The first Pac-12 weekend presented the first true character test for the 2022 Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona dropped the opener of a three-game series at Cal last Friday in crushing fashion.
The Wildcats took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. The Golden Bears scored four runs to walk them off — three on wild pitches, one on a passed ball.
“That was what our biggest worry was after that game, to see how they would bounce back on the road in a place they weren’t comfortable playing at,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “In the ninth inning, it got real uncomfortable. There was a lot of screaming, yelling after the game from people in the stands at us.”
This was different from the previous weekend, when Arizona lost a home series against Texas State. The Bobcats played extremely well and might be an NCAA Tournament team. This was a pure giveaway. And the Wildcats couldn’t sleep in their own beds that night or rely on their home crowd the next day.
So how did they handle it?
“Our guys just let it go,” Hale said. “Let it go and came back on Saturday and really battled and performed well. And then Sunday finished it out. So we learned a lot about their character and the ability to forget, which is really important.”
Arizona won the next game 10-4, scoring eight runs in the final three innings. The Wildcats scored nine runs in the first inning the next day en route to a 13-5 win and a series triumph. They rallied from a 5-2 deficit the next day at Pacific to win 13-8 and finish their road trip 3-1.
“It was disappointing because you never want to lose, but we bounced back,” freshman first baseman Tommy Splaine said. “We know stuff like that happens. ... In order to be a good team, you have to learn from your mistakes and move on, and I think we did that.”
Now No. 17 Arizona (13-4, 2-1 Pac-12) is set to face No. 10 Stanford (9-5, 1-2) in a three-game series starting Saturday at Hi Corbett Field. The margin for error will be minimal.
“The more we get into conference, we’re gonna see that fundamentally sound baseball’s gonna win,” Hale said. “We made some mistakes ... and they hurt us the first day (at Cal). That’s what I talked to the team about after the game. Everybody focused on the ninth inning, right? But in the sixth inning, we gave them some runs that they shouldn’t have gotten.”
Arizona had built an 8-2 lead in the top of the sixth. The Bears scored three runs in the bottom half thanks in part to two walks and two wild pitches. That put them within striking distance in the ninth.
“When you play good teams ... you can’t make mistakes,” Hale said. “You’ve got to make them earn everything.”
Injury updates
Two Wildcats are on the mend and trending toward bigger roles, while another will be out indefinitely.
Third baseman Tony Bullard, who has been limited to three starts at DH because of a shoulder injury, has started a throwing program. He isn’t expected to play in the field this weekend but could the following weekend against UCLA. Bullard has just one hit in 14 at-bats so far but is no longer experiencing pain while swinging, Hale said.
Right-hander Chandler Murphy made his 2022 debut at Pacific. Murphy, a projected weekend starter, had been unavailable through the first 16 games because of an arm injury.
Murphy threw 23 pitches and was lifted after recording only one out. He walked two batters and was charged with three runs. Although his body was sore afterward, his arm came out of it OK.
“The plan was just to pitch one inning in sort of a rehab start — which is tough to do in a real game that counts,” Hale said. “The first hitter he went 0-2 on, boom-boom. If he gets that guy out, it’s a completely different inning. But he ended up going 3-2 and walking him. And then things started to snowball on him.
“When you’re coming back, especially in a rehab (start), the last thing to come is going to be location. The velocity was good; he was in the low 90s. The ball was coming out of his hand well.”
Assuming he suffers no setbacks, the plan is for Murphy to pitch as many as two innings Wednesday at New Mexico.
Infielder Jack Grant suffered a dislocated kneecap and MCL sprain when his spikes got stuck in the clay during an at-bat Saturday. Two runs scored on Grant’s “hit,” but he couldn’t make it out of the batter’s box.
“I don’t know the timetable,” Hale said. “But the good news is, it was not an ACL tear.”
Grant had been starting at third base and had committed only one error in 15 chances. He had six hits in 11 at-bats with six runs and six RBIs over a three-game stretch before getting hurt.
With Grant out and Bullard still not 100%, Arizona’s infield options are limited. Garen Caulfield is expected to start at third base, with Tyler Casagrande at second. If Splaine remains at first, either Bullard or Noah Turley — who went 4 for 8 with two home runs and six RBIs during the final two games of the road trip — will be left out of the lineup.
Inside pitch
UA sophomore Daniel Susac has been named to the watch list for the Buster Posey Award, given to the nation’s top catcher. Susac, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Week, led the country with 33 hits entering the weekend. He was tied for second with 11 doubles. He’s batting .407 with three home runs and a team-leading 23 RBIs.
UA outfielder Tanner O’Tremba was tied for second in the nation with 32 hits. He’s batting .464 — 18th best in the country and second in the Pac-12 — with two homers and 22 RBIs.
Outfielder Mac Bingham has a five-game hitting streak during which he has raised his average from .196 to .269. He has two walks and three strikeouts during the streak. That ratio was 0-18 in his first 12 games.
Splaine, a freshman, hit safely on all four games of the trip, going 9 for 14 with seven runs and six RBIs. He’s slashing .542/.647/.833 in 24 at-bats.
Right-handed reliever Trevor Long has yet to allow an earned run in 9 2/3 innings. He has yielded only three hits and has a WHIP of 0.52.
Stanford knocked Arizona out of the CWS last year and entered this season as a consensus top-10 team. The Cardinal also were picked to win the Pac-12 in the annual poll of league coaches. Stanford won the regular-season series last year, 2-1, one of only two series losses by the 2021 Wildcats. (UCLA was the other.)
The probable starters for the opener are right-hander Alex Williams (2-1, 3.50 ERA) for Stanford and righty TJ Nichols (2-0, 2.45) for Arizona.
Arizona and Stanford are playing Saturday through Monday because the Cardinal had final exams this week. All three games are being broadcast by Pac-12 Networks.
Arizona will honor the 2012 squad that won the College World Series during Saturday’s game. The first 500 fans will receive a replica of the ’12 national-championship banner.
