It was an all-too-familiar scene for the Arizona baseball team at No. 5 Stanford on Friday night.
The Wildcats lost to the Cardinal 9-8 in a walk-off at Sunken Diamondย โ the UA's fourth walk-off loss in its past five road games.
Arizona's fifth consecutive defeat away from Hi Corbett Fieldย โ following a 3-1 homestand that featured two walk-off victoriesย โ dropped the Wildcats to 26-21, 9-16 in the Pac-12. It's no longer mathematically possible for them to finish .500 in the conference, meaning their only feasible path to make the NCAA Tournament is to win the Pac-12 Tournamentย โ assuming they qualify.
Arizona rallied from an 8-3 deficit to tie the score Friday, and Nik McClaughry played an integral role. In the top of the sixth, the veteran shortstop knocked in two runs with a single to make it 8-5. In the eighth, McClaughry reached base on a throwing error that scored two more runs to make it 8-7.
McClaughry advanced to third on the error. He then stole home to knot the score at 8-8ย โ his second steal of home this season.
The previous instance came at Oregon State two Fridays ago. That steal gave Arizona a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats would lose 2-1 in a walk-off.
Both teams failed to score after McClaughry's latest theft of home. But the Cardinal (33-13, 19-6) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth off Trevor Long via a single, a double and an intentional walk. Long left a slider up to freshman Malcolm Moore, who lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Tommy Troy and end the game.
That was the only run Arizona's bullpen allowed in four innings. Starter Cam Walty, who had posted a 1.00 ERA in his previous five outings, allowed a season-high eight runs in five innings, including six in the second that turned a 3-0 Arizona lead into a 6-3 deficit.
McClaughry and Mac Bingham each had three hits and two RBIs for the Wildcats. All three of Bingham's hits were doubles.
Tony Bullard went 2 for 2 with two walks and three runs scored.
Game 2 of the three-game series is at 3 p.m. Saturday and will air on Pac-12 Networks.
No. 8 seed Arizona fell to No. 1 seed UCLA 4-3 in the Pac-12 Softball Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at Rita Hillenbrand Stadium. The Wildcats could miss the NCAA postseason for the first time since 1986.
