Arizona’s baseball team will have a few days to prepare before heading off to Florida to face off the No. 3 seed in its region, Ole Miss, on Friday.
The Wildcats’ berth in the Cora Gables Regional means it will be the first time that head coach Chip Hale will be in coaching in the NCAA Tournament after spending the first part of his career as a major league coach and manager. Hale made the trip to the NCAA Tournament as a player with the Cats, and he helped the team win the 1986 national championship.
With a disappointing early exit in last year’s College World Series, Arizona is looking to make a deep run and make it back to Omaha for the second year in a row.
“I think they were excited to play anybody,” Hale said to reporters after Monday’s tournament selection show. “To get in, to be a part of it and represent the university and the Pac-12, we feel very strongly about our conference so we want to represent it the way we should. And, obviously, they have history with Ole Miss playing them last year in the super regionals.”
