The Arizona Wildcats have shown they can win a Pac-12 series against the conference’s best. They’ve won three of them in a row.
Winning three games in a row against a league foe has proved to be a more difficult proposition.
For the third consecutive weekend, No. 16 Arizona had a chance to sweep but failed to seal the deal.
Cal clubbed the UA 9-1 Sunday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 968 at Hi Corbett Field.
Despite the results mirroring one another, Arizona coach Jay Johnson doesn’t see a pattern or a flaw in his club.
“Today didn’t have anything to do with two weeks ago or last week,” Johnson said. “Credit to Cal. They got some free bases, then they hit some mistakes. That was today. I don’t think there’s any tie-in. It’s about the play. ... We needed to play better baseball.”
The loss snapped the Wildcats’ three-game winning streak. Arizona (21-9, 7-5 Pac-12) visits Grand Canyon on Tuesday before traveling to Washington State for a three-game set Friday-Sunday.
“It’s a good week,” Johnson said. “We won three games against Pac-12 opponents with the Tuesday game against Arizona State and two out of three against a really good team that I think is going to finish in the upper half of the standings. I’m very happy with that. Disappointed in today, but three out of four against Pac-12 competition at home continues to display the consistency in the approach and play of our team.”
Consistency has eluded uber-talented UA freshman right-hander TJ Nichols.
Coming off a quality start at Arizona State, Nichols struggled with his command. The first pitch he threw landed well in front of the plate and bounded into umpire Steven Corvi’s knee.
Nichols seemed to settle in soon after, and the game was scoreless entering the third inning. Nicholls fell behind 2-0 against leadoff batter Steven Zobac, who slugged the next pitch off the Terry Francona Hitting Center for a solo home run.
After a strikeout, the next three batters reached to load the bases for Nathan Manning, who entered Sunday batting .451. On a 2-0 pitch, Manning smacked an apparent grand slam to right field.
However, in the course of rounding first and celebrating with teammate Darren Baker, Manning passed Baker on the basepath. The play reverted to a three-RBI single, and Manning was ruled out.
Still, the Golden Bears led 4-0, and they weren’t finished. They scored five more runs in the fourth, including a legit grand slam by Dylan Beavers off reliever Ian Churchill. Nichols was charged with six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, Churchill with three in two-thirds.
“TJ has a bright future and has shown in short stints that he’s very good,” Johnson said. “He’s still got some things to improve on. He’s not going to sneak up on anybody. Everybody knows his talent, and I feel like teams are ready to go when they face him. Because if they’re not, they know it’s going to be a long day.
“I’m pleased with TJ. We’ll get some things ironed out to get him in a little better spot for success next week.”
The UA offense had an uncharacteristically quiet day. The Wildcats didn’t record their first hit until the fourth on Jacob Blas’ bunt single. Cal starter Paulshawn Pasqualotto limited the Cats to four hits and two walks in six scoreless frames.
Arizona finally scored in the seventh on Ryan Holgate’s solo home run, his fifth of the season. Most other hard-hit balls landed in the gloves of the Golden Bears (17-13, 5-4). Cal’s pitching staff did a superb job of minimizing Arizona’s free-base opportunities. The Wildcats entered the weekend averaging 6.11 walks per game. They drew only seven walks in the three-game series.
“I’m going to go back and look at it thoroughly,” Johnson said. “I’m going to credit their pitching. I thought (Grant) Holman and (Sean) Sullivan, at least on tape, were the two best starters that we have seen this year. And Pasqualotto executed extremely well today. So I think it was mostly that.
“There were a few at-bat (Saturday) night where we expanded the zone more than we normally do or should. We’ll get that ironed out. It’s part of our preparation on a daily basis in terms of seeing the ball, controlling the zone and staying within our approach. They might have gotten us out of it a little bit, but I think that’s a credit to their pitchers more than anything else.”
Meanwhile, Cal walked seven times off of four UA pitchers Sunday. The Bears had only one more hit than the Wildcats yet scored eight more runs. Arizona committed only one error.
Inside pitch
- The Wildcats’ five hits were their fewest since a four-hit performance at UCLA on March 21. They had at least 11 hits in each of their previous eight games.
- Holgate’s home run averted a shutout. Arizona has scored at least one run in 139 straight games. The Wildcats haven’t been shut out since March 17, 2018.
- UA freshman Jacob Berry singled in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.
- Left-hander Gil Luna made his second appearance of the season and first since Feb. 26. He did not allow a hit in 3 1/3 innings of relief. “He’s got a terrific arm and one that we can use if he can go out and execute like that,” Johnson said. “That’s definitely a bright spot.”
