OMAHA, Neb. — Arizona came to the College World Series as one of the hottest teams in the nation and swept three games to reach the championship round.
Yet Coach Andy Lopez and his players know few outside their fan base are paying much attention to them as the bestof-3 series opens today at TD Ameritrade Park.
That’s because South Carolina (49-18) has completed an improbable run to the championship series, where it will try to become the first team in 40 years to win a third consecutive title.
“We’re just excited to be invited to the Ray Tanner Invitational,” Lopez said Saturday.
At that, Tanner, who is in his 16th year as the Gamecocks’ coach, playfully punched Lopez to open their news conference.
“We’ve got a pretty good team, but we’re not the ‘27 [New York] Yankees,” Tanner said. “We’ve had 28 one-run games. We know that every at-bat is crucial for us.
“We’ve got the chance to play in the finals a third time in a row. It’s hard to wrap your arms around that. You just have to have some good luck and fortune along the way, a couple clutch performances along the way.”
Sophomore right-hander Konner Wade (10-3), who threw a complete-game five-hit shutout against UCLA last Sunday, will be the Game 1 starter for Arizona (46-17). Tanner was undecided on which pitcher will face an Arizona team thatis fourth in the nation in batting (.330) and sixth in scoring (7.4 runs a game).
“Most of the time I’ll get a guy or two that kind of gets to me and says I really want the ball, but since they’ve watched these guys hit, I’m not getting those guys,” Tanner said with a smile. “They’re avoiding me. All the pitchers are going in a different direction.”
Few would have expected the Gamecocks to return to Omaha this year after they had to replace five regulars in the lineup from the team that beatFlorida in the 2011 final. They had to develop chemistry in an infield that had three new faces and bounce back from losses in five of their first six SEC games.
At the CWS, their streak of 22 consecutive victories in the NCAA Tournament ended with a 2-1 loss to Arkansas on Monday. They staved off elimination three times thanks to their pitching. They beat Kent State once and the Razorbacks twice in a span of 36 hours because of a Wednesday rainout.
“The whole story of a threepeat, as a fan, I definitely would be rooting for that because that’s an unbelievable feat,” Arizona right fielder Robert Refsnyder said. “The weird, quirky fan who wants to see Arizona win, I’ll take that fan.”
Tanner said the Gamecocks have had sustained success because they don’t dwell on accomplishments.
“You really can’t allow yourself to go there,” Tanner said. “You just try to play the next game.”
For all the roster turnover, the Gamecocks have found stability in their pitching staff.
Michael Roth, a senior lefthander, has a 1.34 career ERA in the CWS. He has allowed 8 runs on 31 hits in a CWS career-record 53 2/3 innings. Seven of his nine appearances in Omaha have been starts, tied for the most ever.
Roth is 4-0 in CWS games, and two of his three complete games in Omaha have come in elimination games.
Junior left-hander Tyler Webb and closer Matt Price also have pitched three consecutive years in the CWS. Those two pitched a combined seven shutout innings against Arkansas on Friday, with Price closing the game for his CWSrecord fifth career victory in Omaha.
“The first opening ceremonies for the College World Series, they tell you it’s a once-ina-lifetime opportunity,” Roth said. “I was blowing all my meal money thinking I’m never going to get back here. There is no way we would have thought we would be here three years in a row.”
Arizona has won nine consecutive games, including all eight in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats beat Florida State, UCLA and the Seminoles again to reach the final. They will be playing for their fourth national title, but their first since 1986.
Lopez won a national title at Pepperdine in 1992 and brought Florida to the CWS in 1996 and 1998. He is back in Omaha in his eighth season at Arizona.
The Wildcats have been building for this season since 2010, when Lopez signed one of the nation’s top freshman classes.
Center fielder Joey Rickard, shortstop Alex Mejia, third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean and Refsnyder were all drafted in the top nine rounds this year. They led the Wildcats to someof the best offensive numbers in the nation and a Pacific-12 co-championship.
The pitching staff is led by the durable and dependable Kurt Heyer (13-1). The junior leads the nation in victories, and his 154 2/3 innings are the most by an NCAA Division I pitcher since 2006.
Wade, Heyer and No. 3 starter James Farris are counted on to log lots of innings forLopez, who is hesitant to turn to an inexperienced bullpen.
The Wildcats have just 22 home runs, but they hit into gaps, move runners over and score in bunches. Seven starters are batting .324 or higher.
“As the year goes on you have to learn how to win,” Mejia said. “You can’t get caught up in the emotions if you lose a game. We’ve done a real good job of that.”College World Series CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Best-of-3) All times Central TODAY’S GAME Arizona (46-17) vs. South Carolina (49-18), 7 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME Arizona vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY’S GAME *Arizona vs. South Carolina, 8 p.m.
- if necessary
Sports, Pages 23 on 06/24/2012