ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Then news dropped Friday night that the House case finally had been settled. Reed-Francois and her staff were ready for it.

“We have been preparing for this for months,â€� she said Saturday before ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ defeated North Carolina to force a deciding Game 3 in their Super Regional series at Boshamer Stadium.

“Really appreciative of President (Suresh) Garimella and the whole university for their collaboration. Being on the settlement implementation committee has given me a unique vantage (point) that allowed us to really jump-start our preparation. So our staff is prepared.

“Whenever you’re implementing something of this magnitude, you know there are going to be bumps along the way. We are trying to mitigate those risks and those bumps. Like we said from the very beginning, we had three priorities when we developed our House implementation strategy. That was to be fair, very competitive and good fiscal stewards of our resources.

“We think our program does that. We look forward to, now, all systems are go.�

will enable schools that opt in to distribute $20.5 million in revenue-sharing to their student-athletes. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ will pay out the full amount, Reed-Francois said.

“We’ve made promises to them, and we want to be able to uphold those,� Reed-Francois said. “This settlement is progress. Is it perfect? No. But we have progress over perfection, and we’re going to keep getting better.�

Payments can start being made July 1. Reed-Francois believes revenue-sharing and the new NIL Go clearinghouse — which is supposed to vet all deals of $600 or more — will put ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in a strong position to compete in multiple sports.

“This gives us a fair, competitive playing field,â€� Reed-Francois said. “We’re the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. We are a championship brand. We can compete against anyone. We all have the same guidelines. We all have the same cap at $20.5 million. So now let’s take advantage of our natural advantages.

“We recognize there’s going to be challenges along the way. But this gives us one set standard, and we’ll compete with anyone.�

Reed-Francois commented on a handful of other topics, including the following:

On extension talks with UA baseball coach Chip Hale and the job he’s done so far: “I have conversations with Chip every day. When we have something to announce, I’ll let you know. ... We’re at the Super Regionals. I’m really excited to be at the Super Regionals. I’m excited for this game, and I’m excited for the future of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ baseball.â€�

On the disappointing ending to UA softball’s season: “No one was probably more disappointed than Coach (Caitlin) Lowe, her staff and her student-athletes. (Mike) Candrea is the sport administrator for that program. Coach Candrea and I will work collaboratively with Coach Lowe to make sure she has the resources and support she needs so that we can achieve the championship expectations that we all have for this storied program. We all know what ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ softball is capable of doing and what ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ softball represents.â€�

On Hale and Lowe both entering the final years of their contracts: “I’ve never had a recruit come to me and say, ‘Hey, I’m not sure I’m going to sign with this program’ — whether it was at UNLV, Missouri or at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — ‘because a coach has X number of years on their contract.’ I think coaches love to try and share that. But also remember, in today’s day and age, not only are student-athletes looking at their tenure at institutions as one-year renewables, even employees are looking at every year as a renewable investment. So ... same thing I would say about Coach Lowe: She and I talk frequently, and when we have something to announce, we will.â€�

On pursuing naming rights for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Stadium and/or McKale Center: “It’s a delicate balance. I’m not looking for McKale to turn into NASCAR — with all due respect to NASCAR. College athletics is still different than pro sports, so we have to balance an incredible respect for the tradition that we have at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (while) also recognizing the commercial realities and responsibilities we have.â€�

Freshman duel

Sunday’s Game 3 will pit a pair of true freshmen against each other.

Right-hander Smith Bailey will get the ball for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. He’ll face UNC righty Ryan Lynch.

Bailey has been ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Sunday starter all season. He’s 3-3 with a 3.97 ERA and has pitched extremely well down the stretch: Bailey has a 1.04 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in his past three outings, which included the clinching games in the Big 12 Tournament and the Eugene Regional.

“He’s not a freshman anymore,� Hale said. “He’s a sophomore now, and he’s proven his grit in big games.

“I’m sure there’ll be some butterflies. There’ll be some weird pitches early on. But he’s been able to bounce back.�

Lynch is 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA. He’ll be making his third career start Sunday. He has 68 strikeouts in 54⅓ innings.

Hale said every pitcher would be available Sunday. That includes closer Tony Pluta, who threw a season-high 52 pitches Saturday; and starters Owen Kramkowski and Raul Garayzar, neither of whom was able to work deep into the first two games.

“It’s win or go home,� Hale said. “We’ll figure out a way. ... All hands on deck.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has yet to use high-leverage relievers Hunter Alberini and Julian Tonghini in the Super Regional.

Dinged but ‘fine’

UA right fielder Brendan Summerhill’s hamstring injury is still bothering him to some degree.

Summerhill appeared to be laboring while going after a fly ball in the top of the seventh inning. What looked like an out off the bat of Gavin Gallaher dropped in front of Summerhill for a hit.

Hale said Summerhill is closer to 90% than 100%. He first hurt the hamstring April 26.

“He didn’t get a good read on it,� Hale said. “We were all a little bit worried. I had TJ (Adams) ready, because I felt the same way. We talked to him, and he said he was good enough to go.

“So he’ll play (Sunday). If there’s any risk of injury, I’d get him out of the game. But he says he’s fine.�

Summerhill hit a key double in the bottom half of the inning and earned ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s player-of-the-game prize: a toy Batmobile.