When Andy Lopez walked into a team meeting Monday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field, he asked his squad to recite the two words most often associated with the Arizona Wildcats baseball program.
No, not national champions. Rather, “effort” and “execution.”
Champions defined the 2012 Wildcats, who won the College World Series and the Pac-12.
But, it’s not the identity of the 2013 team — not yet.
“We have two words,” Lopez said, “and they are like little robots going around the room: effort and execution. I tell the guys, ‘Give the town your best effort. Give the program, the university your best effort.’”
Lopez and the Wildcats began full-team workouts Friday in preparation of their season opener Feb. 15 versus Coppin State. Monday, they held their first media availability of the new year.
The message from the coach and his players was the same: It’s time to move on from the national championship.
“It was a great moment, but that’s all it was, a moment,” Lopez said.
Added third baseman Brandon Dixon: “Last year is last year. We have to let that go.”
Find four things to know about the Wildcats as they try to move on from last year’s title in Tuesday's Arizona Daily Star.
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