PHOENIX — In each of Arizona’s five consecutive Pac-12 losses entering Sunday, the Wildcats took the initial lead.
So when Arizona State went up 2-0 in the second inning of the series finale at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, maybe it was a good thing?
It wasn’t.
Arizona briefly recaptured the lead, but ASU pummeled the UA pitching staff en route to a 10-6 victory in front of an announced crowd of 5,027.
The Sun Devils swept the Wildcats for the first time since 2019. That was also the last time Arizona suffered six consecutive defeats in conference play.
ASU (16-8, 5-1 Pac-12) has won 10 of its past 11 games. Arizona (13-9, 3-6) has lost six of seven after winning nine in a row.
UA coach Chip Hale gave a short but animated address to his team immediately after the game. The message?
“This might sound funny, but I’m very proud of these guys,” Hale said. “They battled their tails off the whole weekend. It’s a tough place to play. There’s a lot of verbal abuse. I just think we have a bunch of classy guys.
“Things turn. Baseball turns. When things seem the bleakest a lot, that’s when it’ll turn around. Maybe something’s gonna happen. We have to push through and play better. We know that. But I’m very proud of the effort they gave.”
Junior outfielder Chase Davis, who had been 0 for 8 in the series, erased the 2-0 deficit with a three-run home run in the top of the third. The ball traveled 407 feet and caromed off the roof of the Whiteman Family Performance Center beyond the bullpen in right field.
Arizona’s Chase Davis connects for a three-run home run in the third inning that gave the Wildcats a short-lived lead against Arizona State on Sunday, March 26, at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The lead didn’t last, and it was the long ball — a bugaboo for UA pitchers in this series — that flipped the score back in ASU’s favor.
Wyatt Crenshaw hit a solo homer off starter Aiden May to tie it in the bottom of the third. The Sun Devils reclaimed the lead on a sacrifice fly.
Freshman Kien Vu’s solo shot with two outs in the fourth — an opposite-field no-doubter to left — put the Sun Devils up 5-3. Nu’u Contrades — another freshman whose three-run homer proved to be the decisive blow Saturday — hit a solo blast in the fifth to make it 6-3.
That was the last pitch May threw. He allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings.
The lead grew to 10-3 through six. Arizona scored three runs in the top of the eighth to make it 10-6, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
The Wildcats allowed four home runs Sunday and seven in the three-game series. They had allowed 12 in their first 19 games.
“Definitely leaving the ball up. A few sliders that were hung,” Hale said.
“I said this before the series, and the team knew this: This ballpark sits exactly the opposite of Hi Corbett. You see the wind. It blew out all series. They took advantage of it. We couldn’t really take much advantage other than Chase’s, and that would have gone out anywhere. Yellowstone.”
The Wildcats begin an eight-game homestand Tuesday night vs. Grand Canyon. They are 9-2 at Hi Corbett Field, 1-6 in true road games.
Veteran shortstop Nik McClaughry said where Arizona plays shouldn’t matter. It’s how the Wildcats play.
“We’re just not playing great baseball right now,” said McClaughry, who had three of Arizona’s eight hits. “I think that shows by the scoreboard.”
Inside pitch
UA third baseman Tony Bullard was not in the lineup and is expected to miss at least the next two game after entering concussion protocol. Bullard was struck in the head by a pitch in the fourth inning Saturday. He remained in the game before being removed in the seventh. Mason White started in Bullard’s place.
Former UA outfielder Jared Oliva attended the game and hung out with the team in the dugout beforehand. Oliva is currently a member of the Los Angeles Angels organization.
Hale said right-hander Anthony Susac will start vs. Grand Canyon. Susac pitched three scoreless innings last Tuesday in his first appearance since missing time because of an arm injury. Hale also said the coaching staff will consider changes to the starting rotation after a series of middling outings.
