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Box scores provided by Arizona media relations department in annual media guide.
1976 National Champions
Arizona Wildcats 7, Eastern Michigan 1 — June 18, 1976
Most Outstanding Player — Steve Powers
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By Tim O’Mara
Tucson Citizen
There weren’t many people in Omaha, or Tucson, who thought UA would be wearing the national crown after the Cats were dropped for the seventh straight time this season by Arizona State in the opening round of the tournament. But just as they have all season, the Cats clawed their way back, playing easily the best baseball of any of the eight teams in the tournament, and now have the school’s first national title in any sport.
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1980 National Champions
Arizona Wildcats 5, Hawaii 3 — June 6, 1980
Most Outstanding Player — Terry Francona
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By Bob Eger
Arizona Republic
The Citizens of Omaha, who know good baseball when they see it, saw plenty by the Wildcats after an embarrassing first-round loss to 11th-ranked St. John’s of New York. “We took them under the grandstand and had a talk after the St. John’s game,” Arizona coach Jerry Kindall said. “We talked about our goal — the national championship — and re-dedicated ourselves to attaining it.”
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1986 National Champions
Arizona Wildcats 10, Florida State 2 — June 9, 1986
Most Outstanding Player — Mike Senne
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By Bob Eger
Arizona Republic
The Cats received eight innings of shutout pitching from junior right-hander Gary Alexander and crushed Florida State, 10-2, in front of 12,659 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium. It was the first time in Arizona’s eight postseason victories that the Wildcats did not have to come from behind. Mike Senne and Gar Millay hit two-run homers in a four-run sixth inning, when Arizona took a 6-0 lead.
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2012 National Champions
Arizona Wildcats 4, South Carolina 1 — June 25, 2012
Most Outstanding Player — Rob Refsnyder
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By Eric Olson
Associated Press
Arizona coach Andy Lopez thought he had the makings of a national championship team four years ago. Better late than never. Arizona ended South Carolina’s two-year run of dominance at the College World Series with a 4-1 victory, delivering the long-awaited national title to the coach who took over Arizona’s downtrodden program 11 years ago. The Wildcats won their first title since 1986.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
