Arizona Wildcats find much-needed relief thanks to a freshman and a veteran

Through eight games and two series, here’s what we’ve learned about the Arizona Wildcats’ pitching staff:

• The UA has a deep starting rotation featuring at least four pitchers capable of going deep into games.
• The UA has two pitchers, Vince Vannelle and Preston Price, who can shut down offenses at the end of games.

The part that Jay Johnson and Nate Yeskie have been trying to figure out is what happens in between. What pitchers can they rely on to bridge the gap between the starters and closers? And who can close a game when Vannelle and Price aren’t available?

Arizona might have found answers to those questions during its four-game sweep of Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend.

Vannelle and Price weren’t available Saturday after pitching in back-to-back games. A freshman and a veteran stepped up to play key roles in the Wildcats’ 4-3 comeback victory.

The freshman, Trevor Long, allowed one baserunner in 1 2/3 innings in his college debut. The veteran, Quinn Flanagan, pitched two scoreless innings to earn his second career save.

Combined, the right-handers struck out seven batters in 3 2/3 innings.

“That was a big development,” Johnson said Monday. “When we’re in these four-game (series) for the next three weeks, you’re going to have to use a higher volume of guys, which I think is going to set us up well once we get to Pac 12 play.”

Arizona has four non-conference games each of the next two weekends, starting with the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas, which runs Thursday-Sunday. The Wildcats open Pac-12 play on March 19 at UCLA but finish that weekend with a Monday game at Loyola Marymount.

Vannelle, Price and left-hander Ian Churchill are the Wildcats’ most-used and most-trusted relievers. Vannelle and Price have combined for three saves and have yet to allow a run in 10 2/3 innings. Churchill has a 1.93 ERA across 4 2/3 frames.

Long wasn’t a full-time pitcher coming out of Scottsdale Chaparral High School. Perfect Game rated him as the top high school outfielder in Arizona in 2020. He wasn’t announced as part of the UA’s initial 2020 signing class because he’s on an academic scholarship.

With a logjam in the outfield — “the deepest and most talented position on our team,” per Johnson — Long had nowhere to play here as a freshman. But he had intriguing potential as a pitcher.

“The previous September, of ’19, I went to watch him pitch,” Johnson said. “He was up to 90 miles an hour. Didn’t really have feel for the breaking ball yet. But you could see something.

“There’s some aptitude here. There’s some athleticism here. He’s a great kid. So the work ethic is going to be there.

“Due to all those things, he’s progressed a lot more rapidly than I maybe anticipated. And that’s a tribute to him.”

Long has made only one appearance, so it remains to be seen whether he can become a consistent contributor as a freshman.

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But he has developed a changeup to complement a fastball that’s now up to 93 mph, and Johnson considers him one of the smartest players on the team.

Flanagan is at a different stage in his career. Despite being listed as a sophomore, he’s in his fourth year in the program. He started 17 games in 2019 and ’20, posting a 9-5 record.

But Arizona added transfer Chase Silseth and freshman TJ Nichols to the rotation, shifting Flanagan’s role. Johnson summed it up in two words: “important spots.”

“And when I say important spots,” Johnson added, “that could be starting. He’s built up to do it. We’re not closing the book on that at all.

“But if you have a pitcher that’s that seasoned, with the stuff that he has, at the end of the game, that’s going to take the pressure off of the other couple guys we’re using in those spots and can put us in an advantageous situation in every game that we play.”

Johnson’s most successful teams at Arizona featured pitchers whose roles evolved over the course of the season.

In 2016, Bobby Dalbec began the year as the closer. He eventually became a starter, with Cameron Ming shifting from the rotation to the back of the bullpen. The following season, Ming went from closer to starter.

In 2019, Flanagan made two critical, successful last-season relief appearances. He possesses the makeup to handle whatever’s thrown at him.

“He’s a pro,” Johnson said. “He’s a team player. He’s on our leadership group. He’s mature.”

Johnson said he “had the most trust with Quinn if we were tied or had the lead” late in Saturday’s game against SLU. Trailing 3-0, the Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh. That set up Flanagan to pitch the final two innings.

“He was actually available again (Sunday) if we needed him for one inning,” Johnson said.

“If you can use a pitcher of that quality to win two games on the weekend, for me, that’s better than just getting six innings in one game for one win.”

Inside pitch

• Arizona could have another bullpen option available for the Frisco Classic. Left-hander Blake Peyton, who has yet to appear in a game while recovering from arm soreness, was scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday. Peyton went 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings last season.

• After starting the season 0 for 6, first baseman Branden Boissiere has gone 14 for 23 to raise his batting average to .483, which leads the Pac-12. Outfielder Ryan Holgate is tied for third at .452. Arizona leads the conference in average (.328), on-base percentage (.455) and walks (59).

• Despite sweeping Southeastern Louisiana to improve to 6-2, Arizona dropped a spot in Baseball America’s Top 25. The Wildcats are ranked 24th as they head to Frisco for two games against No. 25 Oklahoma and one apiece against Dallas Baptist and Missouri.

• Johnson said each of Arizona’s first two opponents, SLU and Ball State, possess rare team speed. “Southeastern Louisiana could be a track team,” he said. “I’ve never seen that before, not in the Pac-12, not anywhere. If the ball was hit on the ground, regardless of where it was hit, it was a close play at first base, and that’s with our guys fundamentally doing what they’re supposed to be doing. And Ball State probably had four or five guys in the lineup we would call a ‘blue’ runner, which is the fastest kind of runner.” The Lions and Cardinals combined for six stolen bases in 10 attempts.