OMAHA, Neb. — JC Cloney was Arizona’s second-best starting pitcher during the regular season — the best being all-conference performer Nathan Bannister.
Cloney strung together a stream of quality starts, mostly on Fridays and Saturdays.
But despite a 6-4 record and a 2.86 ERA, Cloney hasn’t pitched since the second game of the Louisiana-Lafayette Regional on June 5.
Cloney struggled that day, and Arizona suffered its lone loss of the postseason. Coach Jay Johnson elected to go with others in subsequent starts.
Cloney could get the call in Arizona’s second College World Series game against Oklahoma State on Monday. Or not. Johnson has delayed announcing his starting pitchers until the last allowable moment.
Asked Sunday if he has become frustrated about his uncertain role, Cloney insisted he hasn’t.
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“Not at all,” the junior left-hander said. “I’m just doing what they ask me to do. When my name gets called, I’ll go in and do my best.”
Cloney has been doing his best to stay ready, maximizing his long-toss and flat-ground throwing sessions and watching the opposition intently.
“Growing up, my travel-ball coach always said, ‘Be a student of the game.’ That’s what I’m trying to do,” Cloney said. “Just focus so that when my name does get called, I don’t look like I was shocked. I look like I was prepared.”
Father’s influence
On Father’s Day, Johnson was doing exactly what his dad inspired him to do: coach ball.
Johnson’s father, Jerry, coached football and track at Oroville (Calif.) High. Jay Johnson played running back for his dad, who’s among several family members attending the CWS.
Johnson said his father’s influence and example meant “everything” in shaping his coaching career.
“I believe a lot of circumstances dictate how you end up,” Johnson said. “As far as being a dad and a mentor, there’s nobody better.
“This was the only thing I was going to do, and he’s 100 percent (the) reason for that.”
Face time
UA freshman catcher Cesar Salazar FaceTimed with his dad immediately after Arizona’s Super Regional-clinching victory over Mississippi State last weekend. On Saturday, Salazar experienced something even better: a face-to-face meeting.
Several Wildcats greeted friends and family members after the UA’s 5-1 victory over Miami. Salazar’s family, including his father — also named Cesar — made the trip from Hermosillo, Sonora.
“Seeing my dad, my whole family, was something unreal,” Salazar said. “There’s no words to explain how it felt. It got a little emotional. My dad, seeing his eyes, it was just something really cool.”
Inside pitch
* Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday played at OSU. His father, Tom, coached the Cowboys from 1997-2003. They are the first father-son combination to lead teams to the CWS. Josh’s brother, Matt, is an All-Star outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tom Holliday served as a color analyst for ESPN at the Lafayette Regional. Josh Holliday served as an assistant coach on the 2009 Arizona State team that reached the College World Series.
* Oklahoma State is 6-0 in the postseason and has yet to trail. OSU is the first team to accomplish that since Georgia Tech in 2002.
* The Cowboys have allowed only six runs in those six games, including a pair of shutouts. OSU defeated UC Santa Barbara 1-0 Saturday for its first College World Series shutout since 1986. The starter that day was current pitching coach Rob Walton.
* Oklahoma State’s lone CWS championship came in 1959 — when OSU defeated Arizona.
* Like Arizona, Oklahoma State is among the country’s leaders in sacrifice bunts. OSU also relies on pitching and defense. Josh Holliday even sounds like Johnson at times. “We want our kids to focus on executing baseball within themselves,” Holliday said Saturday. “Whoever we play, it’s part of the competition, but it has to be secondary to our thought process.”
