It has been a rollercoaster of a season for Arizona’s starting rotation and bullpen. The Wildcats have a 5.87 team ERA, fourth worst in the Pac-12. But they did finish the season strong.
Over the final eight games, including the Pac-12 Tournament, the starters compiled a 5.08 ERA and the pitching staff as a whole allowed five runs or fewer in six of those games. With the firepower the lineup has showcased all season, Arizona is going to win more often than not when holding opposing teams to around five runs a game.
“I would say that’s a very good positive to have going into the regional,” said right-hander Cam Walty, who is expected to start Arizona’s opener in the Fayetteville Regional on Friday against TCU. “I think our approaches are still the same. We’re just executing pitches better.”
One of the biggest problems for the pitching staff as a whole this season has been putting opposing hitters away on 0-2 and 1-2 counts. That included the Sunday regular-season game against Stanford that UA won 21-20 in 10 innings in which Alberto Rios hit a game-tying three-run home run in the ninth inning on an 0-2 pitch.
“We have tried to stress to them if they get a slider or a changeup, just get it down in the dirt,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We’ve had a hard time doing that. I thought we did a better job Saturday night (in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game against Oregon) of bouncing some balls and trusting the catchers to block them, but there is no doubt that has been an issue all year.”
Huddling up
For the majority of the season, UA hitters and pitchers would be separate, doing their own thing, before each game. That was until right before the Sunday game against Stanford a few weeks ago.
Then it became a full-team huddle, the entire squad gathering arm in arm in a circle.
“The last day at Stanford, we were like, ‘Why not the pitchers?’ Because they’re always doing stuff (in the outfield) like playing catch,” shortstop Nik McClaughry said. “We interrupted them and told them to join us, and ever since, I thought we’ve really come together as a team.
Arizona’s players gather for a huddle before the start of Saturday’s game against Oregon. UA will face TCU in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday night.
“We’re all a team and we’re in this together. That’s why I always say when the hitters are doing bad, the pitchers need to help pick us up. I think that’s a huge thing when we’re all in that huddle, we can all laugh about whatever we were talking about and then get prepared for what we need to do that day.”
It came across as a surprise to the pitchers, but they didn’t hesitate to join the pregame huddle.
“It was new to us because at times I think we kind of divide ourselves,” reliever Chris Barraza said. “I think it really kind of created a good aroma of confidence and believing in each other.”
Since that Sunday, Arizona has won seven of its past nine games.
‘Nothing to lose’
It was a mix of emotions in the clubhouse when the players finally heard their name called during Monday’s selection show.
“We were very nervous,” McClaughry said. “I think a lot of us were sitting there not knowing what was going to happen. We all had a feeling it was going to be us, USC or ASU in that last spot where we ended up getting it.
“I remember I was sitting next to Tony Bullard and Tyler Casagrande. We saw the name pop up, and we just went crazy.”
It is now the coaches’ and players’ mission to prove to everyone why they deserve to be in the tournament.
“I feel like (we need to) treat it similar to how we did the Pac-12 Tournament,” McClaughry said. “We’re playing with house money, nothing to lose. Just play our best baseball, and we’re playing our best baseball right now.”
Arizona’s Kiko Romero, far right, puts his glove out to make a catch as his teammates watch during a practice at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday.
Regional challenges
Arizona played in the rain-delayed Coral Gables Regional last season. The Wildcats fell into the losers’ bracket, won a pair of games and were eliminated by Ole Miss, which went on to win the College World Series.
It was at that point Hale learned how important pitching truly is in regional play.
“In a perfect world, you win Friday, you win Saturday and you win Sunday,” Hale said. “But it’s never a perfect world. And then you throw in the chances of rain and rain delays, so everybody has got to be ready. ...
“Some guys haven’t gotten the opportunity to pitch or get on the field (in the NCAA Tournament). They may (this weekend). I told them you get into the playoffs, it’s never the stars, it seems like, that win the games. It’s always somebody that nobody expects, so everyone has to be ready.”
Hale added that he believes the bullpen is a little deeper this season compared to last year.
Fast Frogs
TCU is one of the most dangerous teams in the country on the base paths. The Horned Frogs have stolen 129 bases this season, tied for eighth most in the nation. They had three players steal at least 20 bases and six players swipe double-digit bags.
Throwing out runners has been an issue for the Wildcats; they’re last in the Pac-12 with a defensive caught-stealing percentage of 15.6.
“When you play a team like this, the one thing I have learned is they’re going to get their steals. They’re elite runners,” Hale said.
“The one thing you can’t let it do is bother you. We can’t get personal about it. It’s just part of their game. They still have to cross home plate, and we have to realize that and don’t change the way you pitch. ... We’ll stay with our game.”
The pitch clock is another advantage pitchers have in an attempt to keep baserunners from stealing.
“With the pitch clock, you can hold the clock until it gets to two or three seconds and then pitch, and (at) some points you pitch faster,” McClaughry said. “As a base stealer, it’s really hard to take a lead and be comfortable when the pitcher is constantly changing his holds.”
TCU has won six straight games, capped off with a win over Oklahoma State in the championship of the Big 12 Tournament. The Horned Frogs are No. 3 in their conference with a 4.83 team ERA.
Arizona RHP Cam Walty on pitching with short rest, making adjustments and getting that critical third out (video by Michael Lev / Arizona Daily Star)
