It was bound to happen at some point: The Arizona Wildcats finally lost a home game.
Arizona suffered its first setback of the season at Hi Corbett Field on Saturday night, falling to Washington State 5-4 in front of an announced crowd of 3,053.
The Wildcats had won 10 straight in Tucson. They now need a victory Sunday to take the series.
βThe great thing about baseball, as opposed to maybe football or basketball, you donβt have to wait a week for the next opportunity,β said UA coach Jay Johnson, whose team fell to 12-10, 1-4 in the Pac-12. βWeβve got one at 12:30 tomorrow. Thereβs no choice. It is what it is. Youβve got to come prepared to play.β
The outcome was new in one sense but familiar in another: Arizona was on the losing end of a one-run game for the eighth time this season.
After falling behind 5-0 in the first inning, the Wildcats couldnβt come up with the clutch hit they needed despite myriad opportunities. They left 11 runners on base and went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
βOur guys are trying,β Johnson said. βThey care a lot. Maybe too much.
βTheyβll get better. Thatβs all we can keep doing. A lot of our practice is geared toward driving guys in, red-zone offense. It really reared its head in the seventh.β
Trailing 5-2, Arizona loaded the bases for Cesar Salazar. Salazarβs infield single drove in a run, and a throwing error on WSU first baseman James Rudkin plated another.
After Blake Paugh walked, the Wildcats again had the bases loaded, but couldnβt cash in. Matt Fraizer popped out to shortstop, pinch-hitter Tate Soderstrom struck out and Jacob Blas grounded out to the pitcher.
The Wildcats did not put another runner on base against closer Ryan Walker, who notched his second save for the Cougars (5-13, 1-4).
Although Arizona won Friday night β and relished being on the right side of a one-run game for only the second time this season β the Wildcats could have performed better at the plate. They left 13 runners on base, matching their season high.
Johnson obviously would like his hitters to take better advantage of those situations. But he doesnβt want to dwell on it too much either.
βThatβs a double-edged sword,β Johnson said after the series opener. βThat means there were a lot of quality at-bats to put us in position.
β(But) the worst thing you can do is make it an issue. Hitting a baseballβs hard, and itβs really hard when pitchers are buckling down and not trying to let those guys get in. Weβll keep working on that approach and sticking with it.β
Senior right-handers Juan Aguilera and Robby Medel did everything they could to keep Arizona in the game Saturday.
Aguilera entered in the top of the first for Avery Weems, who had surrendered five runs. After walking the first batter he faced, Aguilera pitched five scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits and struck out six.
Johnson knew heβd need Aguilera at some point this weekend. Johnson also knew he could use him after Aguileraβs efficient 64-pitch performance in his first career start Tuesday night.
Aguilera shut out New Mexico State over six innings. He has yielded only one earned run in 24 innings dating to last season.
βHeβs what we call a super-utility pitcher,β Johnson said. βBecause he throws multiple pitches for strikes, he can fulfill multiple roles.β
Johnson didnβt think heβd need Aguilera so early, but Weems couldnβt get out of the first.
After surrendering two singles and an RBI double to start the game, the junior left-hander was late to cover on a grounder to first. Weems then had no one to throw to after fielding a bunt, loading the bases.
Weems got ahead of JJ Hancock 0-2 but hit him with an inside fastball, driving in a run and making it 3-0. After striking out Jack Smith, Weems yielded a two-RBI single to Robert Teel β again with the count 0-2.
Arizona responded with two runs in the bottom of the first but didnβt score again until the seventh.
Medel, making his first appearance since March 10, pitched 3Βͺ scoreless innings in relief of Aguilera. Medel struck out consecutive batters to escape a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth.
Inside pitch
- Sundayβs series finale will start at 12:30 p.m., a half-hour earlier than originally scheduled. UA junior right-hander Michael Flynn (2-1, 2.79 ERA) will face WSU lefty Cody Anderson (1-3, 3.16).
- WSU senior Ryan Ramsower, who attended Salpointe High School and Pima College, made his first start of the season. Batting sixth and playing DH, Ramsower went 1 for 4 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.
- Salazar, who went 3 for 5, has reached base in 20 consecutive games.
- Cal Stevensonβs second-inning single extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
