Arizona Baseball Begins Defense Against Angels In Tempe

Arizona baseball begins defense of its NCAA national championship and paves the road back to Omaha on Oct. 4 in Tempe, taking on the Los Angeles Angels instructional league team at Tempe Diablo Stadium. The exhibition headlines a weekend-long series of activities in the Valley of the Sun, per ArizonaWildcats.com.

UA is taking advantage of its immediate connection to the Angel franchise via owner and alumnus Arte Moreno. The first steps of the 2013 season being taken in the Phoenix metropolitan area is also part of a greater, overall mission headed by athletic director Greg Byrne to establish a larger footprint in Arizona's most populace region.

Phoenix's importance to the grander vision for UA athletics future was evident in the spring, when Rich Rodriguez and the football program took practices north.