FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It wasn’t Arizona’s night in its NCAA Tournament opener Friday — a 12-4 loss to TCU in the Fayetteville Regional that knocked the Wildcats into the losers’ bracket.
How do we know? Some examples:
• In the top of the second inning, Tyler Casagrande hit a bullet toward the right field corner that would’ve scored a run — but was negated by a diving catch.
• In the bottom of the fourth, Brayden Taylor, TCU’s all-time home run leader, dropped a bunt to the third base side of the mound. Pitcher Jackson Kent threw wildly to first. Second baseman Mason White backed up the play and fired to second. But his throw hit Taylor, caroming into left field and advancing him to third.
• In the top of the fifth, Arizona’s Emilio Corona hit a grounder off the end of his bat. First baseman Cole Fontenelle thought he had the ball but dropped it. However, pitcher Cole Savage hustled over, picked it up and rolled into the bag for the putout.
• In the bottom of the fifth, UA shortstop Nik McClaughry, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, committed an error — just his fifth of the season. It led to two unearned runs.
Arizona’s three errors matched its total from the previous seven games.
“I’m just disappointed in the way we played,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We just did not play good baseball. Three errors. We missed a popup. We didn’t do very well with our PFP (pitcher fielding practice) plays. That disappoints me. Delayed steal late in the game, they’re up seven, we allowed that to happen. That’s just not acceptable baseball.”
The UA will face Santa Clara in an elimination game slated for noon Arizona time Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium. TCU will face host Arkansas in the winners’ bracket Saturday night.
The Wildcats are hopeful that their recent experiences in must-win scenarios will help them win an elimination game (or several.)
“That Pac-12 Tournament ... we had our backs up against the wall the whole time,” said first baseman Kiko Romero, who had two home runs and three RBIs. “That was probably the best baseball we played all year. I think we’re gonna turn it around tomorrow.”
Arizona's Kiko Romero, left, taps helmets with teammate Mason White during Friday's NCAA Tournament opener in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Romero hit two home runs and broke the UA single-season RBI record in the Wildcats' 12-4 loss to TCU.
UA starter Cam Walty struggled, lasting only one-plus inning, and it was a familiar problem that plagued him: the inability to put hitters away.
Walty threw 34 of his 49 pitches for strikes. Five of the eight hits against him came with two strikes, including Taylor’s three-run homer in the bottom of the first, which erased Arizona’s 2-0 lead; and Taylor’s two-RBI single in the second, which boosted TCU’s lead to 6-2.
Arizona could have intentionally walked Taylor, the Frogs’ all-time leading home run hitter, with runners on second and third, especially after Walty fell behind 3-0. He worked the count to 3-2 before allowing a bounder up the middle.
“It’s been sort of a song all year for us; we’ve not put guys away,” Hale said. “We’ve left those balls up and gotten hurt with two strikes.
“It’s just been tough. I felt bad for the guys. Cam has thrown the ball so well.”
Kent relieved Walty and allowed a pair of singles, loading the bases with nobody out. Kent got out of it via a popup and a double play, keeping the Wildcats within four.
Arizona third base coach Toby DeMello, left, congratulates Mason White after White homered against TCU.
The teams traded runs in the fourth, Arizona’s coming via freshman Mason White’s ninth home run of the season.
The Wildcats had won seven of nine games entering Friday, including a run to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game that propelled them into the NCAA Tournament.
The only upside of losing Friday, Hale said, is not having to wait all day Saturday to play again.
“They know the situation for sure,” he said. “They’re gonna come out and play hard. I think it’s good we get to play (early). As bad as we played tonight, I hate to sit (around). It’s tough to wait and play at 8 o’clock at night; it stinks. So to get back out there and play right away will be good for them.”
Inside pitch
• Romero’s two run homer in the first inning gave him 20 for the season and 88 RBIs — breaking Ron Hassey‘s school record of 86, which had stood since 1974.
• Romero hit a solo home run in the eighth, his 21st, tying him with Chase Davis for the team lead.
• Arizona allowed nine-plus runs for the 18th time this season.
• The Wildcats fell to 2-14 when scoring four or fewer runs, including each of the past two games.
Arizona coach Chip Hale on the Wildcats' 12-4 loss to TCU in Game 2 of the NCAA Tournament's Fayetteville Regional (video by Michael Lev / Arizona Daily Star
