Kiss me, Coach
The Arizona Wildcats were batting in the sixth inning Sunday when a female fan hopped onto the field and made a beeline toward UA third base coach Matt Siegel, looking for a kiss.
Siegel, who is married with a daughter, slowly backed away from the Morganna-the-Kissing-Bandit wannabe until security arrived. We can't tell you much about the fan, except that she was blonde, wearing something low-cut and - thankfully - was not wrestled to the ground by security.
"I juked her," Siegel said.
Siegel still seemed a bit stunned by the attention after the game. Coach Andy Lopez opened his postgame news conference with eight words: "I will now officially start coaching third base."
He said it
"He's got the hands of apes, so it was pretty easy."
UA outfielder Robert Refsnyder, on throwing to third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean.
Mejias return to Omaha
The parents of UA shortstop Alex Mejia were back at TD Ameritrade Park on Sunday as Alex and his Wildcats teammates moved within one victory of a national championship.
Carlo and Norma Mejia can thank four generous, and famous, friends.
The Mejias were driving back to their Sylmar, Calif., home from Omaha on Tuesday when Carlo, a former All-American third baseman at Pepperdine, began fielding calls from his some of his old baseball friends. Four longtime buddies, including Angels bench coach Rob Picciolo and Indians third base coach Steve Smith, promised to fly the Mejias back to Omaha if Arizona made the championship round.
"They said, 'Guys, you need to be there,' " Alex said.
The Mejias arrived in Omaha on Sunday night, got tickets and were in their seats in time to see Alex start a double play in the first inning.
The Mejias also got a shout-out on ESPN for the third time in as many games.
"I think," Alex said, "that they're more famous than me now."
Heads!
Giant cardboard heads work well in McKale Center, where the properly-placed MoMo or D-Will can distract an opposing free-throw shooter.
Things are more laid back at baseball. Arizona fans arrived at TD Ameritrade Park clutching smaller heads on sticks, thanks to a Scottsdale company.
Executives at BuildAHead.com - slogan: "Home of the Best Big Head Cutouts on the Internet" - tweeted UA athletic director Greg Byrne last week, asking if it could send about 80 signs to Omaha, for free. Byrne connected the company with administrator Matt Brown, who arranged the rest. Fans picked among a half-dozen Wildcats; our unscientific poll showed that Mejias-Brean, a Tucson native, was the most popular choice.
Tweet of the day
"Let's go #ArizonaWildcats - game 1 College World Series finals tonight! #BearDown #CWS"
U.S. Sen. John McCain (@senjohnmccain), shortly before Sunday's game.
The big numbers
77
Homer-less innings thrown by South Carolina pitchers before Forrest Koumas surrendered a two-run blast to Refsnyder in Sunday's first inning.
32
Size, in ounces, of a large beer at Farrell's Sports Bar in downtown Omaha. More than a few Arizona Wildcats fans have spent $6 for the Big Gulp-sized drinks this week; the bar is, after all, across the street from the team hotel.
302,862
Number of fans to attend this year's College World Series after 24,748 packed TD Ameritrade Park for Sunday's CWS Finals opener.
