To win the 2012 College World Series, the Arizona Wildcats would have to defeat the program that claimed the crown each of the previous two seasons.
South Carolina won it all in 2010 and ’11, and the Gamecocks advanced to the CWS Finals in ’12 by twice defeating Arkansas, which had upended the two-time champs earlier in the tournament.
South Carolina boasted star pitcher Michael Roth and standout first baseman Christian Walker, who’s currently a regular for the Diamondbacks.
While the Gamecocks had to grind their way through the losers’ bracket, the Wildcats had two days off after eliminating Florida State. They played three games in seven days — all victories — in the CWS before facing South Carolina. The Gamecocks played five games in seven days.
As we continue to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Arizona’s 2012 CWS title, we’ll revisit Game 1 of the championship series. Come Saturday, we’ll recap Game 2 and catch up with some of the key participants in the Wildcats’ postseason run.
Date: June 24
Opponent: South Carolina
Final score: Arizona 5, South Carolina 1
What went down: Konner Wade did it again.
Coming off a shoutout against UCLA, the sophomore right-hander authored another complete-game gem. He limited the Gamecocks to one run on six hits. Wade struck out three batters and walked one.
The win to open the best-of-three championship series put the Wildcats on the brink of their first CWS title since 1986.
Robert Refsnyder gave Arizona a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. It was Refsnyder’s eighth home run of the season and second of the CWS. He went 2 for 3 with two runs and two walks. Joey Rickard, Johnny Field and Riley Moore also produced multiple hits.
The Wildcats added single runs in the third, fifth and seventh. All five of Arizona’s runs were scored with two outs. The five runs also were the most South Carolina had surrendered in the postseason.
Arizona’s defense provided Wade with plenty of support as well. Shortstop Alex Mejia initiated a first-inning double play with a diving stop on a grounder up the middle. In the seventh, right fielder Refsnyder threw out a baserunner trying to advance from first to third on a single.
By the numbers: Wade became the first pitcher to throw two complete games in the same CWS since Jason Windsor of Cal State Fullerton did so in 2004. The walk Wade allowed in the sixth inning snapped a string of 31 consecutive frames without a base on balls.
They said it: “I was fortunate enough to run into it. Sometimes, if you close your eyes and swing really hard, good things happen.” – Refsnyder, on his home run
“We’re not dumb. We don’t want to treat it like any other game. It’s the national-title series. But to a certain extent, we do treat it like any other games. We need to move runners. We need to get the sacrifice flies. ... As long as we do those things, I think we’ll do great.” – Mejia
We wrote it: The Arizona Wildcats’ baseball season was hanging in the balance earlier this year when coach Andy Lopez adopted a new mantra.
One in a row.
“I told them, ‘I don’t know if you can win 25 games in a row, but I’ve seen you win one in a row,’” he said.
Now, the UA needs to win just one more.
Robert Refsnyder ripped a first-inning home run, and Konner Wade pitched his second complete game in a week as the Wildcats defeated South Carolina 5-1 Sunday night in the College World Series Finals opener.
The UA (47-17) can claim its first national championship since 1986 by winning just one of its next two games. Arizona will face the two-time defending champions again tonight; the teams will meet again Tuesday, if necessary.
The Wildcats are aware of the Omaha stakes but will try not to be overwhelmed by them. The one-in-a-row stuff is old hat by now: Arizona has won 10 consecutive games and 17 of its last 19. The club has yet to trail in the College World Series.
Arizona pitcher Konner Wade points to a fly ball hit by South Carolina' Kyle Martin in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2012 College World Series finals. Wade became the first pitcher to throw two complete games in the same CWS since Jason Windsor of Cal State Fullerton did so in 2004.
Where are they now? Field, who went 2 for 4 and scored two runs, is playing for the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League. He’s hitting .221 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 50 games. Field was selected in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. He appeared in 83 games for the Rays and Minnesota Twins in 2018, hitting nine homers in 221 at-bats.
Up next: Arizona (47-17) vs. South Carolina (49-19), June 25
