It’s clear by now that the Arizona Wildcats are comfortable at home. They have yet to lose at Hi Corbett Field.
But is there such a thing as being too comfortable?
UA coach Jay Johnson had no such worries entering his team’s first Pac-12 home series of the season. Enough had gone wrong for the Wildcats on the road to mitigate — or even eliminate — any sense of conceit.
“We’ve had enough adversity and enough pain early in the season as far as close games and losses that we don’t take it for granted,” Johnson said. “Winning is well-deserved at the top end of college baseball. They know they have to earn it.
“The confidence factor helps us more than any potential arrogance hurting us. I don’t see that with this group. I don’t have a problem with their approach.”
Aside from one shaky inning, Arizona showed few signs of slippage Friday night. The UA defeated Washington State 5-4 in the opener of a three-game series.
Arizona (12-9) notched its first conference victory after being swept at Washington last weekend. WSU fell to 4-13, 0-4.
The game got a little too close for comfort in the top of the eighth, when the Cougars trimmed a 5-0 deficit to 5-4. But winning a tight game represented a significant step for Arizona, which had been 1-7 in one-run contests.
"It’s huge," winning pitcher Cody Deason said. "That’s how the games are going to be the rest of the year, I guarantee it. We need to come out on top in those one-run games."
The Wildcats improved to 10-0 at Hi Corbett, where a season-high 3,673 fans came out for the first of three “Fireworks Fridays.” They saw Arizona play methodical but effective offense and witnessed another standout performance from Deason.
The junior right-hander pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters, giving the Wildcats’ staff a needed boost. Last weekend, they lost left-hander and No. 2 starter Randy Labaut for the season because of compartment syndrome. Deason had Labaut on his mind Friday night.
"Tonight was a special one for me, just kind of pitching for my good friend Randy," Deason said of Labaut, who returned home from Seattle and watched the first two innings from the dugout. "I knew I had to go out there and pitch for him and me."
Deason (3-1) exited with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth. That’s when things got a little dicey.
Gil Luna walked Dillon Plew on four pitches to load the bases. Preston Price then surrendered a two-RBI single to Justin Harrer. (Both runs counted against Deason.)
Johnson called on Tylor Megill, who quickly got Blake Clanton to ground out. But James Rudkin followed with a two-RBI single to left, making it a one-run game. Megill struck out JJ Hancock to end the inning.
In the ninth, Robert Teel made it to second base on a one-out error. A hit batsman put the winning run on first. With two outs, Megill threw a pitch in the dirt. Teel tried to advance, but catcher Cesar Salazar threw him out at third.
"I knew if Tylor spiked the ball I had to bounce real quick," Salazar said. "Luckily … I got the ball pretty cleanly and threw a good throw to third base."
UA center fielder Cal Stevenson sparked the offense with three hits, including his third stand-up triple in the past two games.
Arizona left five runners on base in the first two innings but came away with a 2-0 lead anyway. Nick Quintana’s sacrifice fly scored Stevenson in the first, and Jacob Blas’ infield single plated Matt Fraizer in the second.
The Wildcats added single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh, and ended up needing all of them.
Freshman Tate Soderstrom came within a couple of feet of stroking the first home run off the Terry Francona Hitting Center in the seventh. Soderstrom’s drive banged off the right-field wall for a triple. He came home on Fraizer’s squeeze bunt.
Entering the series, Arizona ranked ahead of Washington State in most statistical categories. One notable exception: homers.
The Wildcats have just three, the fewest in the Pac-12. Again, Johnson isn’t too worried.
“As the weather heats up, and guys continue to get comfortable, I think we’ll see that trend up,” he said. “I’d be really surprised if it doesn’t actually.
“We’ll keep working at it — just taking quality swings at quality pitches and having quality at-bats with men on base. Sometimes you make up for it that way.”
Arizona has hit five triples the past two games.
“I’m totally good with those too,” Johnson said.
Inside pitch
- The Wildcats left 13 runners on base, matching their season high.
- Quintana faced a 3-2 count in four of his first five plate appearances and walked twice.
- Arizona improved to 7-4 against left-handed starters. The Wildcats are 5-5 against righties. Last year, Arizona went 14-12 against lefties, 24-9 against righties.
- Junior lefty Avery Weems will face Cougars southpaw Scotty Sunitsch in Game 2 at 6 p.m. Saturday.
- UA basketball player Chase Jeter attended the game.
