Arizona
Grand Canyon stuns Arizona in Tucson NCAA baseball regional
Paul Landry Quinsigamond Community College baseball
At 51 years old, and with a prosthetic lower right leg, Paul Landry is giving college baseball a shot for the first time this spring.
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
Arizona
How former Arizona Wildcats fared in Week 11 of NFL season
Another week of the NFL season is in the books. Here’s how former Arizona Wildcats fared around the league in Week 11.
Nick Folk, K, Tennessee Titans
Folk made a pair of field goals, including a long of 43 yards, in Tennessee’s 23-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Folk has 396 career field goals, one shy of 15th all-time.
Christian Roland-Wallace, ST, Kansas City Chiefs
Roland-Wallace played 13 snaps on special teams in Kansas City’s 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Roland-Wallace earned a 66.7 grade, second-best on the Chiefs special teams unit.
Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, ST, San Francisco 49ers
Flannigan-Fowles played 14 special teams snaps for San Francisco in its 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Flannigan-Fowles’ 63.6 grade on PFF was fourth-best on the 49ers special teams unit.
Jacob Cowing, WR/ST, San Francisco 49ers
Cowing played one offensive snap and two special teams snaps in San Francisco’s loss.
Jordan Morgan, OT, Green Bay Packers
Morgan was placed on the injured reserve on Saturday, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four weeks. Morgan reportedly reaggravated a shoulder injury during practice.
Arizona
Democratic Arizona governor says she'll work with Trump on border security if it won't harm families
PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday she is willing to work with President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration on border security issues like stopping fentanyl trafficking, but not in areas that she said could harm Arizona families such as mass deportation.
Hobbs traveled to the Arizona-Mexico border on Monday to trumpet her state’s National Guard work helping crack down on smuggling of the deadly synthetic opioid into the U.S. through Nogales, Arizona. More than half of all border seizures of the drug are made in Nogales.
“Border security was a core issue of the Trump campaign,” Hobbs told reporters as vehicles moved behind her. “I look forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs, including border security and the work we’ve done here to build these partnerships that are actually producing results and how we can continue those partnerships under his administration.”
But, she added, there are Arizona families who “are worried about threats from the Trump administration as well.”
“I will not tolerate actions that harm Arizonans, that harm our communities and quite honestly, divert resources from providing real security at our border,” Hobbs said.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, something that would upend the lives of the 11 million people living in the United States without authorization, many of whom have family members who are U.S. citizens.
“I will stand up to protect Arizonans from harm by the federal government, from anyone,” Hobbs said, but “I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals. We don’t know what a mass deportation plan will look like, what resources it will involve.”
Hobbs also touted Operation Secure, her initiative deploying the National Guard to assist local and federal enforcement in Arizona’s border communities like Nogales. The governor said 170 Arizona National Guard members are assigned to counterdrug efforts statewide, including 40 at the border in Nogales.
The governor’s border visit comes less than two weeks after Democrats suffered blistering losses at the polls in Arizona, with Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of about 185,000 votes statewide and beefing up the Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature.
Hobbs said Monday that border security is not a “Republican or Democratic issue” and she will work with “anyone” to keep the border safe.
Troy Miller, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, also spoke at the news conference and called National Guard members “a critical force multiplier” for his agency’s operations at the Nogales port.
“The scope of this problem is too large and the stakes are too high for us to do this work alone,” Miller said. “That’s why I’m so proud of the partnerships we have built, especially the ones right here in Arizona.”
Arizona
$100,000 reward in Arizona wolf killing mystery
A protected Mexican gray wolf named Hope was found dead on November 7 near Flagstaff, Arizona, prompting a significant reward for information leading to a conviction over her killing.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department announced a combined reward of $103,500 for details about her death.
Her killing has sparked outrage among wildlife advocates who see her as a critical messenger for Mexican gray wolf recovery efforts.
Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing a Mexican wolf is a serious federal offense that can result in substantial fines and potential imprisonment.
So far, details of the animal’s death have not been publicly released and an investigation is underway.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via its website for comment.
Having dispersed from the Tu Dil Hil pack in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, Hope had carved out a territory north of Interstate 40, an area outside the official wolf recovery zone. She had been seen traveling with another Mexican wolf in the area, according to a Fish and Wildlife Service statement.
Conservation experts viewed her presence as evidence that suitable wolf habitat extends beyond current designated regions.
“Hope was a sentient individual being and a messenger of the changes needed in the Mexican gray wolf recovery program,” Claire Musser, executive director at Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, said in a statement.
Her territory challenged existing conservation boundaries and demonstrated the potential for wolf populations to naturally expand.
Wildlife advocates have questioned how the death could have occurred, as the animal would have been instantly recognizable as a wolf.
Cyndi Tuell from Western Watersheds Project said in a statement that Hope’s tracking collar was clearly visible, making it impossible for a shooter to mistake her for a coyote or claim an accidental killing.
“If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the nonhuman community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape,” Tuell said.
Hope’s presence had garnered significant public support. In 2021, Flagstaff passed a resolution supporting Mexican gray wolf recovery, recognizing both the ecological importance and potential economic benefits of wolf-related tourism.
Scientists have recommended expanding wolf recovery plans to include additional subpopulations, particularly in the Grand Canyon ecoregion and southern Rockies. Hope’s journey represented an example of this potential.
Sandy Bahr from the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter demanded accountability. “If the investigation into Hope’s death reveals that a person killed her, we expect the Arizona Game and Fish Department to advocate for justice for Hope,” she said in a statement.
Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity added: “Hope embodied the dreams of many in Flagstaff, including the school children who named her. Her death is not just a loss for wildlife, but for our entire community.”
The fate of the other wolf, named as Mystery, which was traveling with Hope remains unknown, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Anyone with information about Hope’s death is urged to contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents in Pinetop, Arizona at (346) 254-0515.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about gray wolves? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
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