Arizona Baseball Continues Strong Start to 2017 Season

Arizona Baseball has been rolling so far in 2017 and went 10-0 for the first time since 1999, now No.4 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.

Baseball can be a fickle game sometimes, and it’s rare to see even great baseball teams lose very few games. On Sunday, Arizona Baseball finally saw their remarkable 10-game winning streak come to an end.

Heading into this past weekend, the Wildcats were going to be challenged. For fans, it was a chance to see just how good our team is. The team did not disappoint.

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On Friday, Arizona kicked off the Frisco Baseball Classic against then No. 20 ranked Arkansas. Senior pitcher JC Cloney got the start for the Wildcats, pitching seven and two-thirds scoreless innings of baseball.

Cloney only surrendered three hits, striking out seven batters in a dominating performance to improve his record to 3-0.

The Wildcats got solid contributions offensively from junior first baseman, JJ Matijevic, and junior outfielder Jared Oliva. Together, the two combined for two hits in seven attempts, driving in two of the three runs for Arizona.

Arizona would pace themselves to a 3-0 victory over Arkansas.

Saturday set-up a College World Series semi-final rematch between Arizona and Oklahoma State. In the game versus the Cowboys, the Wildcats jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead through the first five innings.

However, Oklahoma State would respond, eventually taking the lead 7-6, in just the seventh inning. The Wildcats would again use a little late-game heroics, tying the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Wildcats would eventually put two men on thanks to back-to-back batters being hit by pitches. With freshman Matt Frazier at second, and junior Mitchell Morimoto on first, junior outfielder, Cal Stevenson would double out to centerfield, scoring Frazier, and winning in walk-off fashion, 10-9.

In the final game on Sunday, the Wildcats’ bats went quiet, getting eight hits, but stranding nine runners on base. Junior pitcher Rio Gomez would get the start on the mound, delivering seven, strong innings of work, surrendering seven hits and the lone run (unearned).

Matijevic and Morimoto would account for four of the Wildcats’ hits, but ultimately Arizona was unable to get hits when it mattered most, dropping the first game of the season, 1-0.

ArizonaWildcats.com reported even more impressive stats for the baseball team:

"In Johnson’s second season, the Cats have thrived at the plate, batting .354 as a team, which is third-best in the nation. Arizona also has 36 doubles on the season, which is also third-best in the country. The Cats currently have four players – Nick Quintana, Mitchell Morimoto, Jared Oliva and JJ Matijevic—who have started all 11 games and batting better than .400 on the season. Morimoto is leading the way with a .465 average. Quintana is two points behind at .463."

Even at 10-1 on the season, Arizona sits in a great position moving forward, as they are ranked No. 1 in the College Baseball RPI standings.

The Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday, when they face a very talented Texas Tech team ranked No. 10 in the nation in Lubbock, TX.

First pitch will be at 5:30 pm MST/ 4:30 pm PST, and the game will actually be televised on Fox Sports Arizona. We highly encourage everyone to watch!

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At Zona Zealots, we’re very proud of the amazing job our team is doing so far. We can’t wait for the game versus Texas Tech! Bear Down, Arizona, and beat the Red Raiders!