirvana’s arsenal of culinary star power and intentionally chummy atmosphere, ticket prices for the individual events range widely from $85 to $400. Out-of-town guests or gilded locals can also take the all-inclusive route with overnight resort packages at Sanctuary starting at $479* per night, based on availability.

For all Nirvana Food and Wine details, ticket information, and a full list of events and participants, click here.

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