The Arizona Wildcats begin postseason play against Sam Houston State in the Lubbock Regional on Friday afternoon.
You have questions. We have answers. Let’s get to ’em:
1. How will last year’s postseason experience help this year’s Wildcats?
Theoretically, it should help a lot. The 2016 team played in all kinds of weather and in faraway, unfriendly environments. It survived multiple elimination games.
“I think it’s invaluable,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “Successful experience can be a great teacher and can establish confidence. In this particular case, we have a new team, but we have enough guys that played enough of a role (last year) that there’s a lot they can draw from. And I’m sure they will.”
They already are. Before the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced, senior shortstop Louis Boyd was recalling the lessons learned from last year’s senior class. Atop that list: Be the same guy you were throughout the season.
“They led the way, even though we had no clue what we were getting into,” Boyd said. “Don’t be too high, don’t be too low. Guys like (Nathan) Bannister and (Cody) Ramer were unbelievable at that. Same with (Zach) Gibbons. They would just show up to the park, and you knew exactly what you were going to get out of them.”
Boyd is one of five returning “starters” from last year’s College World Series runner-up – six if you include utility player Kyle Lewis, who’s now the starting second baseman. Seven pitchers are back, as well as four reserves. The latter group includes junior Ryan Haug, who late in the season emerged as the starting left fielder. That’s more than half the team.
Contrast that to a year ago, when the only Wildcat with postseason experience was left-handed reliever Tyler Crawford.
“This year we know exactly what to expect,” Boyd said. “We’ll know what to do.
“We’ll have a routine.”
2. Are the Wildcats really underdogs — and if so, is that helpful?
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.”
3. Does momentum matter in college baseball (or any sport)?
Most pundits – particularly those who subscribe to analytics – believe that momentum is a myth. Most coaches and players believe it’s real, at least from a psychological standpoint.
Johnson adheres to a day-by-day, inning-by-inning, pitch-by-pitch philosophy. In his view, the fact that Arizona lost its final two regular-season games at home to Cal is irrelevant.
“It’s so day to day … with young players,” Johnson said. “What matters is how they feel about themselves right now. I think it’s a group that’s proud of the accomplishment and ready to go. Somebody’s going to have to be great to beat us.”
With Arizona’s postseason spot secured, Johnson conceded that he was looking ahead to Friday while managing Sunday’s regular-season finale. Last year, Johnson guided Arizona to a season-ending sweep at Hawaii. That gave the Wildcats a six-game winning streak entering the playoffs, although only one came against a Pac-12 opponent.
“I remember last year they were saying we were moving downhill going into the regional. We felt like we were going uphill,” Boyd said. “Now, people are probably thinking we’re going downhill (again). We feed off that. If we listen to the outside noise, it’s probably going to be negative, and we love that.”
Melancholy Matijevic
Junior first baseman JJ Matijevic lingered in the UA dugout for several minutes after the regular-season finale. More than likely, it was the last game at Hi Corbett Field for Arizona’s eight seniors – and for Matijevic, who’s projected to be a second- or third-round pick in the upcoming MLB draft.
“Sunday was tough for me,” Matijevic said. “Those seniors – I’ve been with them for three years. It got to me a little bit.
“This place is special. The most important thing to me is the players and coaches.”
Arizona could play at Hi Corbett again if the Wildcats advance and a lower seed wins the Tallahassee Regional. Matijevic isn’t counting on that or thinking that far ahead. All he knows is that “there’s a lot more baseball to be played” in Lubbock, Tucson or parts unknown.
Inside pitch
- The Pac-12 will reveal its annual all-conference selections and other awards Thursday. The top two candidates for Player of the Year are Matijevic and Oregon State sophomore shortstop Nick Madrigal. Both are among 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which will be announced June 29.
- The TV announcers for the Lubbock Regional are Trey Bender and Jerry Kindall, the legendary former UA coach who led the Wildcats to three national championships. The first two games of the regional will be streamed on ESPN3/WatchESPN. The rest of the broadcast schedule has not been determined, but all games will be streamed.
