For the final time at Hi Corbett Field, #Gary was in full effect for the Arizona Wildcats.
In Arizona’s 5-2 win over No. 1-ranked Oregon State Saturday night, UA senior left-handed pitcher Garrett Irvin — that's #Gary, for the uninitiated — pitched in his final home game at Hi Corbett Field.
Irvin, Arizona’s three-year veteran and No. 2 starter, struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings as the Wildcats struck back against the nation's No. 1-ranked team. Irvin threw 115 total pitches, one shy of a career-high set against Houston in 2020.
Irvin is "like a stopper when we struggle," UA coach Chip Hale said. "He just comes out and gives us a great game. It’s his last home start in the regular season. We hope there’s more, but it’s pretty impressive.”
Irvin started his outing with a strikeout before Oregon State's Jacob Melton, aPac-12 Player of the Year favorite, singled to left field. After a wild pitch by Irvin sent Melton to second base, OSU designated hitter Mason Guerra ripped an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead. Irvin gave up another walk in the first inning.
“It’s probably the worst way to start a game, to give up a run — especially when you’re the home team, because you kind of want to pick up the defense, pick up the hitters, so I was more just mad at myself in the second inning, and it kind of just worked its way through," Irvin said. "… Once I give up that first run, it lights a fire under me, so I think it benefited me tonight.”
Added Irvin: “It’s hard to pinpoint what I did wrong in the first. I think I just elevated pitches. … Emotions got to me and everything. After the second (inning), I felt a lot better.”
Arizona tied the game in the second inning on a failed pickoff attempt by Oregon State pitcher Jacob Kmatz brought Chase Davis from third base. In the third inning, right fielder Tanner O’Tremba tripled to right field, extending his on-base streak to 28 games.
While Arizona’s bats picked up from Friday night’s 12-9 loss to the Beavers, Irvin allowed two hits in the final six innings of his start, before he was replaced by Eric Orloff during the seventh-inning break.
“Obviously you don’t want to give up any runs, so I could’ve done better with that. … Fan-wise and winning a game against Oregon State today, I don’t think I could’ve drawn it up any better,” Irvin said. “There were a bunch of fans here and it was super exciting to see all that. They were almost as excited as we were whenever we scored. It was a lot of fun.”
Hale said Irvin is “what a veteran college pitcher looks like.”
“He changes speeds, he moves the ball around and he has a real short memory. … It’s not easy for young college pitchers to handle this kind of atmosphere, and it’s tough,” Hale said. “Irv was exactly what you’d expect from a senior pitcher.”
Garen Caulfield kick-started Arizona’s four-run seventh inning with a leadoff single. Noah Turley gave the Wildcats their first lead of the night with a two-run, 441-foot home run over the left field wall. UA catcher Daniel Susac added an RBI single, scoring Mac Bingham and Tommy Splaine to take a 5-1 lead.
Beavers relief pitcher Braden Boisvert, a former Empire High School star, entered the game in the eighth inning. A 14-pitch battle with Tony Bullard resulted in a single to center field. The former Raven also gave up a walk in his one inning pitched.
“We’re grinding out bats left and right. In baseball, some days it falls, some days it doesn’t,” Turley said.
Oregon State tacked on its second run of the night with an RBI triple by Greg Fuchs as Davis attempted to make, but the Wildcats held off the Beavers to tie up the season series with a rubber match set for Sunday at noon. The all-time series is now tied, 41-41.
“It gives us confidence that we can stick around with the best and one of the best teams in the country,” Turley said.
“We truly believe that, and it’s just the game of baseball. … We truly believe we’re one of the better teams in the country.”
The teams will play the third and decisive game of the series on Sunday at noon.
