The Arizona Wildcats were selected to play in the Lubbock Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
It's the Wildcats 39th NCAA appearance. Arizona and hos Texas Tech will be joined by Sam Houston State and Delaware. The Cats are seeded No. 2 and will play Sam Houston State in the opening round, scheduled for 4 p.m., MST Friday in Lubbock. The Cats open with Sam Houston State for the second straight year. Last year, Arizona beat Sam Houston State twice in the Lafayette Regional.
Arizona is the only Pac-12 team to be selected for back-to-back tournament appearances. Last year, in coach Jay Johnson's first season at the helm of the Wildcats, Arizona advanced to the College World Series for the 18th time in program history and finished as the National Runner-Up.
First baseman JJ Matijevic leads the Wildcats with a .389 batting average, and he has 10 home runs and 64 RBI. He also has 29 doubles, one shy of the single-season school record set by Dave Stegman in 1976. Sophomore Alfonso Rivas also had a banner season, batting .374 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 61 RBI. Cameron Ming led the pitching staff with a 7-2 record and a 2.70 ERA in 70 innings.
Last season, the Cats won the Lafayette Regional, the Starkville Super Regional, before advancing to the College World Series. There, Arizona beat Oklahoma State twice in a row to advance to the College World Series Finals versus Coastal Carolina.
