SCOTTSDALE β Arizona kept its postseason hopes alive in dominant fashion Tuesday.
The UA defeated Arizona State 12-3 in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Wildcats, seeded eighth in the nine-team tournament, raced to a 9-0 lead through four innings against the fifth-seeded Sun Devils.
Under the new pool system, the only way the eighth and ninth seeds can advance to the semifinals is by winning both of their pool-play games. Arizona, which finished 12-18 in Pac-12 regular-season play, faces No. 2 seed Oregon State at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Senior shortstop Nik McClaughry, named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day, hit a solo home run to spark a four-run first inning. Emilio Corona added a two-RBI triple.
Garen Caulfield hit a solo homer in the second, and Chase Davis cleared the bases with a three-RBI double in the fourth. The Wildcats drew eight walks in the first four innings and forced three ASU pitching changes during that span.
UA starter Aiden May, pushed back to Tuesday after Arizona clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament vs. USC last Friday, allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He entered the game with a 7.12 ERA and had allowed 14 runs in 6β innings in his previous two outings.
ASU, which is perched on the NCAA Tournament bubble, swept the three-game Pac-12 series against the Wildcats in Phoenix. But since the eighth inning of Game 3, Arizona has outscored ASU 35-3, including a 20-0 non-conference win in Tucson.
ASU leadoff batter Wyatt Crenshaw was ejected in the eighth inning.
UA coach Chip Hale said right-hander Cam Walty will start vs. the Beavers.
Arizona baseball coach Chip Hale discusses the new format of the Pac-12 Tournament, which begins Tuesday at Scottsdale Stadium (video by Ari Koslow / Special to the Arizona Daily Star)
