Arizona sweeps UCLA with 3 walk-off wins

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Arizona evened its overall season record to 13-13 and improved to 7-5 in the Pac-12 Conference by completing a three-game sweep of the UCLA Bruins at Hi Corbett Field today with a 10-9 walk-off win in the bottom of the 12th inning.

With an obnoxious wind swirling for most of the game, Mason White stepped into the batter's box and blasted a two-run home run over the right-field wall. He hustled around the bases and met his teammates at home plate to celebrate another Arizona win over UCLA and the Wildcats' third dramatic walk-off win of the series.

Arizona won the opener 5-3 on Thursday thanks to Brendan Summerhill's two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning. Then, on Friday, the Arizona Wildcats picked up their 3,000th win in program history with a 3-2 walk-off victory in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Emilio Corona as Summerhill scampered home from third with the game-winning run.

Clark Candiotti (2-1) pitched a complete game and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, making Arizona's 3,000th win even more memorable.

Today's game took a little longer as Arizona blew an 8-2 lead. The Bruins battled the Wildcats and that swirling wind to put up a five spot in the eighth inning and a run in the ninth to tie the game.

Then came the bottom of the 12th, with Arizona trailing by one run, 9-8. Blake McDonald walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Rogers, and then White provided the game-winner with his 10th home run of the season. The ball sailed onto the roof of the Terry Francona Hitting Center, and the Wildcats had their third consecutive walk-off win.

Live by the 3, die by the 3: Wildcats cash it in at the Sweet Sixteen

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

From the desk of Dan Price

a very disappointed Wildcat fan...

Ultimately, the two-seeded Arizona Wildcats decided to live or die by the three-point shot in their Sweet Sixteen matchup with sixth-seeded Clemson.

The only thing is our beloved Wildcats from Tucson are not a three-point shooting team.

Clemson (24-11) advanced to the Elite 8 in Los Angeles tonight at the Crypto.com Arena with a 77-72 win over Arizona. The Tigers forced the Wildcats to shoot the ball from far...far away. The Wildcats were a dismal 5 for 28 from beyond the arc and shot just 37.3 percent from the field (25 of 67). Meanwhile, Clemson followed coach Brad Brownell's 'game plan' from tip-off to the final buzzer.

Yes, they gave up some points under the bucket, as Arizona's 7-foot center Oumar Ball produced his usual double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds in his 29 minutes on the court. However, Caleb Love, Kylan Boswell, and Pelle Larsson combined to shoot 2 of 20 from downtown. Love finished the game with 13 points, Larsson eight, and Boswell only three.

Arizona and coach Tommy Lloyd turned to Jaden Bradley off the bench to try to spark the Wildcats. And he did. Bradley played 25 minutes. He sliced and diced his way to a team-high 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and canned eight free throws. Of Ballo's 15 points, only one came from the free-throw line. In fact, Arizona missed eight of its 25 attempts at the charity stripe.

You live by the three and die by the three.

The Arizona Wildcats' season ends at 27-9. The Wildcats had a good showing at the NCAA Tournament, winning over Long Beach State and Dayton to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Arizona wanted so much more. 

Arizona baseball: Wildcats fall to NMSU, 12-9

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

A little rain and a little lighting delay didn't keep our Arizona Wildcats from completing another non-conference affair at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday night.

In the end, the Wildcats came out on the losing side of a 12-9 score with the visiting New Mexico State Aggies.

Arizona hit three home runs in the loss -- one by Mason White, another by Garen Caulfield, and another by Brendan Summerhill.

White leads the Wildcats with nine homers.

Arizona falls to 10-13. The Aggies, who managed to win their first game on the road after nine tries, have an 11-13 record.

Next up for Arizona: A three-game Pac-12 series at Hi Corbett, beginning Thursday with the UCLA Bruins.

Arizona baseball: New Mexico State in town Tuesday

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

The Arizona Wildcats (10-12, 4-5) will host New Mexico State (10-13) on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Hi Corbett Field in a non-conference game.

The Aggies are 0-9 on the road this season, while the Wildcats return from Eugene, Oregon, after salvaging one of three games with the Ducks (March 22-24). Arizona captured the series' final game, 15-4, thanks to Brendan Summerhill's 3-for-6 and seven RBI performance against the Ducks.

Cam Walty picked up the win for the Wildcats and improved his record to 4-1.

Arizona knocks off Dayton to reach Sweet Sixteen

The Arizona Wildcats (27-8) will return to the Sweet Sixteen for the 20th time in school history after beating Dayton 78-68 today in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City.

Caleb Love led four Arizona players in double figures, finishing with 19 points and five assists. The second-seeded Wildcats, up seven points at halftime, held off the seventh-seeded Flyers and their star center Daron Holmes II down the stretch in the second half to punch their ticket to Los Angeles (March 28-29) and the round of sixteen.

Holmes had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Arizona's Oumar Ballo played 22 of the 40 minutes and scored eight points. 

Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larsson scored 13 points each, while Jaden Bradley scored 12, grabbed four rebounds, and made three steals off the bench.

Arizona rolls by Long Beach State in NCAA tourney opener

The Wildcats move on to the second round.

Arizona found its comfort zone in the second half and rolled to an 85-65 win over Long Beach State today at the NCAA West Regional in Salt Lake City.

All five Arizona starters scored in double figures, with Kylan Boswell highlighting his 20-point, eight-assists, and three-rebound performance with a steal and a dunk. Caleb Love added a quiet, much-needed double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.

Oumar Ballo chipped another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Pelle Larsson scored 15, and Keshad Johnson finished with 13 points.

The Wildcats' game-stat sheet included 19 assists, eight blocks, and 10 steals while committing only nine turnovers.

Arizona fans can now take a collective breath!

I'm a dreamer. Everybody knows that!

 March Madness

Life continues in my little world...

Close to home, the Arizona Wildcats baseball team beat Grand Canyon last night at Hi Corbett Field by a score of 6-4. The Wildcats' second baseman, Garen Caulfield, went 3 for 5, and third baseman Richie Morales did the same and knocked in a run. First baseman Tommy Splaine homered and added two RBI. Reliever Kyler Heyne picked up the win.

Miles away, Shohei Ohtani went 2 for 5 and scored a run as the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul last night. Actually, this morning in Tucson, the Major League 2024 season is officially off and running.

Over at Udall Park in Tucson, the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers continue their 2024 season this morning. I may show up and take some batting practice. I'm back. My ordeal lasted about a month. Time to move on.

Of course, we are just hours away—well, about 24 hours away—from our Arizona Wildcats locking horns with Long Beach State in Salt Lake City in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament—the Big Dance.

Go, Wildcats! Keep on dancing all the way to the final.

I just filled out one bracket this year. Why bother. The upsets are coming! Last night, Colorado State rolled over Virginia in one of the play-in games.

The Arizona Women's team is across the country tomorrow and will take on Auburn in Storrs, Conn., in the NCAA Tournament for the right to move on as an 11-seed and play sixth-seeded Syracuse. Good luck, Lady Cats!

It's officially spring. What a month of March it is going to be! My picks for the final four are Purdue, UConn, Kentucky, and Arizona, with the Wildcats winning the championship -- their first since 1997.

I'm a dreamer. Everybody knows that!

Arizona's Caulfield batting .400 after 18 games

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

The Arizona Wildcats lost the first two games (3-2 and 4-0) to Arizona State (9-10, 3-3) this past weekend but salvaged Game 3 on Sunday at Hi Corbett Field with a 20-hit attack and a 14-3 win. Arizona is 8-10 on the season and 3-3 in the Pac-12 -- the Wildcats' final Pac-12 Conference season.

Garen Caulfield has a .400 batting average (28 for 70) and continues to lead the Wildcats in hitting. Mason White is the main man in RBI, with 25 runs batted in and seven home runs.

The final season for Arizona and Arizona State will be a real grinder.

Love, Wildcats bow out in Las Vegas

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Semifinals at Pac 12 Tourney in Las Vegas today

Oregon 67  Arizona  59

Oumar Ballo --  14 points and 12 rebounds. He did not take a shot in the second half.

Caleb Love sat on the bench for much of the second half. He banked in a 3-pointer early in the first half and finished the night with six points.

Awaiting selection Sunday...

Won/lost record 25-8

Wildcats get revenge

My Arizona Wildcats

I'm still sick, but I received some excellent medicine today. My Arizona Wildcats defeated USC 70-49 to reach Friday's semifinals in Las Vegas at the Pac-12 Tournament.

The doctor says to stay out of harm's way for the rest of the month without any exercise or heavy lifting.

.

Easier said than done.

I'm going nuts!

Wildcat notes: Bradley and Lewis combined for 27 points on 10 for 14 field-goal shooting. Hats off to Ballo, who scored 10 points, blocked 3 shots, and had 13 rebounds.

Oh, well! There's always ASU vs. Arizona at Hi Corbett this weekend

 Arizona Baseball

The final Pac 12 season

The end of Pac-12 competition in baseball is quickly coming to a close for my Arizona Wildcats.

Arizona is 7-8 on the season and 2-1 in the Pac-12. Arizona visited southern California last week and won 2 of 3 over the Trojans but lost a non-conference game yesterday to Loyola Marymount, 9-2. 

It's time for some home cooking!

I could go sit in the bleachers and get some sun.

And reminisce about the old days...

Garen Caulfied emerges as the top hitter after 15 games with a .418 batting average (23 hits, 55 at-bats), while Mason White is the leader in home runs (7) and RBI with 24. 

I guess it didn't matter!

From the desk of Dan Price

Arizona's Final Pac 12 Conference regular-season game ever --  a bust for the Wildcats!

USC  78  Arizona  65

Bottom Line:

The Wildcats finished 24-7 overall and finished the Pac-12 with a 15-5 record... Pac12 Conference Champs, and ranked No. 5 in the nation.

And now it's Pac-12 tourney time in Las Vegas and we hold the No. 1 seed.

Go, Wildcats!

Arizona clinches the Pac 12 Conference title with win at UCLA, 88-65

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

The 5th-ranked Arizona Wildcats (24-6, 15-4) won the Pac-12 Conference title tonight at the Pauley Pavillion in Los Angeles after scoring an 88-65 win over the UCLA Bruins.

Due to the Washington Huskies' 74-68 stunning upset win at #18 Washington State (23-8, 14-6) in Pullman tonight, Coach Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats had a somewhat stress-free evening. With one regular-season game left on the schedule at USC on Saturday, the Wildcats have already earned the title and the top seed for next week's Pac-12 Conference Tournament.

KJ Lewis came off the bench tonight to lead the Wildcats with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting, while starting guard Caleb Love finished with 17 points. 

Arizona baseball begins Pac-12 schedule with USC in Irvine

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Arizona finished 1-3 at the Frisco Tournament last week in Texas and now heads for Irvine, California, to open up a three-game  Pac-12 series with USC on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Wildcats salvaged one blowout 12-1 win over #20 Indiana in Frisco but lost to #5 TCU 6-1, #25 Dallas Baptist 4-3, and #16 Alabama 7-6 to start the tourney.

The Wildcats will tangle with Loyola Marymount at the George C. Page Stadium in Los Angeles before returning home on March 15-16-17 to meet the Arizona State Sun Devils at Hi Corbett Field.

Brendan Summerhill leads the club in hits with 18, one more than Garen Caulfield. Summerhill is 18 for 48 (.375), while Caulfield owns the best average after 11 games at 17 for 40 (a .425 clip). Mason White leads the team in home runs with five and RBI with 19.

Cam Walty leads the pitching staff with an unblemished 3-0 record.

Go, Wildcats!

TOTS play just 8 games in February

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The TOTS played just seven games in January, and February wasn't much better with all the rain we had at Udall Park. 

Forty-six members took the field one way or another. A few were limited to umpiring chores due to injuries, and bless their hearts, all the field crews showed and weathered the storms, so to speak.

That's what makes the organization so great. Everyone chips in as the 2024 season is off and running despite the weather. The Big O, Joe Opocensky, had the most hits for the month. He went 12 for 21 in eight games and batted .571. His nine RBI tied him for the club lead with Thunder Tim Tolson, who went 9 for 18 and had a cool .500 batting average.

Also joining the nine-hit club for the month were Ken Nebesny (9 for 20), Phil Ahern (9 for 22), Randy Livingston ( 9 for 15), and Reed Palmer 9 for 16). Other notables included Spiro Roberts, 8 for 10 in just three games, and Martin Pelgar, 8 for 17 in five games, while the 'old man' of the group, 76-year-old Dave Byars, led the super seniors with 8 hits in 23 at-bats and played in all eight games.

Jon Beady was a perfect 2-0 on the mound, while Opocensky went 2-1 for the month.

Way to go, TOTS!

FYI: The author of this blog, Pigpen Price, will be somewhat limited in some press releases after coming down with COVID at the end of February... and he found himself back in the hospital again. The author seems to have a black cloud hanging over him, except when he's playing third base at Udall Park with the TOTS. As Arnold has always said, "I'll be back." 

Pigpen hopes to be back at Udall on the 18th of March. But for now, I must stay away from humans!

I have Covid, but my Wildcats beat Oregon 103-83

 Two wins away from Pac12 title!