A Grip on Sports: Though the jerseys may have another conference’s patch on them, the Pac-12’s baseball legacy will live on in Omaha
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is a bias here. I admit that. When it comes to college baseball, I will stand firmly on a Pac-12-built hill and battle all comers. Even after the conference we’ve known for decades has been scattered to the winds.
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• The Conference of Champions is still the champion conference in a sport which has crowned champions since 1947.
That point was etched in stone Sunday morning when Arizona earned a World Series berth with another comeback win over Super Regional host North Carolina. It was punctuated by UCLA’s sweep of UT-San Antonio later in the day. And Oregon State’s 14-10 victory over Florida State in Corvallis last night wrote the final sentence.
The Pac-12 may only have two current members – one of which is going to be in Omaha for the eighth time – but its legacy of a record 268 wins in the World Series survives. And if the legacy members were still part of the gang, no conference would have more schools in the eight-team Series. Not even the SEC, which was given a never-before-reached 13 spots in the 64-team tournament. Only two teams from that conference will be in Nebraska.
The first NCAA baseball champion came from California. Not just the state, the University of, in Berkeley. USC won its first of its 12 the next year. Cal won again in 1958, then the Trojans went on a tear, winning 10 times in the next two decades under coach Rod Dedeaux – including five in a row at one point.
When Arizona and Arizona State joined in 1979, they just made a strong conference stronger. The Wildcats (two), Sun Devils (one) and Stanford (two) dominated the 1980s. USC gave the conference a title in the ‘90s, Oregon State, under legend Pat Casey, pushed into the picture in the 2000s with two titles and Arizona, UCLA and the Beavers each won one in the ‘10s.
That’s 23 total titles folks. And Oregon State, which once again seems to be a team of destiny, could add the 24th over the next couple weeks.
Of course, if either UCLA, which won its only title in 2013, or Arizona, which won its fourth – the third while in the conference – in 2012, wins this year, the championship trophy will be credited to either the Big Ten or the Big 12, respectively.
Fine. But we will know better, won’t we? The Pac-12 roots still nourish both programs, as they do for USC, which made the tournament for the first since 2015, and ASU, another at-large participant this season.
Those roots run deep. They draw from a wellspring of West Coast high school talent that might not be as overwhelming as it once was but still rivals Texas and Florida for dominance. And besides, Oregon State has proved three times you don’t have to load up with five-star recruits to win in Omaha. It makes it easier, sure, but fundamentally solid team play still counts for something.
And may count to 24 soon.
• Sunday was magnificent. And the weather was great too. Though a bit hot. Maybe not as hot as Jannik Sinner was making Carlos Alcaraz feel late in the fourth set of the French Open men’s final in Paris.
Sinner, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, won the first two sets. Had let up a bit in the third but roared back in the fourth. He led 5-3 in the fourth. Was up 40-0. One more point and he was the French champion.
He never got that point. Alcaraz survived. Found extra energy as the match rolled past 5 hours and finally found a way to win in the fifth-set tiebreaker. What fun.
• Funny thing, though. That epic match, and the excellent college baseball, were just part of an epic Sunday.
– The Mariners snapped their five-game losing streak even though Cal Raleigh did not hit a home run. George Kirby, however, pitched like George Kirby – and then some – for the first time since his injury, striking out a career-high 14 in the 3-2 road win over the Angels.
– Oklahoma City once again showed why it is the NBA finals favorite, dominating visiting Indiana 123-107 to even the series at one. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren bounced back from a subpar first game with 15 points, six rebounds and one extra-special blocked shot that made the social-media rounds.
– If you happened to be watching Courtney Vandersloot and the Chicago Sky take on the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever, you may have seen the final few minutes of the Gonzaga grad’s basketball career. Five minutes in, Vandersloot collided with a teammate and suffered a torn ACL. Her season is over. And, at age 36, her career might be as well. It all depends on her willingness to enter into a year of rehabilitation after having accomplished more than most, including WNBA titles and records.
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WSU: The Cedric Coward story is eye-catching. And is about to reach another level during the NBA draft. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we already mentioned the baseball success over the weekend and want to acknowledge the fact Oregon State is playing this gap year as an independent, though any championship will be credited to the Pac-12. And have delved into the changes wrought by the House settlement more than once. What else is there? How about this story on the guy who will be in charge of Division I rules enforcement, Bryan Seeley? … Or should we emphasis the changes coming to Washington’s third-party NIL collective? … How about the best 10 games this season in Big 12 football? … Or Arizona and Colorado State showing once again recruiting never stops. … OK, we also will add a couple more links from Oregon State’s World Series-trip-clinching win. … In basketball news, Washington’s men added a former USC player from the portal.
Gonzaga: We linked stories about Vandersloot’s season-ending injury above. And do it again here in case you skipped over them. … We have a few links above from the Thunder’s win. And a couple more here. … Missed this over the weekend. Former GU guard Pavle Stosic is headed to Pepperdine.
EWU and Idaho: Jon Wilner delves into the Big Sky conference’s future in this Mercury News column about realignment.
Indians: Spokane’s hopes for a Northwest League first-half title were saved Sunday afternoon with a ninth-inning rally. And a walk-off balk, culminating a 9-8 win over NWL-leading Hillsboro. Dave Nichols was at sun-drenched Avista and has this story.
Mariners: We linked the game story above, while also mentioning Raleigh actually had the whole day off. Both stories are linked here again.
Sounders: Vancouver’s June 1 visit to Mexico for the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals resulted in eight players coming down with a mysterious illness before the loss. And put Sunday’s match with Seattle in jeopardy. It was played, though the Sounders probably wished it hadn’t been as they suffered a 3-0 in British Columbia. … The MLS proposed a change to player compensation for the upcoming Club World Cup, but the MLSPA found it insulting.
Kraken: Florida has been great on the road during these NHL playoffs. Now the Panthers head home with the finals tied at one game apiece. Tonight’s game starts at 4 p.m. on TNT.
Seahawks: We linked this Bob Condotta story about the OTAs when it appeared on the Times’ website. It ran in the S-R today.
Tennis: One last note from Paris, which featured a lot of highlights. Women’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka, who fell in three sets to Coco Gauff, clarified her post-match comments Sunday after they caused a furor. Her Sunday statement would have been perfect 24 hours earlier.
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• The curves life throws your way are oftentimes Clayton Kershaw nasty. It also seems just about every time you dig into the batter’s box, here comes something up and in at about 100 miles per hour to disrupt your comfort zone. It’s just the way it is. For everyone. Remember that as you take your daily walk. I’m trying my best to do the same. Until later …