1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball team

The 1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball team represented the University of Arizona during the 1978 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Wildcats played their home games at Wildcat Field. The team was coached by Jerry Kindall in his 6th season at Arizona. The Wildcats finished 42-13 overall and placed 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference's Southern Division with a 13–5 record. After a single year gap, Arizona was selected to the postseason and was placed in the West Regional hosted by the University of Southern California at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles, California. The Wildcats lost their 1st game to USC before bouncing back to win their next 2 against Santa Clara and Cal State Fullerton. The team however lost their next game - a rematch with USC - to end their season. This would be Arizona's final season as members of the Western Athletic Conference, which they had been affiliated with for the previous 16 seasons. Beginning in 1979, the Wildcats would compete as members of the Pacific-10 Conference (later Pac-12 Conference) for the next 45 seasons, which they would remain in until leaving for the Big 12 Conference in 2024.

1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
CBNo. 10
Record42–13 (13–5 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coachJim Wing (6th season)
Home stadiumWildcat Field
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Western Athletic Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern
BYU  x‍‍‍ 16 2   .889 37 15   .712
Wyoming  ‍‍‍ 8 10   .444 35 24   .593
Colorado State  ‍‍‍ 6 12   .333 20 26   .435
Utah  ‍‍‍ 6 12   .333 8 27   .229
Southern
No. 2 Arizona State  x‍‍y 15 3   .833 56 12   .824
Arizona  ‍‍‍y 13 5   .722 42 13   .764
New Mexico  ‍‍‍ 5 12   .294 31 24   .564
UTEP  ‍‍‍ 2 15   .118 26 26   .500
x – Division champion
‡ – Championship Series champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1978[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Previous Season

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The Wildcats finished the 1977 season with a record of 38-25-1 and 11–7 in conference play, finishing 2nd in the WAC Southern. Arizona would miss the postseason for the 1st time since Jerry Kindall's inaugural 1973 season.

Personnel

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Roster

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1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball roster[2][3]
  • Mark Arnold

• Robin Carlsen

Craig Chamberlain

• Robert Chaulk

• David Crutcher

• David Fortman

Terry Francona

• James Harskamp

• Anthony Incavaglia

• Gary Johnson

Craig Lefferts

• Rick McConnell

• Raymond Manship

Brad Mills

• James Morley

• Ray Murillo

• Virgel Overlund

• Les Pearsey

• John Rodriguez

• Randy Roeder

• Scott Stanley

• Robert Woodside

• Chuck Zopfi

Coaches

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1978 Arizona Wildcats baseball coaching staff[4]

1978 Schedule and results

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1978 Arizona Wildcats Baseball Game Log[5]
Regular Season
Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall

Record

WAC

Record

Feb 10 Cal State Fullerton Wildcat FieldTucson, AZ W 8-3 1-0
Feb 13 UC Santa Barbara Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 11-2 2-0
Feb 15 UC Santa Barbara Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ L 0-5 2-1
Feb 15 UC Santa Barbara Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 3-2 3-1
Feb 17 Loyola Marymount Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 4-2 4-1
Feb 18 Loyola Marymount Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 6-2 5-1
Feb 18 Loyola Marymount Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 11-6 6-1
Feb 20 Azusa Pacific Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 23-7 7-1
Feb 21 Azusa Pacific Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ L 0-4 7-2
Feb 24 UCLA Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 3-0 8-2
Feb 25 UCLA Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 5-3 9-2
Feb 25 UCLA Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 6-3 10-2
Feb 28 Cal State Dominguez Hills Wildcat FieldTucson, AZ W 4-3 11-2
Feb 28 Cal State Dominguez Hills Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 10-2 12-2
Mar 6 Grand Canyon Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 8-3 13-2
Mar 7 at Grand Canyon Brazell FieldPhoenix, AZ W 12-3 14-2
Mar 9 La Verne Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 12-1 15-2
Mar 10 La Verne Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 6-4 16-2
Mar 11 La Verne Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 8-4 17-2
Mar 15 at Arizona State Packard StadiumTempe, AZ L 1-8 17-3
Mar 16 Northern Arizona Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 9-0 18-3
Mar 17 Eastern Michigan Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 20-1 19-3
Mar 18 Grand Canyon Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 4-2 20-3
Mar 19 Arizona State Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ L 4-7 20-4
Mar 22 at Tulane Tulane DiamondNew Orleans, LA W 6-0 21-4
Mar 22 at Tulane Tulane Diamond • New Orleans, LA W 5-4 22-4
Mar 24 at Mississippi State Dudy Noble FieldStarkville, MS L 6-9 22-5
Mar 25 vs Mississippi State Smith-Wills StadiumJackson, MS W 5-2 23-5
Mar 26 vs Mississippi State Smith-Wills Stadium • Jackson, MS L 3-4 23-6
Mar 30 Northern Arizona Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 7-4 24-6
Mar 31 Northern Arizona Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 13-1 25-6
Apr 1 Northern Arizona Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 15-3 26-6
Apr 7 at New Mexico Lobo FieldAlbuquerque, NM W 10-8 27-6 1-0
Apr 8 at New Mexico Lobo Field • Albuquerque, NM W 12-4 28-6 2-0
Apr 8 at New Mexico Lobo Field • Albuquerque, NM W 12-4 29-6 3-0
Apr 14 UTEP Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 12-1 30-6 4-0
Apr 15 UTEP Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ L 7-11 30-7 4-1
Apr 15 UTEP Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 7-3 31-7 5-1
Apr 20 at Arizona State Packard Stadium • Tempe, AZ L 9-15 31-8 5-2
Apr 21 at Arizona State Packard Stadium • Tempe, AZ L 8-10 31-9 5-3
Apr 22 at Arizona State Packard Stadium • Tempe, AZ L 10-11 31-10 5-4
Apr 28 at UTEP Dudley FieldEl Paso, TX W 11-0 32-10 6-4
Apr 29 at UTEP Dudley Field • El Paso, TX W 8-3 33-10 7-4
Apr 29 at UTEP Dudley Field • El Paso, TX W 7-2 34-10 8-4
May 5 New Mexico Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 4-3 35-10 9-4
May 7 New Mexico Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 9-6 36-10 10-4
May 7 New Mexico Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 12-3 37-10 11-4
May 11 Arizona State Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 5-3 38-10 12-4
May 12 Arizona State Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 10-7 39-10 13-4
May 13 Arizona State Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ L 6-11 39-11 13-5
May 20 BYU Wildcat Field • Tucson, AZ W 8-4 40-11
NCAA West Regional
May 26 at USC Dedeaux FieldLos Angeles, CA L 2-3 40-12
May 27 vs Santa Clara Dedeaux Field • Los Angeles, CA W 13-5 41-12
May 28 vs Cal State Fullerton Dedeaux Field • Los Angeles, CA W 7-3 42-12
May 28 at USC Dedeaux Field • Los Angeles, CA L 1-2 42-13

West Regional

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West Regional Teams
Cal State Fullerton Titans Santa Clara Broncos USC Trojans Arizona Wildcats

1978 MLB Draft

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Player Position Round Overall MLB Team
David Crutcher RHP 3 72 Texas Rangers
Les Pearsey INF 8 198 Minnesota Twins
Ray Murillo RHP 11 278 Chicago White Sox
Raymond Manship RHP 28 651 Milwaukee Brewers
Craig Chamberlain RHP 1 (6sc) 2 Kansas City Royals

[6]

References

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  1. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1978". boydsworld.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  2. ^ "1978 Arizona Wildcats - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023 BSB Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 BSB Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 BSB Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.