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But it’s the most resilient. The most determined. The pluckiest.

This UA squad has a true never-say-die spirit to it. And let’s admit it: It was tempting to bury these Wildcats on more than one occasion this season — even as recently as this past weekend.

Yet here they are, regular-season Pac-12 champions after Saturday night’s 4-3 walk-off thriller against Oregon State at Hi Corbett Field — a fitting finale if there ever was one.

Just like in 2016, when they came within a hit of winning the College World Series, these Cats were picked to finish ninth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll. Unlike so many teams that make the claim, nobody believed in the 2024 Arizona Wildcats.

Actually, that’s not true: They believed in themselves.

“We always knew what we had here,� said sophomore outfielder Brendan Summerhill, who drove in the tying and winning runs with a blistering two-RBI double to right-center in the bottom of the ninth — securing Arizona’s seventh walk-off victory this season.

“Maybe we don't have the names that everyone else has had. But I really think this is a team. As we just showed right there. It is a team effort every single day. We win as a team, lose as a team. I think that's the most important thing.�

Chip Hale and multiple players have lauded the chemistry this team seems to have. It’s a difficult thing to quantify. Except maybe in this way: Arizona won 20 conference games for only the third time since 1990. The others to do it: The 2021 and 2012 squads. The former reached the CWS and had 12 future MLB Draft picks. The latter won the whole thing.

This team doesn’t have that kind of star power. But maybe that’s a good thing.

In discussing the clubhouse dynamic — something he made a concerted effort to improve — Hale said factions had formed the previous two seasons. It's unclear whether that happened intentionally or organically. When one part of the team (hitting) is so much better than another (pitching), it’s only natural for some resentment to bubble beneath the surface.

“They're a very together group,� Hale said of the ’24 club. “There's some goofiness that goes on on the bench, and guys have fun. In the past, it hasn't been that way, to be frank.

“That was one of our goals coming in. ... We wanted the pitchers and the hitters to be one group. We tried with practice plans and different things that we did to get them more together because, in the past, obviously our hitting has been great, we struggled on the mound and there were guys frustrated with each other.

“This year, it's been just a group, whether it's good pitching that night, good hitting, bad pitching … it didn't matter. They're gonna stick together. And whether it's the first inning or the ninth inning, these guys are into it. I think that's the biggest difference and why we've been so successful.�

It was working splendidly until Oregon State landed in Tucson. Led by — who, I swear, was never not on base — the Beavers bludgeoned the Wildcats in the first two games. Fortunately, baseball series aren’t decided by cumulative runs.

Those were “lose as a team� efforts to the nth degree. Arizona didn’t do anything well. They appeared to be outclassed, maybe even a little intimidated by a top-10 team that came to the “Juice Box� and took the Wildcats’ Capri Suns.

Those lackluster performances brought the doubters out of hibernation. after being mostly silent while Arizona was defying expectations for a month and a half.

Never mind that, just a few innings into Game 1, the Wildcats had lost a third outfielder to injury. By the end of Game 2, they had a relief pitcher (Casey Hintz) in center field and a first baseman (Tommy Splaine) on the mound. College baseball doesn’t have a farm system. You can’t just call somebody up.

It is Hale’s responsibility to get the players ready, and they certainly seemed out of sorts Friday. His teams don’t boot routine grounders. Yet from the jump that night, the Wildcats couldn’t make a play. Weren’t the Beavers the ones who were supposed to struggle on the unforgiving desert dirt?

Arizona’s offensive issues were a bit more understandable. No Emilio Corona, no Easton Breyfogle, no TJ Adams. Just like that, the depth that had made the lineup dangerous, or at least viable, was gone.

Hale, , then did something really smart before Saturday’s game: He emboldened his team.

The Wildcats needed an injection of confidence, and Hale provided it by reminding them of where they were not too long ago.

Said Hale: “We had a long talk today about, ‘Look where we’re at. Look where we were when the preseason ended. They (the Beavers) were (No.) 3 or 4 in the country, and we were who knows what. We were struggling.’

“If you had said we’re going to be able to play Oregon State on the last night of the season to win the regular season, the last Pac-12 game, it’s pretty cool. So I think that loosened them up a little bit.�

Saturday starter Cam Walty — who pitched an absolute gem of a game — summed up Hale’s pregame message as follows:

“He praised the seniors; this could be some guys’ last games. And just know that we put ourselves in this spot. We deserve to be here. So it was just about going out and playing with house money.�

Saturday began and ended with on-field celebrations. Walty couldn’t participate in Senior Night, though, because he was still warming up for his start. His parents, Carl and Dana, .

The afterparty lasted well into the night. The game ended at 8:38 p.m. Players and their families lingered on the field past 9:30. Walty and his parents were among the revelers.

“For them to fly all the way down here and to see that it's just ... I couldn't have scripted it any better,� he said. “It's amazing.�