Eric Orloff looks to his Jewish faith to carry him through challenging and uncertain times.
“When times are tough, I know it’s all going to work out in the end,” said Orloff, who completed his time as a University of Arizona left-handed relief pitcher on June 15. “You have to trust the path and not freak out about the small stuff.”
Orloff, 22, became a Bar Mitzvah in 2016 at Temple Jeremiah in the Chicago suburb of Northfield, Illinois, near his hometown of Northbrook.
This spring, Orloff didn’t throw as many innings as he had toward the beginning of his college career.
At a time when college athletes enter the transfer portal at the drop of a hat, Orloff decided to keep his feet planted in Tucson.
The Wildcats (44-21) reached the College World Series (CWS) – the pinnacle of college baseball – in Omaha, Nebraska, over the weekend.
“The whole goal is to get to Omaha, and none of the other schools I considered out of high school would have made it,” Orloff said. “This is what you dream about growing up.”
Arizona made its 19th CWS appearance – tied with Stanford for the seventh most appearances. They lost their first two games at the double elimination tournament, with a 7-4 loss to Coastal Carolina on Friday and an 8-3 loss to Louisville on Sunday.
The Wildcats took a challenging road to Omaha. After winning the Big 12 Tournament Championship last month in Arlington, Texas, Arizona was projected to host an NCAA Regional in Tucson.
Instead, they were assigned to a regional in Eugene, Oregon, which they won.
Following that, the Wildcats traveled to the University of North Carolina for a Super Regional. They lost the opener, 18-4, but bounced back to win the best-of-three series.
“We knew we were good enough to be in the CWS – we never doubted it even though it meant not hosting,” Orloff said.
Orloff didn’t pitch in the CWS, but he pitched in the opening game of the Super Regional series. That appearance freed up his bullpen teammates to pitch in the subsequent games.
The 6-foot-3, 217-pound pitcher went 1-0 this season with 11 strikeouts and two home runs allowed in 14 innings.
The Wildcats last made it to the CWS in 2021, which was Orloff’s senior year of high school in Northbrook. He committed to Arizona just before his senior year, in part citing the Wildcats’ tradition and the warm weather.
“Making the College World Series only strengthens the lifelong connections I made with my teammates,” Orloff said.
(Photo by Marison Bilagody / Arizona Athletics)
Orloff will complete his bachelor’s degree in education at Arizona this summer and then head back to Chicago to work on his master’s degree at DePaul University. His goal is to become a teacher and baseball/football coach.
“The coaches in my life made an impact on me,” Orloff said. “I would not be at Arizona without my high school coach. Emulating that (guidance) for other kids makes me excited for the future.”
Orloff had to make the adjustment from high school, where he was a standout starting pitcher, to the bullpen in college.
“I’m able to do short relief, long relief – where they needed me,” Orloff said.
During his Arizona career, Orloff had an opportunity to play in early-season tournaments in two Major League Baseball ballparks – Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers) and Daikin Park (Houston Astros).
“I dreamed about playing in a major league park ever since I played T-Ball,” Orloff said. “There was a special feel to it.”
