Daniel Susac couldn’t have been happy with himself.
Two of New Mexico’s five runs had scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Both were pitches the Arizona catcher could have handled.
An opportunity for redemption arose in the bottom of the seventh. Down by two, the Wildcats put runners on first and second. Susac then blistered an 0-1 fastball over the wall in left field for a three-run homer.
Susac’s first home run of the season sparked an eight-run outburst. No. 17 Arizona rallied to defeat New Mexico 12-5 in front of an announced crowd of 2,549 on Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
“The seventh, eighth and ninth are big innings to win,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We sure won the seventh.”
The Wildcats ended a two-game losing streak and rebounded after dropping a series over the weekend to Texas State – their first series loss at home since 2019. Arizona takes a 10-3 record into the start of Pac-12 play Friday at Cal.
“Texas State was a great team,” Susac said of the Bobcats, who lost 9-8 to No. 1 Texas on Tuesday. “Obviously not being a ‘Power Five’ program, people didn't expect that. They came in here, they played well. (This) is a big confidence boost going into Cal, though.”
Susac wasn’t the only one who came through in the seventh. Garen Caulfield’s two-out, two-strike single to center drove in two to make it 8-5. Jack Grant then hit his first career home run, a three-run shot to left.
Grant – who’s been pressed into starting duty at third base with Tony Bullard out because of a shoulder injury – went 3 for 4, including a pair of singles on 0-2 pitches.
Hale puts circles on his lineup card for what he considers quality at-bats. He drew more circles Tuesday than he had been lately. The Wildcats walked more times (six) than they struck out (five) for only the second time this season.
Hale’s message to the team before the game: “We're gonna play for ‘we’ instead of ‘I.’ ”
“Everyone took that to heart,” Grant said. “Just keep moving the lineup.”
For a while, it was looking like one of those nights for Arizona. The Wildcats loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning. Chase Davis then lined out to first base. Tanner O’Tremba was doubled off the bag. The inning ended with Tommy Splaine striking out looking.
New Mexico scored three runs in the third inning despite hitting the ball hard only once – Shane Podsednik’s leadoff single. The next batter, Adam Schneider, bunted toward first base. It should have been a routine 1-3 sacrifice, but Splaine, making his first career start at first, took a false step toward the ball, leaving the bag uncovered.
After a sac bunt moved the runners to second and third, Kyle Landers dropped a bloop double into shallow right-center, driving in Podsednik. The next run scored on a wild pitch. The third came in on a sacrifice fly.
Arizona responded with a run in the bottom of the third and tied the score with two runs in the fifth. Nik McClaughry’s triple drove in Grant. McClaughry then scored on Daniel Susac’s sacrifice fly to the wall in left-center. McClaughry went 4 for 4 with a walk. The four hits were a career high.
The Wildcats fell behind again in the sixth. New Mexico’s Lenny Junior Ashby slugged a one-out solo homer to right off tiring UA starter Anthony Susac. The Lobos followed with consecutive singles and made it 5-3 on a passed ball.
Susac pitched better than his final line suggests. The freshman right-hander was charged with five runs (four earned) on nine hits in a career-high 5 1/3 innings. But Susac struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. He threw 61 of 78 pitches for strikes.
“He had some tough luck,” said Daniel Susac, Anthony’s cousin. “He's done a really good job as a freshman, especially his demeanor on the mound. You can't tell if he's given up four runs, 15 or zero. That's huge when you're young.
“Obviously being my cousin my whole life, I've seen him. I know he can handle it, good or bad. He's gonna be huge down the stretch for us.”
Inside pitch
UA relievers George Arias Jr., Javyn Pimental and Eric Orloff combined for 3 2/3 hitless innings. New Mexico (4-8) used eight relievers. They combined to allow 11 runs.
Arizona walked only one batter, tying its season low.
Former UA coach Andy Lopez attended the game. Lopez’s son, Michael Lopez, is in his first season as New Mexico’s pitching coach. Andy Lopez shook hands with Hale and the umpires near the Arizona dugout shortly before the first pitch.
Podsednik, New Mexico’s starting catcher, is a cousin of former major-league outfielder Scott Podsednik. Scott Podsednik was a teammate of UA undergraduate assistant coach Brian Anderson with the Chicago White Sox.
