College World Series: JC Cloney throws a shutout, Arizona Baseball wins game 1!

Some say the Arizona Baseball team are a ‘Cinderella Team’ in the College World Series, but they are proving that they are supposed to be here.

Arizona rolled into the College World Series Finals on a roll, full of confidence, and peaking at just the right moment. Media outlets and broadcasters who cover NCAA Baseball but know nothing about the Wildcats keep calling them a ‘Cinderella Team.’ Those who have followed the team throughout the season saw something special early on.

This team is cohesive. Coach Jay Johnson called every player when he was hired to make sure players knew he believed in them. According to the ESPN Announcers, Johnson called and told Cloney he needed him and he would be a big part of the team in the upcoming season . When someone believes in you, it helps, and you believe in them more as well. The feeling is mutual on this team; the players were allowed to be themselves and have fun together playing the sport they grew up playing and love so much.

JC Cloney was unbelievable today, and it will go down in history! He pitched a complete game, a 3-0 shutout over Coastal Carolina, this was the first time in history that has happened. Among many UofA chants and Arizona cheers from fans, Cloney struck out six and, only allowed four hits and extended his College World Series streak to a record 16 innings.

Only one pitcher in CWS history has more innings pitched without allowing an earned run in a single CWS, and it was Pac-12 USC pitcher John Stewart. Also, Coastal Carolina hadn’t been shut out since March 8th.

Last week, Cloney held the UCSB Gaucho’s scoreless through seven innings allowing only five hits. Add to that a shutout against a premier offensive team taking his Cats to win one in a three-game series. He has become one of Arizona’s many heroes, but you would never know it listening to this humble athlete.

Cloney greeted reporters with a somber tone, and he talked a lot about Josh, the young boy who spent every day with the team until he passed away from cancer. Josh’s parents made the trek to Omaha to support the team.

Knowing his mom and brother were in the stands as well as Josh’s parents, JC used his love of Josh to power him through the game. “You know there’s been so much with the Josh thing going on,” Cloney explained, “it just so happened we are wearing the hat we wore for the UCLA game..so you know he is looking down on us, and he is really helping us do what we gotta do. That’s really getting to us now.”

Related Story: Here is the story about the UCLA Josh Game, it was a #4Josh miracle win days after Josh passed on

He gave kudos to his team reminding the media that his team has always been good, “Our defense has been unbelievable throughout the whole year…whenever there is a fly ball, grounders..nine times out of ten times it’s an out…it makes my job real easy and allows me to do what I did.” JC Clone could not have earned his shutout without Zach Gibbons, Zach caught at least three fly balls in right field that looked uncatchable.

Cloney is a superstitious guy who is not emotional (his own words) and everything fell into place for him today starting with eating lunch at the same table as the last time they won. His coach explained Cloney’s strengths:

"“Number one is his mental disposition, his ability to block out everything else that’s going around him and just focus on getting a good visual of the target and attacking the mitt. And he can do that with three or four pitches. And that shows up."

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• Arizona Baseball pitching coach Dave Lawn departs from team
• Arizona Baseball prepares for TCU to open Regional play
• Arizona Baseball falls to Grand Canyon in Extra Innings

All eyes are now on Coach Johnson to see if he will put in another star Arizona pitcher Nathan Bannister. Bannie left the last game early with a slight soreness in his forearm on his pitching arm, but there were no reports he was actually injured.

Coach Johnson has come under criticism from ESPN baseball analyst Keith Law, who has a half million followers. So when JC Cloney passed his 100 pitch mark and came back out for the ninth inning to complete a shutout in the Finals, we were all bracing for the ridicule, but it never came. Thank goodness. This was the last game Cloney will pitch this season, and he made it count!

Kurt Heyer, former Arizona Wildcat who pitched in the 2012 College World Series recently commented on the Keith Law accusations according to Jon Gold, Tucson.com, “Abuse is a strong word,” Heyer said. “You’re making it sound like you’re putting reins on Bannister and riding him the whole season. As a former player at that school, I know what he’s going through, and I know what he’s going through on a Friday night.

must read: College World Series – Arizona Baseball Photo Gallery

“Coach always says it’s another Superbowl,” Cloney said, “Superbowl 73 tomorrow, could be the last one of the year, and we could be bringing another passenger home.” Game two is on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. PST/MST on ESPN. Let’s bring home that huge beautiful extra passenger Wildcats! BearDown Arizona!