A familiar story played out at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday night.
The Arizona Wildcats’ offense was good enough to win. Their pitching wasn’t close.
The result was a 15-13 loss to New Mexico State, Arizona’s third in a row. It was also the third straight time the Wildcats allowed 13 or more runs.
Arizona (19-23) has struggled mightily since winning four in a row in early April. Since then, the Wildcats have gone 2-9. They allowed at least seven runs in each of those losses.
New Mexico State (31-11) entered Tuesday leading the nation in batting average (.356), on-base percentage (.469), slugging percentage (.593) and runs per game (11.1). The Aggies scored at least one run in each of the first seven innings.
"I don’t really want to get overly negative," UA coach Jay Johnson said. "Those guys are hurting in there. They’re not trying to pitch like that at all. ... You’re not going to win in Division I baseball giving up the amount of runs we’re giving up."
NMSU sophomore Nick Gonzales, who played at Cienega High School, went 2 for 3 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. He entered Tuesday batting .428, the fourth-best figure in the country.
In the top of the fifth, with Arizona trailing 9-7, Johnson intentionally walked Gonzales with a runner on second base. Tristen Carranza hit the next pitch from Preston Price over the wall in left field for a three-run homer.
"He’s leading the nation in a billion offensive categories," Johnson said of Gonzales. "And the next guy hit a home run."
Down four in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats loaded the bases. But pinch-hitter Tate Soderstrom, representing the tying run, hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Arizona made it a two-run game in the bottom of the ninth on freshman Ryan Holgate's two-run homer to right. It was Holgate's fifth home run of the season. The Wildcats did not threaten thereafter.
Arizona defeated New Mexico State 14-10 on March 19. The Wildcats were 13-7 at that point. They’ve gone 6-16 since.
"This hasn’t turned out the way we wanted it to," Johnson said. "But all you can do at this point is work hard and commit to improvement on a daily basis, the foundation of our program.
"I’ve seen a lot over the last week, 10 days. It’s not happening as far as the result on the field. But again, if you’re going to give up 13, 13, 15, you’re not gonna win."
Johnson switched things up Tuesday by starting right-hander Quinn Flanagan, who usually starts on Saturdays. Flanagan pitched two innings to close Friday’s 6-3 win over Stanford and would have been available Sunday if needed.
Flanagan couldn’t get out of the first inning Tuesday. He retired only two of the seven batters he faced, allowing three runs.
Arizona hosts Oregon (23-19) for a three-game series starting Friday.
Inside pitch
- UA freshman Tony Bullard had a career-high three hits and matched his career best with three RBIs. He was one of seven Wildcats with two or more hits.
- Right-hander Vince Vannelle pitched the final two innings for Arizona and did not allow a run.
- UA catcher-first baseman Matthew Dyer did not play because of illness. He has a team-best .399 batting average.
- Two of Arizona’s 2018-19 signees were named pitchers of the year in their junior-college leagues. Left-hander Garrett Irvin of Riverside City College (Orange Empire League) is 9-2 with a 2.28 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 79 innings. Lefty Ian Churchill of Santa Barbara City College (Western State League) is 8-1 with a 1.39 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 77 2/3 frames.
