Arizona Wildcats coach Jay Johnson is the first to concede that he’s an impatient person. He also understands that improvement comes incrementally, and it isn’t necessarily steady or linear.
After the season opener, Arizona allowed five or fewer runs in eight consecutive games, a sign that its pitching — the Wildcats’ biggest weakness a year ago — was heading in the right direction.
Over the past three games, Arizona has surrendered 31 runs (25 earned). The Wildcats won two of them and received some stellar pitching performances in the third, an 8-6 win at Texas on Tuesday night. The loss, against Rhode Island on Sunday, was ugly: Arizona surrendered 15 earned runs and 14 walks.
“This thing’s a work in progress,” said Johnson, whose team hosts Houston in a three-game series starting Friday. “We’re all impatient. We want what we want when we want it. (But) there’s an improvement side of this thing while we’re trying to win games.”
Arizona’s staff, under the guidance of first-year pitching coach Nate Yeskie, unquestionably has improved. Through 12 games, the Wildcats have shaved nearly two runs off their ERA (4.25 vs. 6.21). They rank second in the Pac-12 behind 11-1 UCLA in strikeouts per nine innings (11.64).
Arizona’s BB/9 rate is still on the high side — 5.00. But if you exclude that game against Rhode Island, the figure falls to a more respectable 4.18. The Wildcats have allowed four or fewer walks in seven of their first 12 games.
Preston Price
“If they throw strikes … they’ve seen that they can execute successfully,” Johnson said. “That will be the key moving forward.”
Arizona needed an already taxed bullpen to step up and throw strikes in Austin, and two relievers came through in a big way. After freshman starter Dawson Netz had to leave the game in the second inning because of an arm issue, senior right-hander Vince Vannelle pitched a career-high 4⅓ innings. He allowed two runs, walked only one batter and struck out six.
Senior righty Preston Price finished the game. He allowed a pair of singles that plated four runs — three charged to lefty Gil Luna — but retired the final seven batters he faced. Price didn’t issue a walk and struck out two in 2⅔ innings.
Overall, Vannelle and Price have combined to post a 2.02 ERA over 22⅓ innings with five walks and 29 strikeouts.
“Vince is a real story to the season right now,” Johnson said. “He’s not expecting to be in the game in the second inning. He’s gotta do all his warmups on the game mound right in front of the other team. We needed somebody with poise … and that’s what he gives us.
“I thought Preston was outstanding. You could see in the eighth and then in the ninth, ‘We’re good. We’re going to finish this thing off.’ ”
Team MVP?
Arizona’s best draft prospect is sophomore catcher Austin Wells, who hasn’t disappointed. Wells is slashing .364/.525/.636 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.
But junior center fielder Donta Williams might be the Wildcats’ MVP so far.
“I’m sure there’s better, more talented players across the country,” Johnson said. “I think he would tell you that. But you could make a case he’s arguably our most valuable player right now.”
Williams, Arizona’s leadoff hitter, has a team-best .405 batting average. His 19 runs scored rank second in the Pac-12; his .576 on-base percentage ranks third.
Williams has reached base nine times in the past two games while getting only one hit. He has walked six times — including a career-high five Sunday — and gotten hit by pitches twice.
Williams also has played a flawless center field, tracking down 23 fly balls without committing an error.
Infield shuffle
Jacob Blas started at shortstop against Texas. Dayton Dooney opened at second. Tony Bullard played third. But they didn’t necessarily play those positions for all 27 outs.
Johnson shuffled those three infielders depending on the batter and situation. Blas and Bullard sometimes played second. Dooney sometimes lined up on the left side.
“I would equate it to basketball,” Johnson said. “You put your best defender on the leading scorer, so you put your best defender where the ball’s going to go in baseball.”
Johnson considers Blas to be Arizona’s best infielder. The redshirt sophomore has bounced back from personal and injury issues last season to provide a spark on the field, at the plate and on the bases.
“He plays with a bounce in his step, and I think that really feeds our team,” Johnson said. “He made plays at short and second (Tuesday) night that were critical in terms of neutralizing innings.”
Arizona won’t be as apt to shift when Matthew Dyer is part of the infield mix. Dyer, who started at catcher Tuesday, has played second and third base and has looked particularly adept at second.
“When Matt plays in the field, it makes it a little easier,” Johnson said. “But when he’s behind the plate, then we need to think about, ‘How are we going to balance our offense and defense to give us the best chance to be successful?’ ”
Inside pitch
- Dyer has rebounded from a rough stretch. In his past three games, he’s 4 for 10 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. His 15 RBIs are tied for fourth in the conference.
- Netz was still being evaluated Thursday. The team will be cautious with the prized freshman, who has a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings. “It’s just not something we’re going to mess around with with a pitcher of his caliber,” Johnson said.
- Right-hander Davis Vainer, a graduate transfer from Alabama, has yet to make his UA debut because of a non-throwing injury. But Vainer threw a bullpen Thursday and could be available out of the pen this weekend.
- Arizona’s listed starters for Friday and Saturday against Houston are left-hander Garrett Irvin (3-0, 4.50 ERA) and righty Quinn Flanagan (1-1, 2.76). Sunday’s starter has yet to be announced.
