When it reviews Arizona’s résumé for the postseason, the NCAA Selection Committee will see a home sweep over last-place Washington in mid-May. It was the expected outcome.
It wasn’t that easy.
The Huskies were pesky, and they made the Wildcats sweat. The UA needed multiple multi-run comebacks to survive Friday night. Saturday’s game was competitive and close throughout. And Arizona didn’t so much as have a baserunner until the fourth inning of the series finale Sunday.
After the UA completed the sweep with an 11-2 triumph at Hi Corbett Field, Jay Johnson went so far as to compare the flow of the series to an NCAA regional.
“In the NCAA Tournament, you’re gonna play a good team, you’re gonna have a tough win,” Johnson said. “And then you have to immediately reset and be ready to go the next day. So that’s what we made (Saturday) about.
“Let’s gain some value out of this for what’s coming down the road by knowing that we have to get reset ... and handle our business, and I thought they did that. And then when (Saturday) night was over, we approached it like, ‘Hey, to win a regional, you have to win three games at least. So we need to do that again.’ ”
No. 10 Arizona kept itself in contention for the Pac-12 title and the top-eight national seed that likely will come with it. The Wildcats improved to 35-13, 19-8 in the conference. The UA is percentage points behind Oregon, which swept Utah to improve to 33-11, 17-7. The Wildcats took two of three from the Ducks earlier this season.
Stanford, which entered the weekend tied with Arizona and Oregon for first place in the league, lost two of three against Cal to drop into third with a 13-8 conference mark. The Cardinal and Ducks face off in Eugene this upcoming weekend. The UA visits Oregon State, which is among three teams tied for fourth place at 14-10.
“From a results standpoint, they’re taken care of a lot of business,” Johnson said of his team. “But more importantly, from a substance standpoint, I feel great about who we are and where we’re headed.”
Sunday’s win gave Arizona its third consecutive Pac-12 sweep at home and its 11th straight victory at Hi Corbett. The Wildcats won every league series at home for the first time since 2003.
Game 3 against UW (17-27, 3-18) required resolve and an in-game refocusing. The Huskies took a 1-0 lead against opener Austin Smith and held that advantage into the fourth. UW starter Stefan Raeth had a perfect game going at that point.
Johnson gathered the hitters for a short meeting in the dugout.
“It was more of a mindset thing, demanding more out of yourself and your at-bats,” Johnson said. “I thought we looked a little tired, an 11 a.m. (game) after a 6 p.m., at this point in the season, coming off finals.
“We can understand it, but we can’t accept it with where we’re at and what we’re trying to do. It was just honestly elevating the focus: ‘You know the plan. So let’s not let external things get us out of the plan.’ ”
Donta’ Williams led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk. Branden Boissiere followed with a two-run homer to center field.
Boissiere had been in a bit of a funk, registering only one hit in his previous 24 at-bats to lower his average from .398 to .353. He hit the ball hard several times Saturday, however, and arrived early to put in extra work Sunday morning.
“I did some work in the cages, trying to just fix my swing and really feel my barrel,” said Boissiere, who finished 1 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs. “A lot of guys are doing the same thing. I wasn’t here alone.”
Three batters later, Ryan Holgate slugged a solo homer onto the roof of the Terry Francona Hitting Center to make it 3-1. Jacob Berry (his-team leading 13th) and Tony Bullard (his first) would homer in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, as Arizona pulled away.
Left-hander Gil Luna earned the win, his first since May 2019. Luna relieved Smith and didn’t give up a run in a career-high four innings. Luna allowed two hits and one walk and struck out three. He kept the game close, enabling the UA offense to find its groove.
Luna, a fourth-year junior, is in the midst of the best stretch of his Arizona career. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in seven consecutive appearances spanning 15 innings.
Luna’s weekend began with him receiving his UA degree. It ended with him securing a key win for his team.
“It was very hectic, very stressful with graduation coming up,” Luna said. “But I was able to just stay on the right track, having my parents help me out with the whole graduation thing.
“It was just preparation — being able to prepare and keeping the focus off graduation just a bit. Understanding that the weekend was coming up, and it was an important one.”
Inside pitch
Arizona scored 10 or more runs for the 22nd time this season. Williams, Holgate and Bullard each had two hits. Boissiere, Berry and Bullard each had multiple RBIs.
The Wildcats were charged with only one error in the past two games after committing four in Friday’s 17-16 victory.
Arizona improved to 24-6 at home, tying the 2017 team for the most victories at Hi Corbett under Johnson. The UA hosts New Mexico State on Tuesday before traveling to Corvallis for a three-game series that begins Friday.
