The Arizona Wildcats call them “Attitude Sundays.” At the end of a grueling week or a taxing series, a little something extra is required to be at their Sunday best.
Arizona didn’t have it Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field against No. 3 Stanford, for a variety of reasons. The Wildcats were missing two of their key players and leaders. And they were still feeling the effects of a disheartening loss from the previous night.
The result was a 7-2 setback, which gave the Cardinal (30-5, 12-3 Pac-12) a series sweep. Unlike the previous two games, the Cats were pretty much out of it by the time they came to bat in the seventh inning.
“It was going to take a crazy effort to be able to win today with where we are,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “But I think we had a little more in the tank than maybe what was displayed. Some guys allowed some discouragement maybe to creep in and affect performance, and you can’t let that happen. For the most part, this team has displayed really good mental toughness.”
Arizona had won 11 of 13 games entering the weekend. That stretch featured back-to-back victories over then-No. 5 Oregon State, including an epic comeback two Sundays ago.
This particular Sunday was different in that the Wildcats lost the previous night. Not only did they lose, but they squandered a 6-3 lead in the ninth inning after going ahead in the eighth on a three-run, inside-the-park home run.
Johnson conceded that the loss might have lingered, despite his efforts to ensure that wouldn’t happen.
“I want to believe no, but the performance would suggest yes,” Johnson said. “We addressed how difficult it is to overcome something like that. We didn’t respond well.
“That’s a good team. It’s a better team than us right now.”
Arizona (23-15, 6-9) wasn’t at full strength. The Wildcats were missing senior center fielder Cal Stevenson and junior catcher Cesar Salazar.
Stevenson, the Wildcats’ leadoff hitter, returned Saturday night after missing the previous two games because of an injured hand. But Stevenson’s hand swelled up after five plate appearances in Game 2, and he was held out.
Salazar absorbed three foul tips Saturday, including two that struck him in the facemask. Johnson said 24 hours needed to pass before Salazar could be re-evaluated.
“They mean a lot to the dynamic of the team and how we go about doing what we do,” Johnson said. “Their absence was felt from a leadership standpoint as well as a production standpoint.”
The leadership element might have been a bigger factor on the latest “Attitude Sunday.”
“Everyone looks up to Cal and Cesar,” junior first baseman Alfonso Rivas III said. “Not having them out there, it’s kind of weird. They’re very vocal — really play with the presence of being leaders. It sucks, but you’ve gotta overcome.”
The Wildcats had a short-lived 1-0 lead through two innings thanks to Seve Romo’s RBI single, which drove in Nick Quintana. The Cardinal tied it in the third, took a one-run lead in the fifth and added five more runs in the sixth and seventh.
For the series, Stanford scored 18 of its 23 runs from the seventh inning on. Arizona’s bullpen, which had been a strength entering the series, had a rough weekend. Relievers were responsible for 18 of the runs, including six Sunday.
“It wasn’t very good,” Johnson said. “If I spun it a different way, it would be like trying to put lipstick on a pig.
“I do think the guys are capable. We’ll go back and address where we got exposed, try to line the pieces up a little bit better and put them in more advantageous positions to be successful.”
The Wildcats got swept at home for the first time in exactly a year. Arizona lost three straight to Utah from April 20-22, 2017.
They got swept the following weekend as well, at Stanford, dropping to 9-12 in Pac-12 play. The ’17 Cats would win seven of their final nine conference games to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
The 2016 team started 3-6 in conference before rallying to make the postseason. That team eventually reached the College World Series finals.
Despite this weekend’s results, this team believes it is capable of rebounding.
“A hundred percent,” Rivas said. “There’s no question that we can do it.”
Their quest begins Friday at Utah. The Utes (9-28, 4-11) are in last place in the Pac-12 but have beaten the Wildcats eight straight times.
Johnson doesn’t put much stock in past results, whether they’re good or bad.
“Everything is about the group of players you have now and their choices of response to what’s in front of (them),” Johnson said. “I like what I’ve seen out of this team for a month, I really do. I think that will be determined by their mindset moving forward. We’ll do everything we can to put them in the right mindset.”
Inside pitch
- Rivas went 1 for 3 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. He is batting a team-best .360.
- Freshman DH Tate Soderstrom, who made the last out in Saturday’s 8-7 loss, went 2 for 2 with an RBI off the bench. Soderstrom had four hits in six at-bats in the series, including a pair of doubles.
- Ryan Haug, who started at catcher in place of Salazar, got hit in the helmet by Jack Little in the eighth inning. The pitch glanced off the top of Haug’s helmet. He remained in the game.
