Arizona has rediscovered its power stroke. But before Saturday, no Wildcat had hit a home run off the brand-new Terry Francona Hitting Center, which sits beyond the right-field wall at Hi Corbett Field.
Freshman outfielder Donta Williams wouldn’t have been anyone’s first pick to clobber a baseball off the large gray building. Williams is listed at 5-10, 169 pounds. He had only one homer as a senior at Legacy High School in Las Vegas. He came to Arizona to rob home runs, not hit them.
But it was Williams who broke through in Saturday’s series finale against Nicholls State. The compact left-handed batter bashed the first homer off the hitting facility – onto its roof, to be more specific – to kick-start the Wildcats’ 9-3 victory over the Colonels.
Arizona (16-10) swept Nicholls (9-18) and won its fourth in a row. Freshmen have played a significant role.
“The best player at Arizona is always going to play,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “But that mental and emotional maturity is the hardest thing to gauge. Sometimes you need some experience for that to grow. I think these guys are growing. It’s a good sign for the immediate and for the future.”
Freshmen Jacob Blas and Jonathan Guardado gave the Wildcats a needed boost Friday night. Blas’ two-run homer ignited a rally from a 4-0 deficit. Guardado’s 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief enabled Arizona to settle down and stay up.
Williams came to the plate in the bottom of the second Saturday with the score tied 1-1. Fellow freshman Tate Soderstrom had led off the inning with a double down the first-base line. Williams fell behind 1-2 but worked the count to 3-2 against Nicholls starter Cayden Hatcher. Williams finally got his pitch and launched it.
“It’s unbelievable, actually,” Williams said. “To hit it off of that building, there’s a lot of history behind that guy (Francona). Great person. I look up to him. It’s an honor.”
Williams said he “kind of blacked out” at some point while rounding the bases. He tapped helmets with Soderstrom after touching home and got mobbed by his teammates outside the UA dugout.
“I know how that feels,” said junior first baseman Alfonso Rivas III, who homered once as a freshman in 2016. “It’s an awesome experience. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Rivas likes what he has seen from the freshman class. Blas has emerged as the starting shortstop, is batting .310 and has a .980 fielding percentage.
Williams has started only three times but has five walks and a .474 on-base percentage. Guardado has allowed only one run in nine innings.
“It’s kind of exciting to see what they are going to be next year – even at the end of this year, or next week,” said Rivas, who went 4 for 5 Saturday. “The work ethic is there. They make the right choices. It’s going to be awesome to see the finished product.”
Blas and Williams, who are roommates, know they have a long way to go. Both need to get bigger and stronger. But they already have overcome some significant mental hurdles.
Blas did not open the year as the starting shortstop and had to bide his time. He also has had to adjust to the length of the college season. Rivas said that’s the hardest part about making the transition from high school.
“It’s been tough mentally, grinding through the whole year,” Blas said. “But I’m really glad how it’s gone so far. I feel like I’ve become a better person and player from it, and I’m excited to continue to grow.”
It’s an even greater challenge for Williams because he’s never sure when he’s going to play. After walking twice and scoring a run off the bench in the series opener Thursday, he forced Johnson’s hand: The coach had to get Williams into the lineup.
“He’s earned it,” Johnson said. “He’s really improved. What a lot of people don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes on a day-in, day-out basis. He had some growing up to do. Not uncommon. He’s started to do that. He’s started to take ownership of his development.”
Williams said he prepares the same way every day. When he isn’t playing, he watches the game closely and thinks about what he’d do in specific situations.
Williams wasn’t thinking about hitting a home run Saturday. Then again, Blas – his roommate and fellow freshman – hit one the previous night.
“Whatever he does,” Williams said, “I’m trying to do better.”
Inside pitch
- Arizona improved to 14-1 at home. The Wildcats have scored at least nine runs in each of their past four wins and have averaged 10 runs over that span.
- Junior right-hander Michael Flynn allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings to improve to 4-1. Preston Price, Zach Sherman and Tylor Megill combined for four innings of hitless relief.
- Sophomore third baseman Nick Quintana hit his third homer in four games, a three-run blast in the fourth inning. It was Arizona’s fifth home run in the past two games. The Wildcats had four entering Friday.
- Junior catcher Cesar Salazar went 2 for 5 to extend his on-base streak to 24 games. He is hitting a team-best .383.
- Arizona visits New Mexico on Monday before hosting Oregon State next weekend. The Beavers are likely to lose their No. 1 ranking after dropping two of three at Utah, which was 4-19 entering the series.
- Johnson on his decision to rest No. 1 starter Cody Deason this weekend: “Cody needed a break. He’s done a lot for us so far. You can call it what you want – his long-term future, the rest of our season. I just felt like it was the right call.”
