Despite losing in the semifinal round of the Pac-12 tournament, Arizona will have its postseason roll on and will head to Coral Gables to take on Ole Miss in its opening game of the NCAA Tournament setting up a rematch of last year's Super Regional matchup that was played in Tucson.
The Wildcats (37-23) were put in the same region as No. 6 seed Miami and and will have a tall hill to climb if they are to make their second consecutive trip to Omaha and the College World Series where they had an early exit after losing their first two games to Vanderbilt and Stanford in 2021.
Arizona, which is the region's No. 2 seed, will be making its 41st NCAA tournament appearance and will seek its 19th trip to the CWS. Ole Miss is the No. 3 seed in the regional while Canisius rounds out the group as the No. 4 seed.
After winning the Pac-12 last year, the Cats were able to secure an automatic bid into the tournament where they put together a successful run in the Tucson Regional before defeating Ole Miss in the Super Regional to reach Omaha.
This season will look a little different for Arizona as they head into the first round of the tournament. After being one of the regional and super regional hosts last season, key series losses at the end of the season, including being swept by Oregon, and a series loss to USC mean the Wildcats will be heading far away from Tucson.
During the 2022 season, the Cats went 10-9 against top 25 teams, according to the most recent rankings on D1 baseball, which was highlighted by a late-season series win over the then No. 2 ranked Oregon State.
UA finished the season 5-3 against two of the top overall seeds in the 64-team field, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Oregon State.
Arizona’s lineup was highlighted by the strong hitting seasons from catcher Daniel Susac (.367, 12 HR, 61 RBI) and right fielder Tanner O’Tremba (.351, 10 HR, 52 RBI) who were the two and three hitters, respectively, and were very vital in making the middle of the lineup effective. That also included left fielder Chase Davis, who led the team in home runs, with 16, and was also right behind Susac and O’Tremba for RBIs.
Susac is going into the tournament with something to prove as he is not only looking to improve his draft stock in the upcoming MLB draft, where he is currently projected to be a first-round pick, but is also hoping to lead his team to a second consecutive CWS appearance with last season being the team’s first appearance in Omaha since 2016.
In order to replicate their deep tournament run from last year, the Wildcats will need their relief pitchers to continue the success it has been displaying as of late. Right-handed pitcher Quinn Flanagan has been the heartbeat of the bullpen having made 31 appearances and leading the team with a 1.72 ERA. Other key bullpen arms include left-handed pitcher Javyn Pimental, who has only given up two runs throughout the entire month of May, and right-handed pitcher Jonathan Guardado who has only given up four runs all season with his last earned run being allowed back in March during the UCLA series.
With the selection show now over and all of the regions and matchups announced, the Cats will get the rest of the week to prepare before traveling to Miami for their first game on Friday. First pitch for the matchup against Ole Miss is set for 4 p.m. MST.
****
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona baseball fans because the Wildcats Own Omaha
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
