Despite returning several regulars from last year’s finalists, the Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in Lubbock, Texas. Any No. 2 seed in a regional is inherently an underdog.
Further cementing Arizona’s status: Host Texas Tech is the No. 5 national seed. Oh, and the Red Raiders defeated the Wildcats 13-1 in Lubbock earlier this season.
Bovada has posted odds to win the College World Series — for the 16 regional hosts. The Red Raiders are listed at 10-to-1, putting Texas Tech in a tie with Stanford as the No. 6 betting favorite.
Does any of that mean anything? Well, Arizona won the Lafayette Regional as a No. 2 seed last year before sweeping No. 6 national seed Mississippi State in Starkville.
The Wildcats were season-long underdogs in 2016. Pac-12 coaches picked them to finish ninth in the conference’s preseason poll. Arizona hadn’t made the postseason since 2012.
Picked to finish third this year, Arizona ended up fourth with an identical 16-14 league record. Johnson said this season felt “a little more successful” than last. The Wildcats were ranked in the top 20 in all the major polls all year long.
But the players still see themselves as underdogs. That perception fueled them a year ago.
“People are going to say we’re the underdog,” senior left-hander JC Cloney said. “Going up against a national seed, you probably are.
“People can label it all they want. Whether you’re the No. 1 overall seed in Oregon State or the 5-seed in (Texas) Tech, you’ve still got to go out and play. For us, call us the underdog, whatever you want to do, you’ve got to go out and play baseball just like everybody else does.”
