With the bases loaded and the game up for grabs, Nate Yeskie called upon a pitcher who walked 26 batters in 18ΒΊ innings last season.
Such is the trust Gil Luna has built with the first-year Arizona Wildcats pitching coach since fall.
Luna pitched out of the jam, preserving a one-run lead, and Arizona went on to defeat Albany 11-3 Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
The victory gave the Wildcats a series sweep β their fourth straight season-opening sweep under Jay Johnson. Dating to last season, Arizona has won 13 in a row and has scored 10 or more runs in six straight games.
Despite the final score, the third game against Albany was considerably more stressful than the first two.
The Wildcats didnβt spray extra-base hits all over the ballpark like they did Friday and Saturday. Their middle infielders also struggled to turn double plays β a concerning recurrence of the fielding issues that plagued Arizona in 2019.
After reliever Randy Abshier yielded a walk and a single to lead off the top of the sixth, a pair of errors led to a pair of runs. Shortstop Kyson Donahue couldnβt cleanly field a grounder, loading the bases. Second baseman Jacob Blas then made an errant throw while trying to complete a double play.
Two runs scored on the play, shrinking the Wildcatsβ lead from 3-0 to 3-2.
Luna ended the rally by striking out Nick Kondo with a 2-2 fastball that froze Albanyβs leadoff batter.
βWe have a lot of faith in him,β Johnson said of Luna. βHe was the most effective pitcher, probably, of the three weeks leading up into the season in all those intra-squad games. It wasnβt always clean, because you run through a lot of good hitters, but you could sense there was just more confidence, more poise.β
Luna pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. He walked two batters and struck out five. He didnβt earn the win and wasnβt able to finish the game for the save, but the Wildcats might not have won without him.
Luna attributed at least some of his growth to implementing a daily routine at the behest of Yeskie.
βI feel like last year, I really wasnβt in any type of routine,β said Luna, a junior left-hander from Casa Grande. βI was kind of here β show up, do this. Another day would be do something else.
βI feel like now β¦ we have our things planned. We have what we have to do, and being able to get that done on a daily basis, itβs been helping a lot.β
Lunaβs confidence has grown, and he pitched with purpose against the Great Danes. The same could be said of freshman Chandler Murphy, who couldnβt have performed much better in his college debut.
Murphy, a 6-foot-2-inch right-hander from Peoria, threw five scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked two batters and struck out seven. Critically, he pitched out of jams in the first, third and fourth innings. Murphy stranded five baserunners, including four in scoring position.
βChandler was phenomenal,β Luna said. βHe looked like he was a junior pitcher here. He did not look like a freshman. His stuff is incredible. I donβt think this is the only start that heβs gonna put up that many zeros.β
Murphy had 10 family members and friends watching from the stands. Aside from walking the first batter he faced, Murphy showed no signs of nervousness.
βI felt really good,β he said. βI think of it as a normal game. I try not to look at it as a bigger scale. Obviously it is, but I just try to stay relaxed and do what I do.β
Excluding the ninth inning of the season opener, the UA staff pitched well over the weekend β a positive sign for a team that struggled from the mound for most of last season.
Arizona carries a 2.67 ERA into Mondayβs game against Minnesota in Tempe. The Wildcats had a Pac-12-worst 6.21 ERA last season.
Itβs a tiny sample size, of course, and the competition is only going to get tougher, starting Monday. But overall, Johnson liked what he saw.
βI think it was way more positive than negative,β he said. βBaseball starts and ends on the mound. We threw a shutout last night with two hits. I think our guys persevered through some mistakes that we made on defense today and pitched really well again for the most part.
βI was very pleased that the game actually rolled out the way that it did. We never want to make mistakes in things that we drill home, but itβs early in the season. Itβs early in a couple of those guysβ college careers, relatively speaking. So I think itβs all things that we can clean up.β
Arizona was charged with four errors, including two by Donahue, a redshirt freshman. The Wildcats have eight errors through three games.
Donahue did reach base five times and scored four runs. Donta Williams and Austin Wells combined for four hits and seven RBIs.
Inside pitch
- The UA staff struck out 16 batters, bettering its 2019 season high of 12 for the third straight game. Senior right-hander Preston Price finished the game by striking out both batters he faced.
- The game against Minnesota is technically the finale of the 2020 Angels College Classic. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. at Tempe Diablo Stadium. UA practiced there two weeks ago to familiarize itself with the facility.
- Johnson said Arizona likely will use a committee approach on the mound vs. the Golden Gophers. Candidates to pitch include right-handers Dawson Netz and Vince Vannelle and lefties Ian Churchill and Blake Peyton.
