大象APP

It happened at Arizona, but neither of them had become the head coach of the Wildcats yet.

In 1985, when Lopez was the head coach at Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills and Hale was a sophomore at the UA, Lopez and the Toros faced 鈥渕y dear friend (and the late head coach) Jerry Kindall鈥� and Arizona at Frank Sancet Stadium, which is now the location of Arizona football鈥檚 practice facility and fields.

鈥淐oach was kind enough to invite us every year and beat our brains out,鈥� Lopez joked.

In Hale鈥檚 first at-bat, smack! Goner. Home run.

鈥淚 just remember him hitting a bomb to right field,鈥� Lopez said.

The home run was one of a program-record 337 hits for Hale during his legendary four-year career at Arizona. Now, Hale could become the latest UA graduate to lead their alma mater to a national championship as a player and coaching, joining former Arizona women鈥檚 golf coach Laura Ianello.

Arizona begins College World Series play against Coastal Carolina Friday morning, the first postseason trip to Omaha under Hale. The Wildcats are in the College World Series for the first time since 2021. If the Wildcats win the College World Series, it鈥檒l be the first national championship for Arizona since the Lopez-led team in 2012 鈥� five in school history.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a perfect fit for this university,鈥� Lopez said of Hale. 鈥淚 sent him a text message, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e a man of integrity, high morals, good baseball guy, great baseball coach.鈥� He鈥檚 a perfect fit. He鈥檚 exactly what this university exemplifies. It鈥檚 a great place and a great town. I retired here with my wife and kids. We thank God for my time here at the University of Arizona.鈥�

Hale still has a ways to go before he鈥檚 in the ballpark with Lopez for all-time wins at Arizona, albeit he鈥檚 only in his fourth year, while Lopez was the skipper of the Wildcats for 14 years and piled up 490 victories. Hale has 152 wins at the UA in four seasons. Reaching 157 wins by the end of the season is the goal for Arizona, signifying five wins en route to a national championship.

Leading up to the College World Series in Omaha, Lopez 鈥� who is one of three coaches all-time to lead three different programs to the College World Series in Arizona, Florida and Pepperdine 鈥� spoke with 鈥淪pears & Ali鈥� on ESPN 大象APPto reflect on the 2012 national title team, what makes this group at Arizona worth watching and an update on a former UA baseball player in a life-threatening situation. Here鈥檚 part of that interview:

What are your impressions of this UA baseball club?

A: 鈥淚 read and heard a long, long time ago that as a head coach, you would hope your team is a representation of who you are. That was always my goal. I鈥檝e had the good fortune of knowing Chip Hale since 1985. He鈥檚 a tremendous guy, tremendous human being and a really good baseball coach. I wasn鈥檛 shocked, I really wasn鈥檛.

鈥淚 was shocked by the Friday game (when Arizona lost to North Carolina 18-2) and that blew me away. I was like, 鈥榃ow, that鈥檚 a really bad day.鈥� But the next two games, I was like, 鈥榊eah, that makes sense,鈥� because I know who Chip Hale is. They鈥檙e a really good representation of Chip鈥檚 makeup, his drive, his passion and his competitive spirit. I think they鈥檙e going to be OK.鈥�

Do you see the same spirit and connection in this team as you did with the 2012 team?

A: 鈥淵ou see cohesiveness. We鈥檙e going to play for 27 outs. There鈥檚 a lot of teams that don鈥檛 play for 27 outs. I鈥檝e been a head coach for 38 years 鈥� heck, I took a team to Omaha that didn鈥檛 play for 27 outs. We didn鈥檛 play for two weeks and we were out of there by about five days. (This year,) they play hard for 27 outs and the biggest thing is that they have an enthusiasm that鈥檚 contagious among themselves, and that鈥檚 special.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the intangibles. When you get to this point of the season, everyone has the tangibles. Everyone has the pitching, everyone has the hitting and everyone has the tangibles. You don鈥檛 get to the College World Series without the tangible athletic ability and talent.

鈥淣ow it becomes, who鈥檚 going to get hot and who has that intangible in them? Who shows up on a mission to win it and who shows up there happy to be there? 鈥楬ey, it鈥檚 been a great year! Wow, we鈥檙e happy to be here.鈥� When you have that kind of attitude, usually you鈥檙e going home pretty quick. I don鈥檛 know, I think this group is going to stick around for a while.鈥�

Does winning a national championship boil down to who is playing red-hot and has camaraderie rather than pure talent?

A: 鈥淢an, Lord blessed me with two national titles. I say this pointblank and with all due respect 鈥� I love those guys for putting up with my madness because I was very demanding on the field, and guys hung in there and I鈥檓 so thankful for that 鈥� but the 鈥�92 club was not the best team in Omaha.

鈥淭he 2012 team, I love those guys, but they weren鈥檛 the most talented team in Omaha. You know what? They had one common denominator between the two, they played better baseball than everybody else during that stretch. ... You gotta get some breaks and everyone has to stay healthy and you gotta play well. You鈥檝e got the eight hottest teams in the nation showing up and you gotta play well at the time.鈥�

Former Arizona pitcher James Farris, who pitched a gem in the final game of the College World Series in 2012, is battling Stage 4 cancer. Do you have an update on the status of his health?

A: 鈥淛ames and I have been in contact since the day after he was diagnosed. ... He鈥檚 back in Arkansas once he got out of pro ball. He鈥檚 married, he鈥檚 got a 2-year-old boy, great-looking kid. James has Stage 4 cancer and it鈥檚 not a good report, but James is strong in his faith. James and I share the same faith and I send him scriptures every morning.

鈥淚鈥檓 humbled and honored to wake up every morning and send James a scripture. ... His blood level is getting better, but he鈥檚 lost 22 pounds in the last three weeks, which is tough on him. For those who believe in the power of prayer, please keep James and his family in your prayers.

鈥淟ike I told James, my program was designed to make practices so hard, that games were a relief and easy. 鈥楳an, we just went through practice with this knucklehead and this little Mexican guy is driving us nuts in practice, games are easy.鈥� I told James that when he was diagnosed.

鈥淚 told him, 鈥楴ot only did you survive this program, you were excellent in this program and you were a winner in this program 鈥� you won a national championship.鈥� ... James is a special young man and we鈥檙e praying for the best.鈥�