OMAHA, Neb. – Arizona closed its season with weekend trips to Oregon and Hawaii. The Wildcats then won the Lafayette Regional and followed by winning the Starkville Super Regional.
Save for a couple home games against Abilene Christian, the Wildcats have been living out of suitcases for the past five weeks. That included watching the NCAA selection show from Denver while on the way back home from Hawaii.
It hasn’t fazed these Cats.
After Saturday night’s 5-1 win over Miami, Arizona has won 13 of 14, although they dropped the first two against Oregon to start its joyful journey. And beating Louisiana-Lafayette and Mississippi State in their parks is no easy task.
“Over the last month, our team’s really grown closer together,” Wildcats starter Nathan Bannister said. “Losing attachments to home or road and really just focus on the game of baseball and what we need to do day in and day out.”
Right fielder Zach Gibbons added: “It’s just getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. On the road four or five weeks in a row, that’s not easy at all, but we feel like we’ve developed a good routine…everything’s kind of done, all the drama is set aside.”
In all, leading up to Omaha, Arizona traveled more than 12,000 miles for 13 games in six states.
They won’t mind spending another week or more in Nebraska.