Chase Silseth’s home-road splits are startling. It’s as if he’s two different pitchers.
The Arizona Wildcats right-hander entered Friday with a 5-0 record and a 1.67 ERA at Hi Corbett Field. In games outside of Tucson, Silseth is 0-1 with an ERA of 13.50.
Silseth stayed true to form in the opener of a three-game series against USC. It wasn’t his best outing, but it was another high-quality start that led to another UA victory.
Silseth’s solid outing and an offensive explosion in the fourth inning spurred the 13th-ranked Wildcats to an 8-5 victory over the Trojans in front of an announced crowd of 1,334.
Arizona (25-11, 10-6 Pac-12) has won four in a row after a season-high three-game losing streak. The Wildcats are 14-6 at home.
Silseth has notched a win in all six of his starts at Hi Corbett. He has pitched at least 5 2/3 innings in each outing and has yet to allow more than four earned runs in a home start. On Friday, he pitched a career-high eight innings.
Silseth has no explanation for the home-road differential.
“I couldn’t even tell you,” he said. “That’s something that I think about too.”
Theories include a change in routine and the absence of Arizona’s large crowds on the road. Silseth believes it comes down to pitching with a competitive edge from start to finish.
“I need to find something,” he said. “Because when I'm pitching with an edge ... it's really good.”
Silseth’s competitiveness — what he calls a “good mad” — came out in the top of the fifth. He had sat for more than 20 minutes while Arizona stockpiled seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and appeared to temporarily lose his rhythm when he returned to the mound. Three straight hits, a Silseth error and a sacrifice fly plated three runs for the Trojans (18-14, 6-7).
Silseth righted himself thereafter. He retired the next 12 batters he faced.
“We had to have it,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “We weren't going to win the game without a response like that from him.”
Silseth came back out for the ninth inning, despite having thrown 111 pitches. He allowed a solo home run to Clay Owens, his second of the game.
With Preston Price unavailable this weekend because of arm soreness, Arizona brought in Quinn Flanagan to finish the game. Flanagan yielded a walk and hit a batter to bring the tying run to the plate. Rhylan Thomas then grounded out to end the game.
The play was the sixth chance shortstop Jacob Blas handled cleanly. He got a helping hand from first baseman Branden Boissiere, who scooped a low throw. It was an appropriate ending on a night when Arizona played exceptional infield defense.
“Everybody wanted the ball,” said center fielder Donta’ Williams, who crashed into the wall to rob Tyler Pritchard of an extra-base hit in the second inning.
Arizona’s offense plays in any ballpark. The Wildcats entered Friday leading the Pac-12 in a plethora of offensive categories. They didn’t string together multiple rallies against USC, as is often the case, instead bundling most of their runs into a singular outburst.
The bottom of the fourth began with a Ryan Holgate walk. Daniel Susac followed with a 408-foot home run off the scoreboard in left field, giving Arizona a 2-1 lead. The homer was Susac’s eighth of the season, one behind fellow freshman Jacob Berry for the team lead.
After a spinning single by Kobe Kato and a popout, the Wildcats registered four consecutive hits. The climactic blow: a two-RBI triple by left fielder Mac Bingham down the third-base line.
All of the damage came against Isaac Esqueda, a left-hander with a looping curveball who came into the game with a conference-leading 1.99 ERA.
“We're not going to be perfect,” said Williams, who went 4 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. “We're going to leave runners on base. It's just capitalizing on their mistakes ... and that's what we did. We got a few guys on, and we didn't look back from there.”
Inside pitch
- Williams has 11 hits in his past 25 at-bats. Johnson credited adjustments Williams made between the first and second games of the Washington State series last weekend.
- Johnson on Price, who also sat out last weekend: “He's not ready to go. We'll get him back as quick as we can. We're gonna give him as much rest as he needs, and I would tell you we're probably in between those two things right now.”
- USC freshman outfielder Carson Wells is the younger brother of former UA catcher Austin Wells. Carson pinch-hit in the ninth inning and drew a walk.
- USC’s D’Andre Smith hurt himself on a swing in the ninth and had to leave the game.
- UA gymnast Malia Hargrove threw out the ceremonial first pitch. She did a front flip before firing the ball toward the plate.
- Left-hander Garrett Irvin (3-1, 3.76 ERA) is scheduled to start for Arizona in Game 2 Saturday. He will face righty Chandler Champlain (2-3, 5.75).
