Led by a huge night from the lineup and a shutout performance from starter Cam Walty, Arizona dominated No. 18 Arizona State 20-0 to pick up a convincing win over its rival Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The 20 runs scored against ASU were the most since 1986, and it was the Wildcats' first shutout of the Sun Devils since 2012.
βThey beat us up pretty good up there in Phoenix, and I know we wanted to come out and play well,β UA coach Chip Hale said. β(Walty) set the tone in the first inning, got us off the field, and just a tremendous job of hitting.β
ASU (25-11) swept Arizona (19-15) in late March, part of a 10-game UA losing streak in Pac-12 play.
The Wildcats' payback started in the Arizona half of the first inning with a double by Mac Bingham, a single by Nik McClaughry and a home run by Chase Davis. The Wildcats went on to bat around, plating six runs in the inning capped off with a three-run home run hit by Tony Bullard
When Arizona played ASU last month, Bullard suffered a concussion after getting hit in the head by a pitch. The injury forced him to miss five games. Since he's returned, Bullard is hitting .371 with 12 RBIs.
Arizona's Tony Bullard, right, taps helmets with Kiko Romero, middle, and Garen Caulfield after socking a three-run homer in the first inning of the Wildcats' 20-0 victory over ASU on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
Bullard didΒ not have that last game against ASU on his mind Wednesday night, saying he was just βtrying to play the game the right way.β
βI think we treat every game the same,β Bullard said. βThey were a little disrespectful when they beat us, so we took that a little personal. But other than that, we just played the game that we know how to play.β
UA didnβt stop there at the plate, scoring in every inning they hit in for the first time since Feb. 22, 2021, against Ball State.Β At one point, after Bingham and Kiko Romero both went deep in the second inning, the Wildcats had as many home runs as outs recorded.
The offensive explosion shouldnβt overshadow the start by Walty, who allowed five hits across seven shutout innings. He struck out seven Sun Devils and walked just one.
Walty previously appeared out of the bullpen against ASU, allowing three runs on four hits and recording just two outs. In his last two appearances, both of which were starts, Walty has combined to throw 12 shutout innings.
Arizona's Cam Walty gets fired up during his outing vs. ASU on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Walty didn't allow a run in seven innings, extending his personal shutout streak as a starter at Hi Corbett Field to 21 straight frames.
βI think itβs easier for me to settle in because Iβm coming in with not a stressful situation,β Walty said. βIt was what I did back at my old school (Nevada), and I just think itβs my old stomping grounds.β
Dating back to his start last season in which he threw a shutout for Nevada against Arizona, Walty has thrown 21 straight scoreless innings as a starter at Hi Corbett.
Inside pitch
β’ Davis hit his 31st career home run at Arizona, tying him for ninth in program history with Todd Trafton and Bill Rhinehart.
β’Β Bingham posted the first five-hit game for Arizona since Cal Stevenson in 2018. Bingham finished a triple shy of the cycle.
β’Β Romero collected three hits and drove in four runs. Bullard hit two home runs and also drove in four runs.
β’Β The Wildcats start a three-game series against Utah on Friday at 6 p.m.
Arizona baseball's Emilio Corona shares what has changed for him at the plate recently. He went 5-for-11 at the plate in the three games this weekend against Washington. Corona spoke after Arizona's 13-1 win Saturday over Washington to take the series with the Huskies, two games to one. Video by Ari Koslow/Special to the Arizona Daily Star
