The Arizona Wildcats had been down this road at home before.
Arizona lost the opener of a three-game series against then-No. 5 Oregon State on April 6 at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats rebounded to win the next night — and to win the series.
So when Arizona lost Game 1 against No. 3 Stanford on Friday, UA coach Jay Johnson knew what to expect from his team.
“The character is in place. The competitiveness is in place,” Johnson said late Friday night. “I don’t have any worries or concerns about what that looks like when we show up tomorrow.”
Arizona showed plenty of mettle Saturday night. The Wildcats rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning — but couldn’t hold it.
Stanford scored five runs in the top of the ninth and defeated Arizona 8-7 in front of a season-high 4,750 fans.
The Cardinal improved to 29-5, 11-3 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats fell to 23-14, 6-8. Arizona has lost two in a row at home for the first time this season and is 3-9 in one-run games.
“It’s a hard game,” Johnson said afterward. “That’s as tough as it gets as far as a regular-season game right there. But we’ll show up tomorrow.”
Arizona was on the verge of an uplifting victory after freshman Jacob Blas’ three-run, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Wildcats a 6-3 lead.
But reliever Tylor Megill — after a long stint on the bench — struggled in the ninth. He allowed two runs and exited with one out and the bases loaded.
Zach Stone entered and struck out Matthew Decker. Stone then surrendered a line single to Christian Robinson, the most reviled man in Tucson after he spiked UA third baseman Nick Quintana with a late slide Friday night.
Freshman outfielder Blake Paugh bobbled the ball, and all three runners scored to make it 8-6. Arizona responded with a run in the bottom of the ninth, but Tate Soderstrom grounded out to end the game.
Stanford has scored 15 of its 16 runs in the series after the sixth inning.
“We’ve just gotta keep getting better,” Johnson said. “That’s as good a team as we’ve played. There’s a little bit of a difference between where they’re at at this date and where we’re at.
“That being said, the scoreboard said it was small. We’ve just gotta go to work on tying up some small things to get us on the other side of it.”
Blas came to the plate in the eighth with two outs and runners on second and third. Facing star Stanford closer Jack Little — who had a 0.39 ERA in 23 innings — Blas drove a 1-1 pitch to deep right-center. Right fielder Alec Wilson dove for the ball, but it deflected off his glove.
“Jack Little’s been unhittable,” Johnson said. “Credit to Jacob. That’s one you wish you could’ve made stand up.”
Arizona received a gutty performance from junior right-hander Michael Flynn, who matched Stanford lefty Kris Bubic — a projected high pick in the 2018 MLB draft – pitch for pitch.
Flynn allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings. He surrendered four hits, walked two and tied his career high with eight strikeouts. He might have done his best work in the first inning.
A single, an error and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out for Stanford’s cleanup hitter, Andrew Daschbach, who has a team-high 11 home runs. Daschbach hit a grounder to Quintana, who threw home for a forceout. Flynn struck out the next two batters.
Arizona loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. Cesar Salazar hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Cal Stevenson to make it 1-0.
Stevenson, who led off the inning with a single, returned to the lineup as the designated hitter after missing the previous two games because of an injured hand. He made a difference.
In the bottom of the second, with runners on first and third, Stevenson plated Ryan Haug with a sacrifice fly to left. Just like Friday night, Arizona had a 2-0 lead.
Just like Friday night, Stanford rallied in the seventh. With the score 2-1, Robinson led off with a line-drive double off reliever Gil Luna. The ball deflected off the glove of leaping first baseman Alfonso Rivas III. Wilson followed with a bloop double down the right-field line to score Robinson and tie the score.
Megill replaced Luna. With two outs and the bases loaded, Megill hit Kyle Stowers with an 0-1 pitch. Wilson scored to give the Cardinal a 3-2 lead.
It didn’t last long. With two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Rivas mashed a solo home run to right. It was his third homer of the season and his first since March 6. The junior has a nine-game hitting streak.
A coach and a friend
Before the game, Johnson stood shoulder to shoulder with three UA coaching giants: Jim Wing, Jerry Stitt and Andy Lopez.
All were on hand to honor Jerry Kindall, the Hall of Fame coach who led Arizona to three College World Series championships. Kindall died Dec. 24 at the age of 82.
Eleven of Kindall’s family members gathered on the opposite side of the pitcher’s mound. His grandson, Eric, threw out the first pitch; his brother, Wayne, sang the national anthem.
The pregame ceremony began with a video tribute to Kindall, who led the Wildcats to 860 victories. It included footage of Kindall speaking with reporters at the airport after winning one of his three national titles.
“I thought it was really well done,” said Stitt, Kindall’s longtime assistant and successor.
Stitt and Wing took in the ballgame from the second row, just to the right of the plate.
“The university just can’t do enough for him,” Stitt continued. “The first national championship we ever had was in ’76, which this guy (Wing) was a part of. He just established a dominant program and always did things right.”
The school will recognize Kindall and his predecessor, Frank Sancet, with a monument near where the plate used to be at Arizona’s former home park – Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium. Plans for the monument are still being finalized.
The current site of the stadium will serve as the future home of Arizona’s Indoor Sports Center. Construction on the practice facility is set to begin this month.
Stitt envisions the monument as a place where UA baseball alumni can gather.
“He was my boss for 22 years,” Wing said, “my friend for 44.”
Inside pitch
- Salazar left the game in the top of the fifth after being struck in the facemask by a foul tip for the second straight inning. In the third, Salazar took a ball off his right arm. Haug replaced Salazar behind the plate. Johnson said it was a “medical decision” to take Salazar out.
- The crowd heartily booed Stanford’s Robinson every time he came to the plate. Arizona pitcher Cody Deason described Robinson’s slide into Quintana’s leg as “outrageously dirty” and “bush league.” The fans roared when Robinson struck out in each of his first two at-bats.
- Stanford will throw another left-hander, Erik Miller, against Arizona in the series finale Sunday. Miller is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA. The Wildcats’ starter is TBA.
