NEWS FLASH : Giordano Waits Out Coach at Arizona

Saugus High softball player Nicole Giordano made a commitment to the University of Arizona on Thursday, ending a two-day ordeal and perhaps outwitting Arizona Coach Mike Candrea.

Giordano accepted a scholarship from Candrea 48 hours after he asked her to join the NCAA champion Wildcats next season as a walk-on with a promise that she would have a scholarship by the start of the 1998-99 school year.

“I was so stressed out, but I talked to my sister [Jeanine Giordano, who is a catcher at Washington] and my parents, and they fully supported me,” Giordano said. “I’m excited. I always wanted to go [to Arizona]. I have a good chance of starting in center field my freshman year, but [Candrea] knows I can play anywhere.”

Giordano is perhaps the area’s best prospect. A premier leadoff hitter, she led the region with 49 and 51 hits the past two seasons. Her .490 batting average led the Southern Section last season and her 51 stolen bases were 20 more than any other player in the region.

Shocked and disappointed, Giordano spurned Candrea’s first offer, but she gladly accepted when he upped the ante.

“I don’t know how he’s doing it,” she said. “All I know is he said he pulled some strings.”