Arizona lost 7-3 to UCLA on Sunday, dropping a home series for the second time this season. But the news isn’t all bad.
The 12th-ranked Wildcats are 6-3 in the Pac-12, tied for second place. They’ve achieved that record while playing one series on the road (at Cal) and two vs. upper-echelon opponents (Stanford, UCLA). They’re on pace.
“We played three really good teams,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “As I told the team, our goal is to win two out of three. If you can win two out of three and get to 20 wins (in conference play), you have a good chance to get to the postseason.
“We’re there because we banked a little credit with Stanford by getting a sweep. We don’t like to get beat at our own park and lose a series like we did against Texas State (March 4-6), but it happens. They beat us.”
The Bruins (15-8, 3-3) pitched superbly on a warm afternoon at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats (17-7) did not.
Three UCLA pitchers limited Arizona to six hits. The Wildcats failed to register an extra-base hit for the first time this season.
“We just got out of plan a couple of times,” said shortstop Nik McClaughry, who had one of Arizona’s six singles. “We were chasing a little bit too much. We tried to do a little bit too much. We’ll learn from that for sure.”
The best example came in the bottom of the sixth, when Arizona’s 1-2-3 hitters — McClaughry, Daniel Susac and Tanner O’Tremba — saw only five pitches from UCLA starter Thatcher Hurd.
Meanwhile, seven UA pitchers combined to walk eight UCLA batters. That matched the Wildcats’ highest total this year. Add in a season-high five hit batsmen, and Arizona allowed 13 baserunners without the ball being put in play.
“We’re out of whack,” Hale said. “We recognize that.”
Relievers George Arias, who pitched Sunday for the first time since March 14, and Trevor Long have missed time because of illness. Starting with Wednesday’s loss at New Mexico, the staff has walked five or more batters in each of the past four games. It had done that only six times in the first 20 contests.
“We’re still (experiencing) a little bit of a hangover from the New Mexico trip,” Hale said. “I think we’re into that allergy season too a little bit. A lot of guys are a little bit messed up by that.
“So we’ll get a little bit fresher and have a good game on Tuesday. It’s gonna be important.”
Arizona visits Grand Canyon, which defeated the Wildcats 19-3 in the home opener. Arizona then plays a weekend series at Washington before a non-conference road game against Arizona State a week from Tuesday.
“I feel like we’ve competed really well throughout the season,” McClaughry said. “Every team goes through rough patches. It’s how we bounce back from it.”
For the second time in the series, Arizona fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. After striking out leadoff batter Cody Schrier, Dawson Netz yielded an infield single to Malakhi Knight. Netz walked the next batter, then beaned back-to-back Bruins. The second scored a run. A sacrifice fly plated the other.
The first two UCLA batters reached in the second via a hit and an error. A sterling defensive play then helped Netz settle down.
With one out in the inning, Susac fired a strike from his knees to pick off UCLA’s Kenny Oyama at second base. Netz retired the next batter on a groundout and posted zeroes in each of the next three innings.
The type of efficiency was needed to keep pace with UCLA starter Thatcher Hurd, who entered Sunday with a 0.98 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP and a .146 batting average against. The freshman right-hander, one of the top recruits from the state of California, did not allow a baserunner through 4 1/3 innings.
“He was really good,” Hale said. “He’ll eventually be a first-round pick. He’s got a really dynamite slider; his spin rate ... is one of the top in the country. That makes it tough.”
Tommy Splaine became the first to reach, lining a single to right-center. An infield hit by Mac Bingham and an errant throw by Hurd put runners on second and third. Splaine scored on a wild pitch. Bingham came home on Tyler Casagrande’s sacrifice fly to knot the score at 2-2.
The tie didn’t last long. Netz surrendered a two-run homer to Josh Hahn in the top of the sixth. UCLA added three runs against the bullpen in the seventh and eighth to make it 7-2.
“I thought Dawson did a good job,” Hale said. “We probably should have taken him out after the fifth. ... He gave us a chance to win, which on Sunday is all you ask.”
Arizona had an opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with no outs for Susac. Susac, who entered Sunday batting .423, hit into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring one run. O’Tremba, who was batting .424, then popped out to third base to end the inning.
For the first time this season, Susac and O’Tremba went hitless in the same game. O’Tremba failed to register a hit for only the third time and failed to reach base safely for the first time, ending a 23-game on-base streak.
“They’re two great players and great teammates,” McClaughry said. “They’re going to come up clutch for us a lot. A lot of us will have to come (up) clutch when they can’t.
“We’re a team. We win and lose as a team.”
Inside pitch
Arizona’s five hit batsmen vs. UCLA were its most since March 5, 2021, vs. Oklahoma (also five).
Arizona’s hitters struck out only five times, tying for the second-lowest total this season.
Right-hander Chandler Murphy is scheduled to start for Arizona at GCU. Murphy has pitched only 1 1/3 innings this season as he recovers from an arm injury. He has worked his way up to a 60-pitch limit. The game can be viewed on Fox 10 Xtra in Phoenix and on ESPN+.
UA football coach Jedd Fisch attended part of the game with his daughters. Fisch, who worked at UCLA in 2017, greeted Bruins assistant coach Bryant Ward and his staff afterward.
