Arizona

Grand Canyon stuns Arizona in Tucson NCAA baseball regional

Published

2 years ago

June 1, 2024

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Grand Canyon stuns Arizona in Tucson NCAA baseball regional

TUCSON — Two out, two strikes, bases loaded, a Hi Corbett Field record crowd of 8,798 screaming and waiting.

Eddy Pelc delivered in the biggest moment in Grand Canyon baseball history Friday night with a bases-clearing double over the center fielder’s head, fueling the Lopes’ first-ever NCAA regional victory, defeating host Arizona, the Tucson region’s No. 1 seed, 9-4.

Pelc’s hit gave GCU, the No. 4 seed, a 5-3 lead. He drove in another run in the eighth, and, just to make sure, Zach Yorke’s two-run double in the ninth sent the Wildcats into the loser’s bracket.

No. 3-seed West Virginia, which won its game earlier Friday, will meet GCU at 7 p.m., Saturday in the winner’s bracket. Arizona, the 13th overall seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament, plays No. 2 Dallas Baptist at 1 p.m., Saturday for survival. The loser of that game will be eliminated.

Pelc’s hit came against Arizona’s hottest pitcher, Clark Candiotti, who had gotten into a groove after giving up an opening home run to Tyler Wilson and seeing another run cross the plate in the second.

But, after Arizona went up 3-2 against GCU left-hander Grant Richardson, the Lopes got their first hit since the second inning in the sixth when Yorke singled, after Candiotti walked Cade Verdusco.

Candiotti struck out cleanup hitter Eli Paton, before hitting Michael Diaz with a pitch. After getting Elijah Buries to look at a called third strike, it set the stage for Pelc with two outs.

“It was a high-pressure spot, a spot where we needed somebody to show up,” Pelc said. “I happened to be the guy to do it. I was trying to battle, put my best swing on the ball, stay in the box as long as I could and win that at-bat.”

After battling off pitch after pitch with foul balls, Pelc drove the ball. It appeared center fielder Brendan Summerhill took a step in before realizing how far Pelc hit Candiotti’s two-strike pitch. He watched the ball clear his head and off the wall, scoring three runs.

That gave GCU (35-23) a 5-3 lead.

Arizona (36-22) scored a run in the sixth after a Mason White double and an RBI single by Blake McDonald. Richardson then struck out Maddox Mihalakis with runners on the corners to end the inning.

That’s all Isaac Lyon, making a rare relief appearance, would need, pitching the final three innings of shutout ball for the lopes, giving up two hits and striking out four.

Lyon usually is the Saturday starter for GCU. But coach Gregg Wallis talked to pitching coach Nathan Bannister about having a lead in the seventh and how he wanted to go with Lyon to finish it out against the top seed in the regional.

“A tournament is different from the regular season,” Wallis said. “You can’t think traditionally. At least we didn’t want to think traditionally. We felt Isaac is one of our top two pitchers right now. We talked about it before the game, if we’re in the seventh inning and it’s tied or we have the lead, we’re going with Isaac.”

It paid off. And it made history for a team that a week ago was praying for a miracle to get into the NCAA Tournament, after getting knocked out of the WAC tournament with two losses in one day.

They only got in because WAC tournament winner Tarleton State wasn’t eligible because it was in the final season of the transition from D-II to D-I. That gave the regular-season champion, GCU, the automatic bid from the WAC.

It also gave the Lopes tremendous confidence knowing they were coming into Tucson, playing a team they had beaten two out of three times in the regular season with the last win coming a month ago, a 24-8 win at Hi Corbett Field.

Pelc said the team is playing with “house money.” Richardson was ecstatic to help give the program its first regional win, and in front of a sellout crowd.

“But we’re not done yet,” Richardson said.

Wallis said it was too soon to take in the historic moment for the GCU program. He was excited about the crowd, even though most of it was decked out in Wildcats’ red. He was excited for Wilson opening the game with a home run, for Richardson battling through UA’s three-run second after taking a hard liner off the knee, and for Pelc’s big hit.

Richardson ended up walking in a run after getting hit by the drive, but he got through the inning, and worked the next four innings, giving up just three hits and a run.

“I’m excited we came here and played great baseball,” Wallis said. “That’s what I told the boys after the game. I’m proud of them, not just because of what the scoreboard said. It was how we came out with intent to play great baseball. And we did it.”

Arizona coach Chip Hale said he hopes to see GCU again later in the tournament.

“We just didn’t play very well tonight,” Hale said. “They played well. They made the plays. They made some really hard ones. And we just didn’t play our best game.”

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

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Arizona

Aztecs basketball loses big to #1-ranked Arizona

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Aztecs basketball loses big to #1-ranked Arizona

San Diego State has put itself into an unenviable and unusual position. The Aztecs are going to have to win the Mountain West Conference to get a spot in the NCAA Tournament because their non-conference resume is nowhere near as impressive as it usually is.

SDSU lost 68-45 to the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night on a “neutral” floor in Phoenix, AZ. It was the lowest point total for the Cats this season. But, as has been their Achilles heel for years now, SDSU’s usual stellar defense doesn’t matter much when they can’t score the basketball.

They looked great for the first 18 minutes. Tae Simmons made a layup to give the Aztecs a 27-20 lead and the Aztecs were in control of the #1 team in the country. The Aztecs made just three of their next 21 field goal attempts, allowing the Wildcats to methodically take control.

Arizona finished the half on an 8-0 run and made things infinitely worse after the break, outscoring the Aztecs 40-18 over the final 20 minutes. For the game SDSU shot just 7% (1-for-14) from 3-point range but it wasn’t so much the errant shots that led to the blowout. The Aztecs held AZ to 38% from the field and 24% from 3-point land.

The problem was on the backboards. The Wildcats outrebounded the Aztecs 52-28, collecting a whopping 20 offensive rebounds and keeping San Diego State from getting any runout buckets that might get their offense going.

Add to this setback a 40-point loss to 2nd-ranked Michigan (which in reality doesn’t look all that bad since the Wolverines also beat Gonzaga by 40 and Auburn by 50) and an ugly home loss to Troy and SDSU is just 6-4 on the young season. They have one more non-conference game at home against Whittier on Monday afternoon before diving fully into Mountain West play with a trip to San Jose State on December 30.

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Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham signs 5-year extension averaging $7.5M a year

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham signs 5-year extension averaging .5M a year

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Kenny Dillingham insisted he had no interest in leaving Arizona State. All he wanted was for his program and assistant coaches to get the resources they needed to be successful.

Dillingham got his wish on Saturday, signing a five-year contract extension that will raise his salary to an average of $7.5 million per year and increase the salary pool for his assistants to $11 million — one of the highest in the Big 12.

“The support of this season has stepped up a ton. Our university stepped up,” Dillingham told reporters following Saturday’s practice. “What I was fighting for was that long-term commitment to our staff, to our program, to the commitment to try be competitive in this crazy world (of college football).”

Dillingham had been reportedly in the mix for numerous high-profile jobs, insisting after a win against West Virginia on Nov. 15 that he wasn’t going anywhere. The 35-year-old coach’s name popped up again when Michigan fired Sherrone Moore last week and Dillingham was honest about using the top job at Michigan to push Arizona State to support the football program even more.

“This was always the goal; secure generational leadership right here at ASU,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement. “We have the right coach and want him to have the tools to do his job in a way that keeps building excitement, connection and winning at ASU. Not only is the Valley activated, but the Sun Devils are about to ignite!”

Dillingham has certainly revitalized Arizona State’s program and its fan base.

The former Oregon offensive coordinator and Arizona State alum became the youngest coach in the FBS when he was hired at 32 and, after an injury-plagued first season, led the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship — their first conference title since 1996. Arizona State went on to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, earning Dillingham a five-year contract extension that bumped his salary to $5.8 million the first year of the contract.

Injuries hit Arizona State hard this season — notably quarterback Sam Leavitt and All-American Jordyn Tyson — but Dillingham still had his team in contention for a return trip to the Big 12 title game until late in the season.

The Sun Devils sold out every home game this season and finished the regular season 8-4, earning a spot in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl against Duke.

Now Dillingham and his program have more resources to keep the momentum going.

“Our staff wins. I’ve said this over and over,” Dillingham said. “Them and our players are what have got us to this point. They’re a vital piece and I think they deserve to be taken care of.”

___

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Former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely switches congressional districts in Arizona race

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely switches congressional districts in Arizona race

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely has switched his congressional campaign from the East Valley to Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, joining a crowded Republican primary in Scottsdale.

The move comes after President Donald Trump endorsed former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the Fifth Congressional District last month, sending Feely a message to run in a different district.

“After nearly a quarter century in professional football, I know that no player is more important than the well-being of the team,” Feely said in a statement released Friday. “In this moment, the best way I can serve our GOP team is to defend this crucial Republican seat.”

Feely joins businessman John Trobough, state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik and current Arizona Republican Party leader Gina Swoboda in the GOP primary. Swoboda has already secured Trump’s endorsement.

Political experts believe Feely’s move, following Trump’s advice, could lead to another situation where Trump endorses two candidates in the same race.

The First Congressional District seat opened when Congressman David Schweikert announced his run for governor. Republicans view the district as a must-win seat.

The winner of the Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election. The district is one of two swing districts in Arizona that could determine which party controls the House.

Trump has previously endorsed multiple candidates in Arizona Republican primaries, including Rep. Andy Biggs and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson in the governor’s race.

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