The three teams that gathered in Tucson to play college baseball this weekend made a late scheduling change, and it seemed to throw everything off-kilter.
Originally slated to face Wichita State on Saturday night, the Arizona Wildcats instead took on Air Force. The Falcons were 5-5 entering the game, but they were hot. Air Force swept rival Army last weekend and thumped Wichita State earlier Saturday.
The Falcons proved to be a worthy foe. Air Force defeated No. 16 Arizona 5-2 at Hi Corbett Field, handing the Wildcats their second straight defeat. Arizona (11-4) had won 10 in a row before losing to Wichita State on Friday.
Air Forceโs pitching staff stymied the sizzling UA offense, which had scored at least eight runs in each of its past seven games. The Wildcatsโ four hits were a season low.
โIโll give credit to Air Force,โ said UA coach Jay Johnson, who was ejected in the sixth inning. โThey came into this field and won two games against two good teams. Their men have really good competitive character, and it showed on the baseball diamond tonight.โ
The first 5 1/3 innings produced perhaps the least likely outcome possible.
The Wildcats entered the game with a .331 batting average. Air Forceโs starting pitcher, left-hander Stevan Fairburn Jr., had a 7.30 ERA.
So naturally, Arizona didnโt produce a single hit through 5 1/3 frames.
Freshman catcher Daniel Susac ended Fairburnโs run with a double to right field. Tony Bullard followed with a triple to right-center. Dontaโ Williams ended Fairburnโs night with a single up the middle, making the score 3-2.
Soon after, Johnsonโs night ended. After Williams was called out trying to steal second โ on a pitch that Jacob Blas swung at for a strikeout โ Johnson questioned umpire Matt McMahonโs ruling. Moments later, McMahon โ who had tossed Wichita State coach Eric Wedge during Fridayโs game โ ejected Johnson.
โI thought he (Williams) was safe,โ Johnson said. โI didn't think he (McMahon) was in position to make the call. I told him that he needed to be in a better position. Then I told him to stay focused, and he ejected me. ... I know it'd been a long day for everybody with all the circumstances.โ
On the play in question, catcher Braydon Altorferโs throw took shortstop Alexander Pup to the third-base side of second. Pup had to reach back across his body to tag Williams, who slid head-first to the back side of the bag.
โI asked him if he was safe; he said he was safe,โ Johnson said. โThe throw was on the other side of the bag. Heโs moving on the pitch. But hey, we gotta make contact, and we don't get to that point.โ
Pitching coach Nate Yeskie took over managerial duties for the remainder of the game and coached first base. Hitting coach Marc Wanaka gave the offensive signals from the dugout. Johnson watched via live stream from his office.
โIโm not going to do that again,โ he said. โI support my team, but I need to be in the dugout with them; that gives us the best chance to win. So I will not get myself ejected for the duration of the season.โ
Air Force extended its lead from 3-2 to 5-2 in the ninth, capitalizing on a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch on a strikeout that enabled the batter to reach first base.
Arizonaโs schedule for this weekend changed for the second time since the original version came out in late January.
In version 1.0, the UA was supposed to face Wichita State four times Thursday-Sunday. But Johnson never was overly enthused about playing the Shockers at 9 a.m. Sunday to accommodate their travel schedule. When Air Force lost its scheduled opponent, San Jose State, because the Spartansโ program was paused, Falcons coach Mike Kazlausky called Johnson to see if he had an opening. The weekend was rearranged, with Wichita State facing Air Force on Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats hosting the Shockers on Saturday night and Cats-Falcons at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Then Mother Nature intervened. Overnight rain โ combined with an un-tarped field โ led to a two-plus-hour delay of the Wichita State-Air Force game. The Shockers had to use more pitchers than anticipated, including scheduled Saturday-night starter Josh Hansell. The coaches agreed to alter the schedule again, with Air Force taking Wichita Stateโs place Saturday night. Sundayโs game remains the same.
โCoach Kaz, Coach Wedge and I, we were put in a bad situation today with the field,โ Johnson said. โIt felt like it was our error in terms of field administration, so we had to own that.โ
โNo excuses,โ Johnson added. โWe did not play well enough to win against a team that did.โ
Inside pitch
- UA left-hander Garrett Irvin had his best start of the season, allowing three hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings, but suffered his first loss as a Wildcat.
- Branden Boissiere and Ryan Holgate combined to go 0 for 8 and failed to reach base for the first time this season.
- UA outfielder Blake Paugh has missed the past three games because of a sore back. Paugh is hitting .350 with one home run and nine RBIs.
- Freshman right-hander TJ Nichols (3-0, 3.24 ERA) is scheduled to start for Arizona on Sunday. He will face righty Zach Argo (0-2, 7.59).
- Former UA super-utility player Matthew Dyer attended Saturdayโs game. Dyer, whoโs from Glendale, was selected in the fourth round of last yearโs MLB draft by the New York Mets. He will report to minor-league spring training later this month.
