SCOTTSDALE — Arizona coach Chip Hale wasn’t unhappy when he left Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday — even though his Wildcats had been eliminated from the Pac-12 Tournament.
Hale was proud of Arizona’s effort. The fifth-seeded Wildcats rallied in the ninth inning and had the go-ahead run on base against top-seeded Stanford. The Cardinal hung on for a 5-4 victory to advance to the championship game.
Hale said he feels “great” about Arizona’s chances to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats’ two losses here came against Stanford, which is a consensus top-five team and has won 15 games in a row. Arizona’s RPI remained in the mid-30s. The tournament’s selection show is Monday morning.
Hale also has reason to be concerned. Slugging outfielder Chase Davis injured his left (throwing) shoulder after slamming into the wall in the first inning. He was removed from the game in the second. His status for the NCAA Tournament is TBD.
“We’ll see,” Hale said. “He couldn’t swing. We’ll see how it feels in the next couple days.”
Arizona (37-22) went 2-2 in the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, defeating Oregon and Arizona State in comeback fashion. The Wildcats nearly pulled off another one against the Cardinal (40-14).
Trailing 5-2 entering the top of the ninth, Arizona plated a pair of runs. Noah Turley led off with a single on an 0-2 pitch. Tommy Splaine followed with a triple to left. He then scored on Mac Bingham’s sacrifice fly.
After Nik McClaughry grounded out to short, Daniel Susac singled to center. Susac returned to the lineup after having to exit early Friday because of a stomach ailment.
Cameron LaLiberte pinch-ran for Susac and advanced to second on a balk. Stanford then intentionally walked Tanner O’Tremba to set up a left-on-left matchup between reliever Quinn Mathews and Tyler Casagrande, who had replaced Davis.
Would Cardinal coach David Esquer have made the same move if Davis were due up?
“You saw what happened,” Hale said. “They walked O’Tremba. They may have anyway. Who knows? You can’t get in their minds.
“It affects you as the game goes on. But I thought Tyler came in and did a really good job.”
Casagrande popped out to third to end the game. Earlier, he had singled, walked and advanced two runners with a bunt.
No one on the team poses the same threat as Davis, however. He is Arizona’s only source of left-handed power. The sophomore leads the team with 16 home runs and ranks third with 51 RBIs.
The Wildcats didn’t have great depth before Davis got hurt. If he were unavailable for the NCAA Tournament, they’d have even fewer options.
“We have confidence in every guy on the team, no matter who’s in there,” McClaughry said. “We trust them. We put so much work in that everyone’s prepared to play good out there.”
Chase Davis hauls in a catch at the wall during Saturday's Pac-12 Tournament game against Stanford. The Wildcats star jammed his shoulder on the play, and did not return.
Hale and his staff considered inserting Blake Paugh for Casagrande. But Mathews’ changeup is challenging for right-handed hitters to square up.
“He’s better against righties than lefties,” Hale said. “This guy’s a changeup machine. Those are just tough pitches on Blake.”
Stanford took a 1-0 lead in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Freshman right-hander Anthony Susac walked the first two batters he faced and four in all in two-plus innings. It was the second time in three starts that Susac walked four in three or fewer frames. He also walked the first batter of the game on four pitches for the fourth time in five outings.
“He has tremendous movement on his ball,” Hale said. “I think some of it is anxiety. It’s hard to pitch as a freshman in this conference. And he’s learning the hard way.”
The run came in on Braden Montgomery’s towering sacrifice fly, which a retreating Davis reached up to grab. He collided with the padded portion of the wall and had to be tended to by a trainer.
Davis remained in the game. But he shook his head and grabbed his shoulder as he approached the dugout. Davis later had an icepack on his shoulder.
Susac allowed only one hit — a two-run homer by Carter Graham after Brock Jones had walked to lead off the third. It was Graham’s team-leading 20th home run of the season and his first hit of the tournament. The homer gave Stanford a 3-2 lead.
Arizona had gone ahead in the top of the third. Daniel Susac singled to drive in Bingham. McClaughry then scored on a wild pitch.
Stanford expanded its lead to 5-2 with runs in the fifth and eighth.
Those were the only runs allowed by Arizona’s bullpen in six innings – and one was unearned. Relievers Javyn Pimental, Holden Christian and Chris Barraza combined for six strikeouts.
“Javyn did a great job,” Hale said. “Javyn didn’t get hit at all. He didn’t cover first quick enough on a really fast runner, and that hurt us. And then we had the error, so that’s kind of what it boiled down to.”
Although they held the Cardinal to five runs — tied for the fewest they’ve scored during their winning streak — the Wildcats made just enough mistakes to lose by a run. They walked six batters, and third baseman Tony Bullard’s error led to the unearned run against Pimental in the fifth.
“We did play well at times,” McClaughry said. “That game right there just showed how when you play a really good team, you can’t make any mistakes. We made a couple mistakes. Didn’t hit the ball very well with runners in scoring position (2 for 8), and that’ll cost you. I think we can learn from that going into the regionals.”
Inside pitch
Daniel Susac told Hale during breakfast that he’d be able to play. Susac had to leave Friday’s game in the fourth inning and spent the rest of the contest in the clubhouse. Susac went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Splaine also returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday because of a stiff neck. Splaine served as the DH. He mainly has played first base and also has subbed for Susac at catcher. Hale said he had three lineups sketched out before learning Susac could play.
Hale was in the midst of his in-game interview on Pac-12 Networks when Bullard made a diving play at third (“Oh my goodness!”) and Garen Caulfield asked for a replay review on a close play at second base (“Did you tag him?”) in the fourth inning. Hale concluded the interview by noting: “I think that’s the first time we’ve talked and didn’t give up a run.”
Stanford has gone 31-6 since being swept by Arizona in Tucson March 19-21.
The Cardinal were set to face either No. 2 seed Oregon State or No. 3 seed UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game on Sunday. The Beavers and Bruins played Saturday afternoon, with UCLA needing to win to force an if-necessary game later in the day.
