TUCSON – Arizona baseball coach Andy Lopez has held true to his comments that won’t be watching the College Baseball World Series and that the Pac-12 Conference got short changed when it came to the selection process.
His proof is two teams from the conference – Oregon State and UCLA - made it to the final eight in Omaha, while other conferences had more teams and couldn’t.
He said it will stick with him for a while.
“And not because I’m the coach at Arizona,” he said, “but what do (they) think we do in the Pac-12 when it comes to baseball?”
Two weeks removed from being left out with a 34-21 record, Lopez still was shaking his head. How could the third-best rated conference (according to the Rating Percentage Index) have only four teams and the Southeastern Conference have nine teams invited (two advanced to the World Series).
Lopez again took a shot at the selection of his former team, Florida, which got swept out of its regional by Austin Peay and Valparaiso to finish its season with a 29-30 record. “What? Are they playing in the American League East?” he said. “…New York, Boston, Tampa Bay, Florida. …”
It doesn't make any more sense to Lopez today than it did on selection day.
“How do we (the Pac-12) justify just four teams?” he mused.
That said, he reitierated that it was still up to his team “to take the decision out of the (selection) committee’s hands.” That goes for next year, too.
While improved pitching will be at the top of the must-do list, Lopez says junior James Farris, who was drafted in the 15th round by Houston, intends to return for his senior year, and that's a good starting point.
“We need to shore up pitching,” Lopez said. “But it’s always been about pitching.”
Arizona had six players drafted from this year’s team, including third baseman Brandon Dixon, outfielder Johnny Field and pitcher Konner Wade, who are all expected to sign. Recruits Tom Pannone and Chris Freudenberg – both highly regarded pitchers – also are headed to the pros.
“But we’re holding pretty good water with the other recruits,” he said.
Translation: Many should be at UA in August.
They will join a solid group of returners, including catcher Riley Moore and shortstop Kevin Newman, who was All-Pac-12 as a freshman.
“I like this team and I like the guys coming in,” Lopez said. “I like this group. They will be pretty good when it’s all said and done.”
He expects the hurt from not being invited to the postseason will be a driving force.
“Every day they came in and saw the signs; national champions and all that,” Lopez said. “They watched videos of them being national champions and played teams that wanted to beat the national champion.
“The motivation will start the day they show up for our first team meetings simply because – although I don’t agree that we didn’t get in(to) the NCAAs – we didn’t get in. I know it is for me.”
