Arizona drops regular-season finale to USC; Wildcats to face Sun Devils in Pac-12 Tournament

Arizona ended the regular season Saturday night with a 14-6 loss to USC in what was essentially a meaningless game for the Wildcats.

Regardless of the outcome, Arizona (30-23, 12-18 Pac-12) was ticketed to face Arizona State on the first day of the Pac-12 Tournament on Tuesday. Saturday’s outcome dropped the UA into eighth place and pushed USC past ASU for the No. 4 seed.

The Wildcats will face the Sun Devils in the tournament opener at 10 a.m. at Scottsdale Stadium. Arizona will face No. 2 seed Oregon State at the same time Wednesday. With a sub-.500 conference record — and tournament tiebreakers going to the highest seeds — Arizona almost certainly will have to win out to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Knowing the Wildcats already had won the series, would be either the seventh seed or the eighth seed and would face ASU either way, UA coach Chip Hale treated Saturday’s game as if it were a midweek affair. He shelved scheduled starter Aiden May and gave one-time Friday starter TJ Nichols his first starting assignment since March 31. Nichols allowed four runs on five hits in three innings.

The bullpen wasn’t particularly effective either. Arizona surrendered 19 hits in all, including four home runs. USC left fielder Carson Wells, the younger brother of former UA catcher Austin Wells, went 4 for 5 with a home run, four runs scored and three RBIs.

With the Trojans leading 11-3, Mac Bingham, Chase Davis and Kiko Romero hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 11-6. That’s the closest the Wildcats would get.

Bingham, one of several seniors honored before the game, went 4 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Davis finished the regular season with 19 home runs, most in the Pac-12. Romero’s 80 RBIs also led the league.

Here’s the schedule for the Pac-12 Tournament, which features three pools (A, B and C — below) of three with the winners of each pool and one wild card advancing to the single-elimination semifinals:

TUESDAY, MAY 23

Game 1: No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 5 Arizona State, 10 a.m., Pac-12 Networks

Game 2: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 4 USC, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

Game 3: No. 9 Cal vs. No. 6 Oregon, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24

Game 4: No. 2 Oregon State vs. No. 8 Arizona, 10 a.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks

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Game 5: No. 3 Washington vs. No. 7 UCLA, 2:30 p.m. Pac-12 Networks

Game 6: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 9 Cal, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

THURSDAY, MAY 25

Game 7: No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 2 Oregon State, 10 a.m., Pac-12 Networks

Game 8: No. 4 USC vs. No. 3 Washington, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

Game 9: No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 1 Stanford, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

FRIDAY, MAY 26

Game 10: TBD vs. TBD, 2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

Game 11: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

SATURDAY, MAY 27

Game 12: Pac-12 Championship Game, 7 p.m., ESPNU

• • • 

Pool A: No. 1 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon, No. 9 Cal

Pool B: No. 2 Oregon State, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 8 Arizona

Pool C: No. 3 Washington, No. 4 USC, No. 7 UCLA