Next up could be their hardest match yet.

The American first-time Olympians beat Australia in straight sets in the final match of the lucky loser round on Saturday night to earn the right to face Tokyo gold medalists Norway in the round of 16 on Monday.

“They’re the best team in the world,” Budinger said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, for sure.”

The Americans lost two of their three preliminary matches and finished third in the group, forcing them to beat the Aussies to move on. They won the first set 21-19, scoring five of the last six points after trailing 18-16, and then pulled ahead midway through the second to win 21-17.

“It just felt good to play better,” Budinger said. “Our last two matches, we just weren’t ourselves. And it felt good to just get back to being ourselves. So if we can continue doing that, I’ll be happy no matter what happens after this.”

Budinger spent seven years in the NBA before turning to beach volleyball to fulfill an Olympic dream.

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Arizona State’s Nick McLain and Arizona’s Clark Candiotti were among the players from Arizona universities picked on Monday’s Day 2.

The Atlanta Braves selected Saguaro High School standout pitcher Cam Caminiti with the No. 24 overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday.

He is the cousin of 1996 National League MVP Ken Caminiti, who played 15 MLB seasons and died in 2004.

Arizona State outfielder Nick McLain went in the third round (No. 78 overall) to the Chicago White Sox. He hit .342 with 12 homers and 54 RBIs in 48 games for the Sun Devils in 2024.

McLain’s brother Matt was a 2018 first-round pick by the Diamondbacks. He chose to go to UCLA and now plays for the Cincinnati Reds. His other brother, Sean, is a fellow Sun Devil, who plays in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system.

Wildcats standout pitcher Jackson Kent was taken in the fourth round (No. 108 overall) by the Washington Nationals. With the very next pick, the St. Louis Cardinals selected catcher Ryan Campos out of Arizona State.

Pitcher Clark Candiotti was taken by the San Diego Padres with the No. 135th overall pick, a compensatory pick after former Padres pitcher Blake Snell signed with the San Francisco Giants.

Candiotti’s father, Tom, played 16 years in Major League Baseball with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toronto, Dodgers and Oakland.

The elder Candiotti is a broadcaster for the Diamondbacks.

Day 3 of the draft is Tuesday with Rounds 11-20, so there are plenty of chances for more Arizonans to receive the call.

List of Arizona players in 2024 MLB Draft

– Round 1, Pick 24: LHP Cam Caminiti (Saguaro HS), Atlanta Braves

– Round 3, Pick 78: OF Nick McLain (Arizona State), Chicago White Sox

– Round 4, Pick 108: LHP Jackson Kent (Arizona), Washington Nationals

– Round 4, Pick 109: C Ryan Campos (Arizona State), St. Louis Cardinals

– Round 4C, Pick 135: RHP Clark Candiotti (Arizona), San Diego Padres

– Round 8, Pick 241: OF Tyler Wilson, (Grand Canyon), New York Yankees

– Round 8, Pick 255: RHP Anthony Susac (Arizona), Texas Rangers

– Round 12, Pick 362: RHP Daniel Avitia (Grand Canyon), Chicago Cubs

– Round 14, Pick 426: RHP Ryan Schiefer (Arizona State), Tampa Bay Rays

– Round 17, Pick 517: SS Gavin Smith (Valley Christian HS), Toronto Blue Jays

– Round 20, Pick 588: RHP Hunter Omlid (Arizona State), Colorado Rockies

– Round 20, Pick 595: Cam Walty (Arizona), Cleveland Guardians

– Round 20, Pick 599: LHP Mason Russell (Casteel HS), Cincinnati Reds

– Round 20, Pick 613: OF Ky McGary (Sandra Day O’Connor HS), Houston Astros

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Poole drove in four runs with a pair of two-run homers that helped the Patriots build a 6-0 lead through five innings.

Tom Poole goes yard for the 2nd time today to make it a 6-run game!

Top of the 5th
DBU 6
ARIZ 0#DBUBaseball | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/pDsm8VoT1i

— DBU Baseball (@DBU_Baseball) June 1, 2024

Meanwhile, Arizona got one runner as far as third base against DeBerry (7-1), who went six innings while allowing three hits and striking out six. He walked four batters.

Relievers Connor Benge, River Ridings and Zach Todd pitched one inning each, allowing two hits and only one runner reached second base.

Chayton Krauss had three hits and scored three times for the Patriots (45-14), who on Sunday will play the loser of Saturday’s later game between West Virginia and Grand Canyon.

Garen Caulfield had two hits for the Wildcats (36-23), who were the only regional hosts to be eliminated in two games.

The Patriots take down the Wildcats to stay alive in the Tucson Regional!

FINAL
DBU 7
ARIZ 0#DBUBaseball | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/Mf9ZUkkwgO

— DBU Baseball (@DBU_Baseball) June 1, 2024

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The Antelopes won a game in the tournament for the first time in program history.

GCU will take on West Virginia in the winner’s bracket Saturday at 7 p.m. MST, while Arizona has an elimination game against Dallas Baptist at 1 p.m. MST. Regionals are double elimination, and the winner will head to a best-of-three super regional for a chance at the College World Series.

WVU defeated DBU 4-1 in the opening game of the Tucson regional.

GCU’s Tyler Wilson, the WAC Player of the Year, led off the game with a home run on the second pitch thrown by Arizona starter Clark Candiotti.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐂 𝐏𝐎𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃. 💣@TyWilson44 blasts the second pitch of the game and the Lopes are on the board first! pic.twitter.com/wd3zk8ORAl

— Grand Canyon Baseball (@GCU_Baseball) June 1, 2024

The Wildcats, though, grabbed the lead with three runs in the second inning off GCU’s Grant Richardson, who took a comebacker off the leg and was looked at by trainers. Pac-12 All-Conference Team outfielder Brendan Summerhill hit the go-ahead single.

Both offenses went quiet until the sixth inning, when GCU’s Eddy Pelc shot a three-run double to clear the bases off Candiotti to go ahead 5-3. Pelc drove in four runs on Friday.

𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐂 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒. 🗣️@eddypelc gives the Lopes a 5-3 lead in the 6th with a two-out, two-strike double! pic.twitter.com/CwQxokLPCx

— Grand Canyon Baseball (@GCU_Baseball) June 1, 2024

Candiotti — son of former MLB pitcher Tom Candiotti — finished with 6.0 innings, five earned runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Richardson went 6.0 innings with one earned run, five hits, four walks and five strikeouts. Isaac Lyon finished the final three innings for GCU.

The Antelopes blew the doors off on in the ninth inning on a two-run double by Zach Yorke, who hit a screaming ground ball to the wall in right field. Grand Canyon scored seven runs over the final four innings.

Arizona — which won the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles — hit into three double plays that halted the offense.

The Antelopes beat the Wildcats in two of three meetings during the regular season.

The Lopes went 0-2 in each of their first two NCAA appearances, in 2021 and 2022, but now find themselves a No. 4 regional seed one win away from playing for a spot in super regionals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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Arizona (36-21) won the Pac-12 regular season title and the conference tournament, taking down USC in walk-off fashion.

GCU (34-23) captured the WAC’s regular season championship but came up short in the tournament.

The two Arizona schools met three times during the regular season, twice in Tucson. The ‘Lopes took two of the games, including a 24-8 drubbing that was called after seven innings.

Wildcats graduate right-hander Clark Candiotti — son of former major leaguer and Arizona Diamondbacks analyst Tom Candiotti — gets the start against GCU sophomore left-hander Grant Richardson. They are both Valley products, as Candiotti (7-3, 3.11) attended high school at Chaparral while Richardson (4-1, 4.03) represents Horizon.

How to watch Arizona vs. GCU at the NCAA tournament

First pitch is at 6 p.m. MST from Hi Corbett Field, and the game will air on ESPN+. Play-by-play announcer Mike Ferrin and analyst Jensen Lewis will be on the call.

Who is in the Tucson Regional?

1. Arizona Wildcats
2. Dallas Baptist Patriots
3. West Virginia Mountaineers
4. Grand Canyon Antelopes

Dallas Baptist faces West Virginia on Friday at noon MST.

DBU (44-13) won the Conference USA Tournament and is one of five programs that made its 10th straight regional.

WVU (33-22) has highly regarded draft prospect infielder JJ Wetherholt, who is No. 7 on MLB Pipeline’s big board.

What is the NCAA baseball tournament regional format?

NCAA regionals are double elimination.

The winners of the first two games match up on Saturday at 7 p.m. MST. The losers play each other in the elimination bracket Saturday at 1 p.m. MST.

There are two games on Sunday, starting with the 1-1 teams facing off in an elimination game at noon. The 2-0 squad will take on the winner at 6 p.m. MST.

The Tucson Regional could end right there or extend to Monday for a win-or-go-home.

Sixteen regional-winning teams head to the best-of-three super regionals.

The 2024 Men’s College World Series starts June 14 in Omaha.

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Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals next week. The final eight go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 14.

NCAA baseball tournament preview

What is the toughest regional?

The Tucson Regional has no lightweights, and host Arizona (36-21) has first-hand knowledge of that.

No. 4 regional seed Grand Canyon (34-23) has won two of three against the Pac-12 champion Wildcats this season, including a 24-8 beatdown in Tucson that was stopped after seven innings by the 10-run rule.

Second-seed Dallas Baptist (44-13) is the only non-Power Five program to make 10 straight NCAA Tournaments, and the Patriots are third nationally in wins. No. 3 West Virginia (33-22), looking to send out retiring coach Randy Mazey in style, won a series at Oklahoma and had sweeps against NCAA qualifiers Kansas State and UCF.

Who are the hottest teams?

The two hottest teams are in the regional at Santa Barbara, California. Host UC Santa Barbara (42-12) of the Big West has won a school-record 14 straight games for the nation’s longest active streak and is 25-0 at home. West Coast Conference champion San Diego (40-13) has won 10 in a row and 18 of its last 19.

Who are the coldest teams?

No. 5 national seed Arkansas (43-14) and and No. 7 Georgia (39-15) each have lost three straight, all against Southeastern Conference opponents.

The Razorbacks closed the regular season with a 14-4 loss to Texas A&M in a seven-inning game ended by the 10-run rule, and they dropped games to South Carolina and Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas hadn’t lost three straight since April 2023.

Georgia dropped two at home to Florida to end the regular season and lost to LSU in its SEC Tournament opener. The Bulldogs also lost three straight in a March series at Kentucky.

Tennessee trying to end the streak

The No. 1 national seed has not won the championship since Miami in 1999, the first year of the current tournament format. Tennessee (50-11) will try to break through this year.

The Volunteers haven’t lost consecutive games since mid-March. They are the only team in the country to win 50 games three of the past four years.

The national seeds following Tennessee (50-11) are Kentucky (40-14), Texas A&M (44-13), North Carolina (42-13), Arkansas (43-14), Clemson (41-14), Georgia (39-15) and Florida State (42-15).

East Carolina (43-15) has never reached the College World Series in 33 previous NCAA Tournament appearances. That is the longest streak of its kind. The Pirates are in the field for the eighth time in nine years.

Clemson (41-14) has never won a national championship, or finished as runner-up, in 45 previous appearances.

Which teams are in their first tournament

High Point, Niagara and Northern Kentucky are making their first appearances in the Division I national tournament.

The Panthers (34-25) of High Point, North Carolina, won the Big South Conference and have their first winning record since 2018. Niagara (38-15) won the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference and is on an eight-game win streak. Northern Kentucky (35-22), which became a full-fledged Division I member in 2016-17, won the Horizon League.

Arizona not guaranteed to advance

Since the tournament went to its current format, an average of just under 11 of the 16 regional hosts have advanced to super regionals.

The fewest regional hosts to advance were seven in 2007 and 2014. There were eight in 2018 and nine in 2017 and 2023.

Home run record?

Division I teams have combined to average 1.15 home runs per game, just ahead of the record of 1.14 set last year. Six teams are averaging at least two per game; only two average fewer than one.

The NCAA Tournament record is 452 homers in 2022.

Charlie Condon brings the power

Georgia slugger and SEC player of the year Charlie Condon heads a list of 19 players in regionals who are projected to be first-round picks in the Major League Baseball draft, according to MLB.com.

Condon’s 35 homers are most since Lance Berkman hit 41 for Rice in 1997. His .443 batting average, .584 on-base percentage, 1.043 slugging percentage and 219 total bases lead the nation.

Hagen Smith, the pitcher to watch

SEC pitcher of the year Hagen Smith of Arkansas leads the nation with a 1.48 ERA, 17.5 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.2 hits per nine innings. The lefty, one strikeout from David Walling’s school record of 155 in 1999, could be the first pitcher taken in the draft.

North Carolina has how many teams in the tournament?

The state of North Carolina has seven teams in regionals, most among the 28 states represented in the tournament.

Duke, East Carolina, High Point, NC State, North Carolina, UNC Wilmington and Wake Forest are the Tar Heel State schools that earned bids.

Louisiana has six teams in the tournament — Grambling, Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Louisiana Tech, Nicholls and Tulane.

The SEC set a record with 11 teams in regionals and five among the top eight national seeds. The Atlantic Coast Conference has eight teams in the tournament and the Big 12 has six.

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On Monday, the field for the Tucson regional which begins Friday was announced, including an in-state foe and future in-conference foe for Arizona between Grand Canyon, West Virginia and Dallas Baptist.

Arizona takes on GCU Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference each had five schools selected as host sites.

All 16 regional hosts announced by the Division I Baseball Committee locked up spots in the national tournament. The rest of the 64-team field and first-round matchups will be unveiled Monday.

Clemson (41-14), Florida State (42-15), North Carolina State (33-20), North Carolina (42-13) and Virginia (41-15) led the way for the ACC as hosts for the four-team, double-elimination regionals. It’s the 36th time Florida State is hosting, the most in NCAA Division I history.

Tennessee (50-11), which won the SEC Tournament and will host a regional, is expected to be the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas (43-14), Georgia (39-15), Kentucky (40-14) and Texas A&M (44-13) were also selected as host sites from the SEC.

Also hosting regionals scheduled from Friday through next Monday are: Oklahoma (37-19) — for the first time since 2010 — and Oklahoma State (40-17) from the Big 12; Arizona (36-21) and Oregon State (42-14) from the Pac-12; East Carolina (43-15) from the American Athletic Conference; and UC Santa Barbara (42-12) from the Big West.

It’s the second time UC Santa Barbara is hosting a regional, but the first on campus after it hosted at a neutral site at Lake Elsinore in 2015.

The 16 regional winners advance to the best-of-three super regionals, and those eight winners go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 14.

They came to see the Pac-12 baseball championship game. They got a dose of history with it.

With Arizona and Southern California atop the marquee, the undercurrent of Saturday night’s game swirled around what could be a finality: the end of the Pac-12 Conference as we know it.

“It’s weird that it feels like it’s the end of it,” said Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 baseball draft after three seasons at Arizona State. “I guess it makes sense — money talks to these conferences.”

It’s the end of an era, but what a way to go.

Arizona walks off USC to win the Pac-12 tourney title. As it stands, this was the final sporting event ever for a conference that was formed more than 100 years ago. pic.twitter.com/Im1PD1okbD

— ESPN (@espn) May 26, 2024

Money certainly led to the demise of the once-proud Pac-12.

With no imminent media rights deal on the horizon, the conference began to splinter, starting with USC and UCLA’s decision to leave for the Big Ten.

The seismic shift east led to a tsunami of defections.

Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah opted for a move to the Big 12. Washington and Oregon joined the Southern California schools in heading to the Big Ten. California and Stanford will be in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

“This conference is in my heart and soul. And like so many of you out there, it means more to me than I can express.

No other conference can match the history of the Pac-12. And that’s what truly makes this, the Conference of Champions.”

– Roxy Bernstein pic.twitter.com/0rXrx19rrL

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 26, 2024

That left Washington State and Oregon State clinging to the remnants of a Pac-12 facing what’s still an uncertain future.

“That’s the sad thing about it, you start talking about those awards you start thinking, boy, that’s the last time this conference is going to be able to do that,” said Arizona’s Chip Hale, the first person to earn Pac-12 baseball player and coach of the year honors.

Unless the conference resurrects, Hale and his Wildcats will go out as the Pac-12’s final champions after rallying from a three-run deficit to beat the Trojans 4-3 in front a raucous, pro-Arizona crowd at Scottsdale Stadium.

“What a great way for it to end, not only for the baseball season, but the sports’ history for this conference,” Hale said.

And if this is the end, the conference went out with a bang.

USC won its 21st men’s beach volleyball national championship and the USC women won their fourth straight. UCLA’s women’s water polo won its eighth NCAA championship with its third undefeated season.

Stanford’s women’s golf team won its second national title in three years out of an all-Pac-12 final four and its men’s gymnastics team also won a national championship. The Arizona State men won their first swimming and diving national title in March.

“Growing up, it was the Pac-10, then the Pac-12, it was just so much fun to watch,” said Torkelson, who grew up in Petaluma, California. “I feel like there were so many great teams in every sport.”

The self-proclaimed Conference of Champions will leave quite a legacy, even if most of it will be relegated to the history books.

The Pac-12, founded as the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, has claimed 561 team national championships — over 200 more than the next closest conference — and more than 1,200 individual titles.

The conference was home to the some of the greatest athletes in college sports history, from Jackie Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Tiger Woods and Katie Ledecky.

It also was the home of Pac-12 After Dark, those wild, high-scoring football games that ran well past midnight Eastern time.

Arizona gave the conference one last after-dark dose, scoring a run in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and walking it off on Tommy Splaine’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth, sending the Wildcats rushing onto the field.

The win could earn the Wildcats a chance to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s the last game for the Pac-12 and that’s a sad deal, but now it’s on to the Big 12,” Hale said.

Now the Pac-12 may be going dark, its legacy shifting toward the rearview mirror.

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The championship game was the final Pac-12 game for the conference as we know it, with 10 teams heading to new conferences next fall.

The Wildcats (36-21) lost to Oregon in last year’s title game and clinched the No. 1 seed in this year’s bracket after winning the regular-season title.

SPLAINE IT AIN'T SO!!!!!!!!

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/8v0LpSSLvV

— Arizona Baseball 🏆 (@ArizonaBaseball) May 26, 2024

Arizona appeared to be headed to another title-game disappointment, managing one baserunner — on an error — through the first six innings against USC starter Caden Aoki.

Mason White broke up Aoki’s no-hit bid with a one-out single in the seventh inning and Blake McDonald followed with a sacrifice fly off Xavier Martinez for Arizona’s first run. Brendan Summerhill hit a run-scoring single in the eighth inning and Garen Caulfield tied it with a sacrifice fly.

McDonald hit a one-out single off Josh Blum in the ninth inning and pinch runner Emilio Corona stole second. After an intentional walk to Andrew Cain, Splain lined a single and Corona slid in just ahead of left fielder Carson Wells’ throw.

The win could earn the Wildcats a chance to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans (31-28) saw their bid to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 erupt in the desert air.

"This conference is in my heart and soul. And like so many of you out there, it means more to me than I can express.

No other conference can match the history of the Pac-12. And that's what truly makes this, the Conference of Champions."

– Roxy Bernstein pic.twitter.com/0rXrx19rrL

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 26, 2024

USC got off to a great start, taking advantage of two miscues for a 1-0 lead in the third inning.

A fielding error by Splaine at first base put runners on first and third with one out. USC’s Ryan Jackson followed with a deep fly that center fielder Austin Overn misjudged for a run-scoring double. Arizona right fielder Easton Breyfogle saved at least another run with a leaping grab near the warning track.

Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek hit USC’s second straight triple off Cam Walty just out of Breyfogle’s reach in right to score another run in the fourth, and Brayden Dowd made it 3-0 with a run-scoring double.

With the accolade, Hale made history by becoming the first person in Pac-12 baseball history to win both coach of the year and player of the year. Hale was the Pac-10 South Player of the Year in 1987, as then-UCLA player and current Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was the Pac-10 Player of the Year.

Hale is in his third season coaching for his alma mater. He was previously the Diamondbacks’ manager from 2015-16 and a coach for five major league clubs.

Hale wasn’t the only member of the Wildcats or rival Arizona State Sun Devils to earn Pac-12 honors revealed on Tuesday.

Arizona State’s Brandon Compton wins Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

Initially recruited as a pitcher coming out of high school, Compton sat out his true freshman year due to Tommy John surgery. The injury forced him to work on his swing in his first year with the team, the numbers have spoken for themselves.

Compton leads all Pac-12 freshmen in homers (14), doubles (16), average (.363), slugging (.681), on-base percentage (.431) and RBIs (50).

He has been ASU’s best hitter with two outs this season, posting a .467 average in that scenario. Some notable moments featured a go-ahead grand slam in a series finale against Ohio State in February, a game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning over Oregon ending in a walk-off win on March 8 and a go-ahead two-run homer against Utah Valley on March 19.

Isaiah Jackson makes Pac-12 Baseball All-Defensive Team 

The outstanding outfielder has been a defensive stalwart since joining the Sun Devils.

Against USC on April 28, Jackson tied Hunter Bishop (2019) for the second-most putouts in center field with eight, which is one behind Joe Lampe’s record of nine back in 2021. Jackson’s most notable play on the season came against UCLA when he made a leaping catch over the right field wall to rob the Bruins of a three-run homer.

The play gained so much attention that it finished first on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

2024 Pac-12 Baseball All-Conference Teams

Arizona Wildcats

Clark Candiotti, RHP, Sr.

Brendan Summerhill, OF, Soph.

Cam Walty, RHP, Sr.

Mason White, INF. Soph.

Jackson Kent, LHP, Soph.

Garen Caulfield, INF. Jr.

Honorable mentions:

Emilio Corona, OF, Jr.

Casey Hintz, RHP/INF, Fr.

Arizona State Sun Devils

Jacob Tobias, 1B, Jr.

Kien Vu, OF, Soph.

Nick McLain, OF, RS Soph.

Brandon Compton, DH, RS Fr.

Ryan Campos, C, Jr.

Honorable mentions:

Ben Jacobs, OF, Soph.

Connor Markl, LHP, Sr

Pac-12 Tournament bracket

The final Pac-12 Baseball Tournament is in progress at Scottsdale Stadium.

Top-seeded Arizona’s first game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Washington.

ASU dropped its tournament opener to Stanford on Tuesday, 8-7, and plays again Thursday against Oregon State.

The 2024 #Pac12BSB Tournament bracket is SET‼️

🎟️ https://t.co/CrTVA4AFLD pic.twitter.com/6JffWQBx7B

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 19, 2024

The Wildcats (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12, No. 17 CFP) manhandled the two-time reigning Pac-12 champions from the opening drive, building a 28-0 lead by the first play of the second quarter.

Utah (7-4, 4-4) tightened up after that despite playing without three of its best defensive players, but Arizona’s defense was just as good in the final Pac-12 game at Arizona Stadium.

The Wildcats intercepted passes by Bryson Barnes twice in their own end and forced a turnover on downs near midfield to beat four AP Top 25 teams in a season for the first time since 1989.

Fifita threw for 253 yards on 22-od-30 passing against a Utah defense missing rover Karene Reid, safety Cole Bishop and defensive end Jonah Elliss.

Still in the mix for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game, the Wildcats charged out of the gate like they still had something to play for.

The Utes, out of the running for a third straight Pac-12 title, did not.

Arizona revved up an already-charged crowd by scoring on its opening drive with a trick play. Receiver Tetairoa McMillan caught a backward pass from Fifta and threw to a wide-open Michael Wiley for a 21-yard touchdown.

Anthony Ward then juked a blocker, smothered Jack Bouwmeester’s punt and returned it two yards for another score. Montana Lemonious-Craig’s 32-yard touchdown on a sideline pass made it 21-0 in game’s first 11 minutes.

The Wildcats weren’t done. Wiley turned another sideline pass into a 31-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter.

Jacob Manu spoiled Utah’s first sustained drive with an interception at Arizona’s 10, but Barnes regrouped and found Devaughn Vele on a 20-yard touchdown pass to pull the Utes within 28-7 at halftime.

Neither offense could gain much traction until Noah Coleman bounced outside for a 1-yard touchdown that put Arizona up 35-10 in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats’ stellar start provided the cushion they needed when the offense stagnated in the second half. Arizona will likely move up in next week’s AP Top 25 after reaching eight wins for the first time since going 10-4 in 2014.

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Davis is the third Wildcats first-round pick in the past four years after Daniel Susac (2022) and Austin Wells (2020).

The smooth-swinging lefty launched 21 home runs in 57 games in 2023, his third season in Tucson. He produced a 1.231 OPS with 71 runs scored and 74 RBIs.

Take care of him for us, @Cardinals fans 🫡#BearDown x #STLCards pic.twitter.com/WCN2gWS1Ma

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) July 10, 2023

He made Pac-12 All-Conference, was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and earned the Pac-12 Tournament Most Valuable Player award for spearheading Arizona’s run to the title game.

Arizona made the NCAA Tournament after falling to Oregon in the conference tournament finale.

Davis joined Arizona after playing at Franklin High School in California.

The 6-foot-1, 216-pound outfielder joins a Cardinals organization with two top 100 prospects by MLB Pipeline. St. Louis is having a down season at 38-52 entering the All-Star break.

Davis was the second player from an Arizona college to get selected in the first round on Sunday.

Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson went No. 6 overall to the Oakland Athletics.

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March marked the second highest month in wagers since sports gambling was made legal in the state in 2021, according to a new report by the Arizona Department of Gaming.

The only month with more money gambled in the state was March 2022 at approximately $690 million.

“March of 2023 is the fifth time the state eclipsed $600 million in wagers and is the second highest month since the inception of sports betting in Arizona,” Jackie Johnson, ADG director, said in a press release. “I look forward to seeing how sports betting progresses in the state as we close out Fiscal Year 2023 in the coming months.”

Sports bettors wagered over $609 million in February and over $591 million in January.

A huge majority of bets made in March came via mobile apps at approximately $640 million compared to just over $4 million in retail.

FanDuel at approximately $257 million wagered saw the most action out of the sportsbooks.

Just over $591 million was paid out in winnings to players, while $53.4 million was kept by the sportsbooks.

Three statewide schools reached the NCAA Tournament this year to add local interest.

Arizona, Arizona State and Grand Canyon all reached the Big Dance, with ASU cracking the bracket after a First Four victory over Nevada. None of the three teams made it past the Round of 64, though.

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Chase Field will host baseball operations departments, scouting directors, coaches and 274 prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft Combine next week.

MLB announced the participating draft-eligible players on Wednesday, a group involving 12 players coming in from Arizona high schools and universities.

Grand Canyon University shortstop Jacob Wilson headlines the dozen as a projected first-round pick after making the All-WAC First Team. Wilson helped the Antelopes to a 41-21 record with 1.096 OPS.

MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo projected him to land No. 11 to the Angels in the draft, one pick ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 12.

The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Wilson No. 20 on his big board and mocked him No. 8 to the Kansas City Royals last month.

🔥 Flash the leather, @jacobwilsonn22! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DafJvVm95m

— Grand Canyon Baseball (@GCU_Baseball) May 3, 2023

The son of former Pirates infielder Jack Wilson, Jacob is also a true shortstop, one of the better defenders in the college class. Despite an anxious approach at the plate – he never stops moving his hands or his legs – his hand-eye coordination must be off the charts. He gets all that contact by eschewing any attempt to hit for power, as he slaps the ball into play and will shoot it to the opposite field.

He will be joined by fellow GCU standouts OF Homer Bush Jr. and LHP Zach Thornton.

Arizona State will be represented by INF Luke Keaschall and southpaws Khristian Curtis and Ross Dunn.

Keaschall made the All-Pac-12 team after pacing the Sun Devils with a 1.168 OPS and 18 home runs. Law ranked him No. 41 on his big board.

Outfielder Chase Davis and RHP TJ Nichols will be the two Arizona Wildcats in attendance. Davis was No. 30 on Law’s board and is coming off a Pac-12 Tournament to remember. He earned Pac-12 Tournament Most Valuable Player after producing six hits and 12 RBIs in four games.

THAT POOR BASEBALL 😱 pic.twitter.com/y33dliscoj

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) May 27, 2023

The Arizona high school participants are RHP Derek Schaefer (Cactus Shadows), OF Duce Robinson (Pinnacle ), RHP James DeCremer (Brophy) and INF Roch Cholowsky (Hamilton).

The combine will involve on-field workouts, batting practice sessions, MLB Network showcases and high school games.

It starts Monday and concludes on June 24, as the D-backs will be on the road all week.

Fans can attend Tuesday and Wednesday’s activities for free.

The MLB Draft is set for All-Star Week in Seattle from July 9-11.

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Formerly known as “MLB4” with four teams, the tournament will have six competitors for the event taking place at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, the Chicago Cubs spring training facilities at Sloan Park in Mesa and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix from Feb. 17-19.

The teams participating are No. 4 University of Tennessee, No. 33 University of Arizona, No. 36 Grand Canyon University, Michigan State University, Fresno State University and University of California San Diego.

The Wildcats look to rebound after rallying from the elimination bracket before falling to the eventual national champions Ole Miss Rebels in the Super Regional finals last year.

Grand Canyon’s season ended at the hands of Arkansas and Missouri State, going 0-2 in their respective Super Regional.

The showcase will feature seven of the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Draft prospects, including Grand Canyon’s SS prospect Jacob Wilson (No. 9) and OF Homer Bush Jr. (No. 88).

The Wildcats have OF Chase Davis (No. 51) and RHP T.J. Nichols (No. 71).

The full schedule of times, tickets and location of the games can be found online.

The 2023 tournament will take place at Hillenbrand Stadium in Tucson from May 10-13.

Seeding will be based on the conference standings at the end of the regular season, with the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds meeting in a play-in game to determine the rest of the eight-team field.

The remaining eight schools will then play single-elimination games over the next three days.

The second day will have the quarterfinal round, the third day will be the semifinals and the final day will be the conference championship.

The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Pac-12 baseball had a trial run with its first conference postseason tournament this past season, which got exceptional reviews.

The inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament took place this past May 25-29 at Scottsdale Stadium.

The one difference between the two tournaments is that baseball is double-elimination as opposed to single-elimination for softball.

Arizona (39-24) will play Mississippi for the championship on Monday. The Wildcats will have to beat Ole Miss twice to earn a berth in the Super Regionals.

The Wildcats’ rally in the ninth started after Andrew Walters (0-1) struck out Blake Paugh and Mac Bingham to open the inning. Leadoff batter Nic McClaughry reached on an infield single and took second on a wild pitch. Walters plunked Daniel Susac with a 1-2 pitch and O’Tremba doubled to right-center field, scoring both runners.

Quinn Flanagan came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth for Arizona and Ariel Garcia greeted him with a single. Garcia advanced to second on a wild pitch. and took third on a fly out. Flanagan struck out pinch-hitter Gaby Gutierrez for the second out, then intentionally walked Yohandy Morales. Flanagan got Renzo Gonzalez to ground out to short to end the game for his second save.

CJ Kayfus led off the bottom of the first with a home run to give Miami (40-20) an early lead. Arizona tied it when No. 9 hitter Mac Bingham homered leading off the third.

Morales’ hit a two-run shot to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead in the sixth. Arizona pulled within a run in the eighth on a solo homer by Tony Bullard.

The Wildcats (38-24) play again Monday against the loser of Sunday’s late game between Miami and Ole Miss.

Arizona got on the board with Chase Davis’ two-run homer in the first. Paugh had his long balls in the third and seventh, which capped the scoring.

McClaughry’s blast in the fourth put the Wildcats on top 6-1 and he also sparkled on defense, starting a double play from his back.

TJ Nichols (6-4) picked up the win, giving up three runs on five hits in five innings. Quinn Flanagan retired the last four batters for his first four saves.

Mike DeStefano had three hits and scored two runs for the Golden Griffins (29-25). Chris Pouliot (8-4) took the loss, allowing the first three Arizona home runs.

Ole Miss (33-22) plays Miami with the winner advancing to the regional final and Arizona plays Canisius in a loser-out game — both on Sunday.

Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko drew back-to-back walks to lead off the eighth inning and Kevin Graham reached on a fielder’s choice when Gonzalez — who had to wait at second until two Arizona fielders nearly collided as Graham’s blooper dropped in — was put out at third.

Kemp Alderman walked and Hayden Dunhurst struck out before Chatagnier’s double down leftfield line that, along with Chase Davis’ fielding error, gave the Rebels a 7-4 lead.

Davis and Garen Caulfield each hit a solo shot in the bottom of the second to give Arizona a 2-0 lead but Gonzalez pulled a two-run home run down the line in right for Ole Miss in the top of the fourth.

Tanner O’Tremba hit a two-out double to right, Davis was intentionally walked and Tony Bullard hit a double to right-center to put the Wildcats back in front in the bottom of the sixth but Chatagnier answered with a two-run shot that made it 4-4.

The regional, which originally was scheduled to begin Friday, was delayed a day due to a tropical storm in the area.

The Wildcats face Canisius at 8 a.m.

Carlie Scupin had three hits and Arizona defeated fellow Pac-12 member Oregon State 3-1 in an elimination game on Friday night.

Lowe was more focused on the players after the win.

“It feels awesome,” Lowe said. “I told them after the game that they were meant for this stage, and I truly believed they were going to chip away and make it happen. Nothing really got too big. They were amped at the beginning of the game, but they knew they were going to win that game on this stage. That’s a big deal.”

The Wildcats won eight national titles under Candrea. This Arizona team took a different road than previous ones. The Wildcats (39-21) lost their first eight conference games this season and finished tied for last in the league before turning things around.

Hanah Bowen (14-11) got the win with two innings of shutout relief. Devyn Netz started and gave up three hits and one run in five innings. The Wildcats held the Beavers without a hit after the second inning.

Arizona advanced to play the loser of Saturday’s Oklahoma-Texas game in an elimination game on Sunday.

Oregon State’s Mariah Mazon, a NFCA third-team All-American pitcher, did not play in Thursday’s loss to Florida.

“Unfortunately yesterday, I wasn’t feeling well,” she said. “I was required to stay back from the game because of medical staff requiring me to stay back.”

The missed opportunity made showing up Friday more important.

“I just wanted to come out here and do it for my team,” she said. “Unfortunately, we came up short. But we gave our all. Just came up short.”

Mazon was strong for most of the game, but Arizona finally got to her in the sixth inning. Scupin doubled to score Amber Toven. Then, Blaise Biringer singled to drive in Giulia Koutsoyanopulos, giving the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.

Mazon (17-12) gave up six hits in six innings. The fifth-year senior said she accomplished her goals at Oregon State.

“When I was recruited … Oregon State wasn’t really a big-name school,” she said. “I thought like, I want to be that person that comes in and creates a name for Oregon State. I think that I kind of did what I came here to do. It’s just been a great experience. I’m so glad.”

Oregon State (39-22) got two runners on with two outs in the seventh, but did not score.

The Beavers were proud of their surprising run and their first World Series appearance since 2006 and believe more success lies ahead.

“They got a taste of it. It’s like blood in the water now,” Oregon State coach Laura Berg said. “They’re sharks. We got to go after what it is we want. If we want to come back here, we need to get better at the things we need to work on.”