The Arizona Wildcats knew what they had to do.
To secure a third straight NCAA Tournament berth, Arizona likely would have to win five of its final six games – or maybe even all of them.
Impossible? No. Improbable? Maybe. But highly, highly unlikely without a win Thursday in Game 1 of a three-game series against rival Arizona State.
“You can’t win six games all at once,” UA pitching coach Dave Lawn said on the eve of the series. “But you can win one game six times. That’s kind of our theme anyways. That’s the blueprint for what we do.
“Yesterday has nothing to do with today. A win tomorrow night is a step in the right direction.”
The Wildcats have taken the first step. They rallied to defeat the Sun Devils 6-4 in front of 3,481 fans at Hi Corbett Field.
It was Arizona’s fifth straight win over ASU (21-29, 11-14 Pac-12), dating to last season. It was also the Wildcats’ second win in a row after they were swept in unsightly fashion at Cal last weekend.
“The makeup of these guys is good,” said UA coach Jay Johnson, whose team improved to 31-20, 11-14. “They are competitive. We have had some baseball deficiencies, some injuries that have reared their head – that have made some things a little tougher for them. I thought they displayed their character for what it is tonight.”
The Wildcats trailed 2-0 and 4-3. They came back thanks to offensive execution – especially with runners on third and less than two outs – and stellar work by a bullpen that struggled against the Golden Bears.
“It’s huge for us,” said senior right-hander Zach Stone, who recorded his second save with a 1-2-3 ninth. “We know the pitching last week at Cal wasn’t where it needed to be. Everyone came in today doing their job.”
Arizona was down one entering the bottom of the seventh. The Wildcats scored three runs on a sacrifice bunt, a sac fly and an RBI single.
Cameron Cannon tied the score with a safety squeeze. Cesar Salazar followed with a fly ball to shallow right field.
Carter Aldrete’s throw home beat Alfonso Rivas III. Rivas tried to get around catcher Lyle Lin with a head-first slide. The slide jarred the ball from Lin’s mitt, enabling Rivas to tap the plate and giving Arizona a 5-4 lead.
“It was going to be a close enough play where you’ve gotta roll the dice right there,” Johnson said. “We have a base-running philosophy: When in doubt with two outs, we’re going to try to score. It was a good slide, and I’m glad the play went our way.”
After Nick Quintana walked, Matt Fraizer singled to right to score Cannon. Fraizer went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.
After three perfect innings, UA starter Cody Deason encountered trouble in the fourth. It arrived in unexpected form: a misjudged fly ball by usually reliable center fielder Cal Stevenson. Stevenson’s misplay gave Hunter Jump a leadoff double.
Deason struck out slugging first baseman Spencer Torkelson. Johnson then ordered an intentional walk of Gage Canning, who entered Thursday batting .392.
The move made perfect sense … until Deason walked the next hitter, Lin, to load the bases. Deason then yielded a two-RBI single to Aldrete, giving ASU a 2-0 lead.
As they’ve done most of the season when backed into a corner, the Wildcats responded. They scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth, although it easily could have been more.
Arizona began the inning with five consecutive hits, including four doubles. The five hits produced only two runs because Fraizer, who drove them in with a double, got thrown out at second after an overly aggressive turn around the bag. Stevenson’s sacrifice fly gave the Wildcats a 3-2 lead. He went 3 for 4.
The lead proved to be short-lived. Torkelson smacked his 23rd home run of the season, a two-run shot, to left field in the top of the fifth to put the Sun Devils ahead 4-3.
Torkelson wouldn’t have been in position to give ASU the lead if Deason hadn’t walked No. 9 hitter Drew Swift, who entered Thursday batting .211. As well as Deason has pitched this season – he had a 2.64 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 78ª innings entering Thursday – walks have hurt him at times.
Deason walked three or more batters in five of six appearances heading into Thursday’s start. The lone exception: his shutout against UCLA on May 3. Deason walked only one Bruin in nine sparkling innings.
Deason finished Thursday’s game with four walks, including the intentional pass, in 6º innings. He struck out seven.
Avery Weems, Zach Sherman, Gil Luna and Stone combined for 2ª innings of one-hit, shutout relief. Six of the seven outs they recorded came via strikeout.
“That’s the story of the night,” Johnson said.
The lone non-strikeout came on the last out, a grounder to second hit by Jump. Stone’s perfect ninth left the powerful Torkelson standing in the on-deck circle.
Inside pitch
- Arizona will start junior right-hander Michael Flynn (6-3, 4.50) in Game 2 Friday. ASU’s starter is TBA.
- Eight of the nine ASU position players who started Thursday are freshmen or sophomores. The lone upperclassman was Canning, a junior.
- In his latest mock draft for ESPN.com, Keith Law has UA signees Matthew Liberatore and Nolan Gorman going high in the first round. That’s not unusual. What’s different about this one is that Law projects Gorman, the corner infielder from Phoenix, to be selected ahead of Liberatore, the left-hander from Glendale. Law has Gorman going eighth to Atlanta and Liberatore 11th to Baltimore. Neither is expected to play for Arizona if the first-round projections hold up.
