Arizona mens baseball capped a series sweep of the Loyola Marymount Lions in dramatic fashion tonight in Tucson. The Wildcats turned a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth combined with some excellent hitting and base running into a 7-6 triumph over the Lions(29-24). Brad Glenn’s sacrifice fly, scoring, Bryce Ortega netted the Cats(25-23) their sixth consecutive victory at Sancet Stadium.

Contrary to their last few outings, the Wildcats did not benefit from a stong outing from their starting pitcher. Daniel Workman gave up four earned runs on five hits in just 20 pitches beore Arizona Coach Andy Lopez pulled him with two outs in the top of the first inning. Reliever Joe Allison came on and pitched five plus strong innings for the home team. He had one earned run on four hits and four strike outs. Pre-Season All-American Jason Stoffel(2-1) ended up with the win after he retired the side in the top of the ninth inning.

Dillion Baird went 2-3 with an RBI and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. But it was Brad Glenn who was the hero of the evening. Glenn hit is 100th extra base hit in the bottom of the eighth inning with a double, and then scored when Hunter Pace knocked him in. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Ortega reached on a throwing error to first, scoring Mike Weldon. Later in the inning, after back-to-back walks to Baird and Jett Bandy, Glenn hit a sacrifice fly to deep center that scored Ortega. “We knew that if we set ourselves up to score anyone of these guys could knock one in” said Glenn.

The Lions benefited from an early lead and stellar starting pitching. Ramiro Carreon threw six solid innings, with three earned runs on five hits to go along with his six strikeouts. Ernie Cho and John Lally, however, combined to give up five runs on four hits in only two innings of relief.
Loyola Marymount started off the game swinging, scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning alone. They would score only two more runs on two more hits the rest of the game. Angelo Songco went 2-3 three inluding a three run shot in the first and a solo home run in the third and Shon Roe went 2-4 with two RBI.

When Coach Lopez was asked why Workman was seen leaving the staduim with a trainer he said “We are down on arms and he [Workman] had strep throat. I rolled the dice and it didn’t work out.” Lopez added that Workman “will be fine”.

Arizona starts their last home series on Saturday, May 16th against Washington. Arizona will have to stay hot if the want to remain in contention for a post season birth. Arizona will then host Arizona State the following Wednesday in what will be the Wildcats final home game of the seaon. The boys from Tucson rap up their season in Eugene, where they will face Oregon in less than two weeks.

Game Two of the weekend series between the Loyola Marymount Lions and the Arizona Wildcats played out much like game one. Good Arizona starting pitching and offense to back it up. On the mound for Arizona was Freshman Kyle Simon who improved to 3-5 on the year. He threw six strong innings and had a career high six strikeouts. Simon gave up three runs all in the first three innings and then set down the remaining nine batters in order before giving way to the bullpen. Head Coach Andy Lopez spoke after the game saying that at the beginning of the season Simon was expected to be red-shirted and developed for next season. But with the pitching struggles the Wildcats have endured Lopez was forced to make Simon his Saturday starter.
Offensively it was a team effort with Arizona pouring in 9 runs on 11 hits and 2 walks. Bryce Ortega lead the way with two RBI's on one hit and Dillon Baird with one RBI on 2 doubles. Arizona did most of its damage with LMU pitcher Alex Gillingham on the mound who through five innings gave up seven runs, five earned, on seven hits before being pulled in favor of Jordan McClintick who did not fair much better. In two and two-thirds innings gave up two runs on four hits. John Lally retired the only batter he faced.
The first of the two arms brought in from the Arizona bullpen was Cory Burns who was effective in his one inning only giving up two hits and one earned run while striking out one. Jason Stoffel was then brought in to close out the Lions and seal the victory for the Wildcats. He was less than impressive giving up four hits and allowing one inherited runner to score to while giving up an earned run of his own. Given the pre-season outlook on Stoffel to this point he has been much less effective than expected. A pre-season All-American Stoffel has a 5.36 ERA in 33 appearances and only 8 saves. Some argue that he is over used but in this journalists opinion he is out of shape and needs to work on his mechanics.
Overall it was a much needed win for the Wildcats and they will continue the series with game three on Monday May 11th at 6 pm at Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium.

The UofA mens baseball team extended their home winning streak to four by beating the Loyola Marymount Lions 12-2 in front of a crowd of almost 800 on a hot Saturday night at Sancet Stadium under a full desert moon.

As quickly as Preston Guilmet put the Wildcats (23-23) in an early 1-0 hole, he and the Arizona bats, came to the rescue.

Guilmet (5-4) went seven strong innings giving up five hits combined with six strikeouts. Preston won his third straight game for the first time since the spring of 2007.

Loyola Marymount (29-22) pitcher Lee Childs spent this Saturday morning graduating with his class in Southern California. He and several other teammates arrived to Tucson by plane after commencements commenced. Childs (7-1) was delt his first loss of the season by a barrage of hitting from the usual, and even the unusual suspects.

Perennial Wildcat star (and defending Pac-10 POW) Dillion Baird went 4-5 with three runs batted in. Loyola High School alum Steve Selsky had 3 RBI’s in his first two at bats, including going yard for his fifth home run on the season in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyle Stiner went 3-5 with three RBI and two runs scored from the ninth spot.

Roberts was replaced in the fifth inning after giving up eight runs on 12 hits with seven strikeouts. When Wheeler replaced Roberts, the Wildcat men were in the middle of a scoring spree. The Wildcats went wild for two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Without missing a beat, Arizona scored three runs in the sixth and seventh inning.

The Lions were only able two score two runs (once in the first and once in the eighth) on six hits.

Bryce Bandilla and Joe Allison combined for two innings of scoreless relief for the streaking Wildcats.

Coach Andy Lopez, on the ‘Cats first baseman “you probably won’t see Dillion Baird in a Wildcat uniform next year. I am really happy for him.”

Arizona will play two more against LMU Sunday and Monday night at Sancet before closing out the season with seven must win Pac-10 games against Washington and Arizona State in Tucson and then hitting the road to face Oregon to close out the season.

It should also be noted, that Brad Glenn moved into ninth all time on Arizona’s most games played list (209) on a night when he went 1-5 with one RBI.

Here we are again, another start to another March Madness and a familiar face is once again in the running for a Final Four berth and yet another National Championship. In the event you haven't heard, the Arizona Wildcats have been chosen by the tournament selection committee to continue their season and compete for a title. Arizona earned a 12 seed, the lowest seed in history for the school (previously a 10 seed was lowest) and is pinned against Utah in a very win-able first round game. Also this is the 25th straight season that the Wildcats will be participating in the tournament, second all time to North Carolina's 27 (1975-2001).

Enough with this history lesson. Let's be frank here, I, as well as many others, felt that the Wildcats had little to no chance to play in this post season tournament (I had them in the NIT). An 0-3 record to rival Arizona State including a loss in the first round of the Pac 10 tournament, a .500 record in conference play at 9-9, a 2-9 road record and finishing the season losing 5 of 6 doesn't spell dancing in March. But what the committee might have seen was the glimmer in Arizona's season. The number of impressive key wins early in the season (SDSU, Kansas, Gonzaga, Washington, USC and UCLA) a 17-3 home record, a notable 7 game win streak and a trio of players that could beat any team on any given night. Now, a lot of skeptics will say that Arizona got in because the committee did not want to see both Kentucky's (17 year) and Arizona's (24 year- now 25 year) win streaks come to an end in the same season. Others say that schools like Creighton, St. Mary's or Penn State were snubbed due to the prestige and honor that Arizona brings to the tournament and not necessarily its basketball play. But supporters will contend that just because Arizona's key wins came early on in the season, doesn't discount their importance.

This counts as the second consecutive year that the Cats have been a bubble team that got in surrounded by controversy (getting in over ASU despite a head to head record of 0-2 a year ago). Five years ago, the idea of Arizona being a bubble team, let alone a controversial bubble team, would have been unthinkable. This just goes to show the decline of the Silver Fox (Lute Olson) and the poor choice in his replacements. Yes, both coaches led the Cats to tournament berths, but the fashion in which Kevin O'Neill and most recently Russ Pennell went about business, going 0-5 against ASU, finishing 7th and 5th in conference and requiring a miracle from the gods of college basketball to make the tournament, have stained the name of Arizona as a national power and as an elite program.

On the bright side, the next Arizona head coach will be a marquee name such as Rick Pitino, Bruce Pearl, John Calipari or Mark Few just to name a few (no pun intended). But names like these will bring Arizona back to where it belongs, a perennial national power, THE elite program in the Pac-10 and correct its place among the college basketball teams in the state of Arizona. Looking forward, things look bright for the Wildcats with several key recruits on the way and a high profile coach heading the program, I look for Arizona to return to the top of the Pac-10 and leave no doubt for the committee to include the Cats in next years version of March Madness. Oh, and just as a playful tidbit, the last time Arizona finished 5th in the Pac-10 they won the 1997 National Championship. Is it in the cards for this years squad? I don't know but it should be fun to watch.

Beardown Cats!

It was said at the end of the epic battle between Arizona and Arizona State this past Sunday, that "there were no losers here tonight.” Sitting here in the aftermath, I am having a really hard time digesting that. In a game when winning ment taking huge strides towards capping off their 25th consecutive run to the Big Dance in impressive fashion, losing could lead to the Cats being a no show at the NCAA Championships for the first time since Ronald Reagan was the Commander-in-Chief.

There are a couple things that happened as a result of the Sun Devils back-to-back season sweep of the Wildcats that can be interpreted as “losing”.

Right off the bat, UofA is again in the middle of Pac-10 with only a very out side shot of claiming the regular season title. Arizona faces tough road games against Wazzu and Pac-10 leading Washington. Then the Wildcats come back home to face Stanford and California, both whom defeated Russ Pennel’s club in the first week of January. The Wildcats will have to win out and have a lot of help from UW and ASU down the stretch.

Aside from that major stumble, Arizona may have lost its wave of momentum that had been building for the last month. Ever since the Aubrey Coleman incident, the Wildcats had been playing like a team possessed. Scoring over 80 points five times during a seven game win streak that brought them from 2-5 in conference play to a commendable 8-5. It was assumed that if the men from Tucson kept winning they could ride this “wave” all the way to a regular season Pac-10 title, maybe a Pac-10 tournament championship and even a possible top five seed in the end of season NCAA National Championship tournament. Now the Cats will have to pick up the pieces from the heartbreaking loss to State that saw UofA blow a lay-up, a put back, and commit a turn over in the last 14 seconds that would have given them a chance to tie the ball game. If Arizona can learn from their mistakes (i.e. failing to close out shooters on three point shots) and play like there is no tomorrow then I believe that they can finish out the season in a respectable manner and set themselves up to return to the tournament once more where they belong.

All that aside, I don’t want people to believe that the Arizona Wildcat season is over. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Wildcats are lead by a veteran core in Chase Buddinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise. All of whom will probably go in the first round of the NBA draft this June. They have been there before and they can pass along their knowledge and experience to guys like Kyle Fogg and Zane Johnson, who have both proven to be very effective role players. Don’t lement Wildcat faithful, the best of the Wilcats push to extend the nations longest active streak of tournament appearences has yet to come.

Bear Down

This weekend KAMP Sports Radio will be the exclusive home for live radio broadcasts of the Arizona Cactus Classic. The Arizona Cactus Classic is a chance for the nation's premier talent to take center stage at McKale Center for the weekend. KAMP Sports will provide play-by-play and analysis from McKale Court 1 and interviews throughout the weekend. For more information log on to azcactusclassic.com.

For more info on Andrew Hemminger's book, Destination Basketball, please go to destinationbasketball.com. Hemminger's interview was on 2 guys and a mic with Emma Kielby, Zack DiMaggio, and Scott Karpen on Wednesday February 13, 2008 at 6 pm.

College Football Pick ‘em
October 6, 2007

9) Florida (4-1, 2-1) vs. 1)LSU (5-0, 2-0)
Coming fresh off a loss the Tim Tebow led Gators head to Baton Rouge to take on the new #1 team in the country, LSU, at the toughest place to play in the country. Three deciding factors in this game, Ryan Perrilloux will get see playing time at QB for the Tigers, the young Gators defense is on the road and they struggled at Ole Miss (so imagine what they will do at Death Valley in Baton Rouge) and LSU has revenge on their mind after losing at the Swamp last year. It’s been 48 years since the Bayou Bengals played a game as the #1 team in the country and they will stay undefeated as the Gators become “Tiger Bait”. LSU wins 28-14.

4) Ohio St. (5-0, 2-0) vs. 23) Purdue (5-0, 1-0)
The Buckeyes and Boilermakers both come in undefeated but neither team has been tested yet. Both teams have the ability to score a lot of points. What really sticks out in my mind is Ohio State’s suffocating defense and an offense that keeps getting better every week. Purdue had a solid first half last week against Notre Dame going up 23-0 at halftime, then had to hang on at the end to win as the Irish cut the lead to 7 points in the 4th quarter, maybe they were looking ahead to OSU. Either way Ohio State is too good on the defensive side of the ball despite the ability of Matt Painter and the Purdue offense that has scored over 45 points 4 times, and 50 points twice. Ohio State wins 31-17.

10) Oklahoma (4-1, 0-1) vs. 19) Texas (4-1, 0-1) at Dallas (Cotton Bowl)
The Red River Shootout lost some luster when both the Sooners and Longhorns were upset last week. Despite the losses this is still one of the best rivalries in all of college football, especially because it is at a neutral site where half of the stadium is covered in burnt orange and the other half in Sooner red. The question coming in for Oklahoma was the quarterback situation and Sam Bradford has looked pretty good this year and the Oklahoma rushing attack hasn’t taken too much of a hit after losing Adrian Peterson. Colt McCoy has yet to regain his touch from his freshman year and it will cost the Longhorns. Oklahoma takes the shootout 28-24.
15) Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0) vs. 22) Clemson (4-1, 2-1)
Remember when Virginia Tech had hopes of a national title and started the season ranked 7th? Well that dream is now gone but an ACC championship is not out of reach for the Hokies. Clemson lost 13-3 last week against Georgia Tech where they missed 4 field goals and failed to get into the end zone one time. If the Tigers thought the Georgia Tech defense was good, wait until they meet the V Tech defense. Despite Clemson having a great home field advantage, the Hokies come into Clemson’s death Valley and steal one in a low scoring, ugly affair. Virginia Tech squeaks by 14-10.

25) Nebraska (4-1, 1-0) vs. 17) Missouri (4-0, 2-0)
So much for the Big 12 south being the dominant division as the north possess the only 2 undefeated teams in the conference. Nebraska’s only blemish came against the Trojans and Missouri has yet to lose as Mizzou fans claim Quarterback Chase Daniels should be mentioned for the Heisman. While the Big Red Machine isn’t as intimidating as it was in the ‘90’s, Bill Callahan’s team is no easy defeat. Nebraska, led by running back Marlon Lucky, take this one in a grind it out game where the Nebraska defense will step-up to play it’s best game of the season. Nebraska wins 24-17.

Kansas (4-0, 0-0) vs. 24) Kansas St. (3-1, 1-0)
Kansas St. is coming off an upset of #7 Texas for the second year in a row and the Kansas Jayhawks are undefeated, mainly because they have played no one worth talking about. Josh Freeman is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the conference and in the country. He is big, strong, tough to take down, can run and has a good arm to compliment his physical strength. At home the Wildcats roll in this rivalry game as Freeman will throw for at least 3 more touchdowns. Kansas St. wins 42-28.

Arizona (2-3, 1-1) vs. Oregon St. (2-3, 0-2)
It’s another must-win for both teams as a loss for UA all but ends there hopes of a first bowl game since 1998, and if the Beavers lose their season is over with. The Beavers have a very talented rushing attack led by Yvensen Bernard who is averaging over a 100 rushing yards per game. They also have the 11th best defense in the country but did give up 34 points at Cincinnati. The deciding factor in this game will be Sean Canfield’s (OSU QB) inability to perform as he has 11 INT and only 5 TD this season. Nicolas Grigsby won’t have another 262 yards performance but it won’t be needed as the Wildcats win walking away as the Beaver’s will be disheartened early in the 3rd quarter by an overwhelming deficit as the Wildcat defense holds a team to 20 or under for the 2nd week in a row. Arizona wins 35-17.
Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2) vs. Maryland (3-2, 0-1)
Georgia Tech comes off an impressive win against Clemson last week, and Maryland has an even more impressive victory at then #10 Rutgers. Dennis Lattimore leads the way on the ground for the Terrapins as they have more ability to put up points then the Yellow Jackets do. Despite the Tech defense holding Clemson to 3 points last week they will not see a repeat performance on the road. The mighty turtles take this one to get back to .500 in the conference. Maryland wins 34-21.
5) Wisconsin (5-0, 2-0) vs. Illinois (4-1, 2-0)
This game is all about the upset. Illinois led by Ron Zook has turned the program around and if he continues winning he will be my Coach of the Year. Wisconsin gave up a lot of points to Michigan State last week and have given up a good amount of points all year long. Illinois forced 5 turnovers last week, 4 in the red zone and look to see more this week. Illinois continues to upset ranked teams and you’ll see them in the polls next week. Illinois wins 38-31.
12) Georgia (4-1, 2-1) vs. Tennessee (2-2, 0-1)
Phil Fulmer at Tennessee is officially on the hot seat as the Volunteers have failed to live up to any expectations this year, and Tennessee fans have major expectations year in and year out. Fulmer has been unable to beat the young, talented coaches of the SEC and Mark Richt is another coach that will have the Volunteer fans asking for Fulmer’s head. The Bulldogs will go into Tennessee and Matthew Strafford lead a very balanced offensive attack that will give the Tennessee defense fits all afternoon. Georgia wins 34-24.

20) Cincinnati (5-0, 2-0) vs. 21) Rutgers (3-1, 3-1)
The Big East is as unpredictable as ever as Rutgers, West Virginia, and Louisville have a combined 4 losses and Cincinnati, Connecticut, and South Florida have a combined 0 losses. Rutgers is coming off a disappointing home loss to Maryland last week and will rebound this week. No one ever finishes undefeated in the defensive-less Big East and Rutgers will continue that streak. Ray Rice and the Scarlet Knights get back on track as they are still in the hunt for a Big East title. Rutgers wins 28-24.

Here is my pick for Thursday's showdown between South Carolina and Kentucky. Saturday's games will be posted later.

8) Kentucky (5-0, 1-0) vs. 11) South Carolina (4-1, 2-1)
Another Thursday night marquee match-up that I think ruins college football Saturday. Never the elss these two SEC power teams (who thought we would say that about South Carolina this early, and isn’t Kentucky a basketball school?) will provide a shout-out pinning offensive minded Steve Spurries against the nation’s best QB in Andre Woodson. Kentucky knows how to win games late, and the Gamecocks this year have learned to win in general. Look for the Gamecocks home field advantage to play a major role. ‘Ol Ball Coach and the Gamecocks take this one in a close one, South Carolina 35-20.

Below are my picks for 12 games for college football this Saturday. Come out to Zona Zoo's tailgate this Saturday between 4-6 to hear KAMP sports breakdown the game live where you can come and talk on the radio about the upcoming game. Also, EA Sports will be giving away free things, including games, and if you pick more games correct than I do you will be entered to win an EA giveaway, which inlcudes EA Sports NCAA College Football '08. Good Luck.

Arizona vs. Washington St.
Arizona wins this one in a must-win for the Mike Stoops coaching era. This game will feature a shoot-out of two offenses that like to go to the air. Much has been made of the Arizona defensive struggles and this would be a great chance for them to turn things around. Last year’s win in Pullman sparked a three game win streak for the Cats, and this year’s win will give some greatly needed momentum. Wildcats get the best of the Cougars again, Arizona wins 45-38.

Cal at Oregon
Another match-up of two offensive powers and two heisman candidates in Cal’s DeSean Jackson and Oregon’s Dennis Dixon. Mike Bellotti’s Ducks are known for starting fast and finishing slow and today start’s the slowing down. With Rose Bowl aspirations for both teams this game becomes a must-win. ESPN’s Gameday crew will be at Autzen Stadium and the crowd is sure to be raucous, which will help Oregon stick in it. However, despite an unproven defenses for Cal who is dealing with injuries they pull it out on the road. Bears take down the Ducks, Cal wins 35-31.

Michigan St. at Wisconsin
Both teams come in undefeated in a wide-open race for the Big-10. Michigan State is under the direction of new coach Mark D’Antonio and his reign has started out well as he has added a new level of toughness to this team. Wisconsin continues to be strong as they have the nation’s longest current win streak at 13 games. The untested Spartans will drop a tough road game as Wisconsin will have a better performance after squeaking out a win vs. Iowa last week. Look for the crowd to be a big factor. Despite the fact that my Mom is a Spartan alum, Wisconsin wins 21-17.

Alabama at Florida St.
Nick Saban continues his conquest of college football by visiting Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles. Saban’s group has two fourth quarter comebacks in the last two weeks, winning one and falling short in OT against Georgia. They will play in Jacksonville so no real decided home field advantage. These two teams haven’t played in 33 years as it’s old-school coaching in Bowden vs. new-school coaching in Saban. The young get the old in this one. Go ‘Bama Roll Tide, Alabama wins 35-21.

Brigham Young at New Mexico
Interesting match-up of Mountain West teams that both beat Arizona this season. BYU’ has a new quarterback in Max Hall but he is more productive and is better than the Lobo’s Donovan Porterie. New Mexico’s defense causes problems but can give up a lot of points and BYU will take advantage of this. BYU wins on the road, 42-31.

UCLA at Oregon St.
A non-favorable scenario for the Bruins at QB as they keep flip-flopping between Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan due to injury. This week Olson is back in as Cowan is out for three weeks with a knee injury. Oregon St. has been up and down all year after winning 10 games last year. The key for the Bruins is to keep Olson healthy, if Olson gets hurt in the game then the QB role falls to walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Bruins do this and win in Corvalis, UCLA wins 38-27.

Clemson at Georgia Tech
Tommy Bowden has his Tigers on a roll this year but go to Tech where the Yellow Jackets have dropped two in a row. Tech has the ability to score points but their defense will be ineffective against the Clemson attack. Clemson wins again to continue its best start in 7 seasons. Clemson takes it 30-14.

Iowa St. at Nebraska
Nebraska should have dropped one to Ball St. last week but Ball St. blew two chances in the last minute. Iowa St. is trying to prove they are getting back to bowl team status. Last week’s problem for the Huskers were a direct result of being destroyed by USC. With this as a conference game Nebraska rolls easily. Nebraska wins their 15th straight over the Cyclones 52-21.

Notre Dame at Purdue
The Irish’s struggles have been well documented and it doesn’t help when you go to a team that is 4-0. The Boilermakers have scored 45, 45, 52, and 52 in their games this season and Norte Dame has given up at least 31 points every game, expect the same. Purdue rolls 55-10.

Penn State at Illinois
Not as much of a pushover as it may seem on paper. Penn State showed some offensive flaws by only scoring 9 points at Michigan and Illinois is looking better under the direction of Ron Zook and his recruiting abilities. Penn State will struggle against the run led by Illini’s Rashard Mendenhall’s 8th best rushing stats in the country. Even though it is in Champagne the Nittany Lions have a history of destroying Illinois. It won’t be a destruction but Jo Pa’s team wins again. Penn St. wins again 27-21.

Air Force at Navy
Another match-up of 2 military academies in the U.S. Both teams rely heavily on the run game. Air Force is coming off a loss against BYU where the passing game beat them, however, Navy’s air attack won’t do much against the Falcons. Air Force wins 28-17.

Kansas St. at Texas
Kansas St. effectively ended the Longhorn’s national title bids last year when Texas lost 45-42 on the road. This year the Colt McCoy led Longhorns get their revenge in a game that will only be close when it’s 0-0 during pre-game warm-ups. Longhorns get their revenge and Texas wins 40-21.