When Arizona suffered a sweep at the hands of Oregon State last weekend, some weren’t sure what to make of the Wildcats. Were they worthy of a top-15 national ranking? Were they legitimate contenders in the Pac-12?
No. 13 Arizona answered in the affirmative. The Wildcats won four in a row, including a three-game sweep over USC that they completed Sunday.
The 8-1 victory at Hi Corbett Field bumped the Wildcats’ home record to 16-0. It was their first sweep over the Trojans since 2013.
After a so-so performance in a 3-2 victory against Grand Canyon on Wednesday that prompted a postgame team meeting, Arizona dominated USC. The Wildcats outscored the Trojans 22-6.
“It shows who we are,” senior second baseman Kyle Lewis said. “We lost a couple tough games up there (in Corvallis), a couple close ones. You’ve got to find a way to come back and bounce back. We still have room for improvement, but it was really good to see the team respond in that way.”
Arizona improved to 20-7, 5-4 in the Pac-12, heading into a non-conference game against Arizona State on Tuesday. There was a lot to like about Sunday’s performance.
The Nos. 2-6 hitters who’ve been carrying the offense – Alfonso Rivas, Jared Oliva, JJ Matijevic and Nick Quintana – combined for only one hit. But the bottom of the order came through. The Nos. 7-9 batters – Cesar Salazar, Lewis and Louis Boyd – combined to go 5 for 8 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
“So great,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “We’ve got this beautiful $750,000 scoreboard. I’m kind of looking up at who’s doing what. There was a point there where ‘the dudes’ weren’t doing a whole lot, but everybody else was. It’s great to win a game like that.”
The Wildcats walked nine times and struck out only once. Their walk-to-strikeout ratio in the past two games is 16-5. They continue to wear out opposing pitching staffs, taking a .424 on-base percentage into the ASU game.
“We put a lot of emphasis on that,” Salazar said. “Coach Johnson always talks about the ‘free-base war.’ That just shows how disciplined our hitters are.”
Arizona was plus-8 in free bases Sunday. Rio Gomez and three relievers combined to surrender only one walk.
Gomez pitched out of trouble in the first, second and third innings. He allowed five hits in five scoreless frames to even his record at 3-3.
The performance was a breakthrough of sorts for Gomez, who had issues in the first inning in recent outings. Johnson pulled Gomez after a third of an inning against Hartford on March 11. He allowed three runs in the first against Oregon State last Sunday.
Gomez altered his pregame routine before facing USC (15-11, 4-5), and it worked.
“A lot of the first innings have been a struggle,” Gomez said. “What we changed was, not so much conserving (energy in) the bullpen before. Just going after it, going at it, throwing everything hard with a lot of intent so it would carry over.”
It did. Now Arizona takes a four-game winning streak into the first of five meetings this season with ASU. The Sun Devils are scuffling at 12-14, 2-7, but Johnson expects a competitive game against a team that has “talent up the wazoo.”
“We definitely try to keep it the same as every other game,” Gomez said. “But I think for the guys from Arizona like me, there’s a little extra to it.”
Inside pitch
- UA sophomore right-hander Michael Flynn left the game with one out in the top of the seventh after experiencing discomfort in his forearm. Flynn will be evaluated further in the coming days.
- Arizona went 5-1 against USC and UCLA, marking the first time the Wildcats won both series against the Los Angeles schools since 2005.
- The Wildcats are hitting .330 with two outs. Their opponents are hitting .223.
- Rivas (.483), Oliva (.476) and Lewis (.462) are all batting over .450 with runners in scoring position.
