-- The magic continues for the Arizona baseball team.
Not that it was going to end Sunday anyway after being named to host one of the 16 regionals for the start of the 64-team NCAA tournament next weekend. But still, the winning continues. And with it came a share of the Pac-12 conference title.
Johnny Field's walk off single into left field gave Arizona an 8-7 victory over rival Arizona State on Sunday and the program's first conference title in 20 years, also the last time UA played host to a regional.
"(It's) magical because there have been some things that have happened on this club, and thank God, nothing bad," said Arizona coach Andy Lopez, who picked up his first conference title as UA's coach after 11 years. "A couple of kids have struggled (mentally), and there was confidence loss to the point to where I'd go home and say, "My God, what are we going to do?"
What they did was survive, succeed and, eventually, flourish. Arizona finished 38-17 overall and 20-10 in the conference, tying UCLA for the conference title.
Lopez helped the players get through their various troubles, and in the end, the successes will be their legacy and identity.
"I've often told our teams that you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable," Lopez said, getting philosophical. "When you are not comfortable with the uncomfortable, that's when you fail a lot."
The Wildcats got through it and now can be called champions thanks to Field, who reached out and poked ASU pitcher Robert Ravago's slider into left field, allowing Riley Moore to score from third.
Game over. A mob scene on the field ensued, and Field -- as well as the box of Pac-12 champion T-shirts -- opened up.
"It was a good pitch," said Field, who finished as the team leader in hitting at .379. "I was glad that I got just enough barrel on it. I'll take it."
Lopez said there was no better person to have at the plate in the situation -- bottom of the ninth, two outs and two men on.
"I'm sure any one of the nine guys would have wanted to be in that situation," said Field. "I had been hitting and seeing it well lately. I was excited to get the opportunity."
He made the most of it.
Arizona was seemingly in control early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. It was 4-0 after the first inning, at which point it was announced that UA would be hosting a regional.
"That didn't faze anyone," Field said. "The goal was to win the Pac-12 championship."
The Sun Devils did all they could to prevent it.
Arizona State chipped away the lead, scoring one in the third, three in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the eighth to tie it.
UA seemed to be unraveling like a cheap spool of thread.
Then again, that's how it was all weekend between the two rivals. No lead was safe, no game over until the end.
"We made it interesting, didn't we?" said Lopez. "Two weeks ago, I told the guys that (they've) already claimed your identity and it's that you don't give up."
ASU coach Tim Esmay said the same about his group after rallying from 7-1 down but coming up just short.
"They did this program proud,” Esmay said. "These kids were committed to playing for the maroon and gold all season, and they showed that today.”
ASU ends its season 36-20 overall and 18-12 in conference play. The Devils will not play in the postseason because of NCAA sanctions.
Arizona moves on to a four-team regional to open the tournament, with opponents to be announced Monday.
"That's going to be nice," Lopez said of being able to stay home for the first round. "I haven't done that since 1998 (when he was the head coach at Florida). That's going to be fun.
"We need to play good baseball, but it's going to be nice."
