Newfound patience helped Chip Hale guide Wildcats, earn Pac-12 Coach of the Year award

Chip Hale had never coached an inning of college baseball when he took over the Arizona program in July 2021. To become good at it required something few of us possess:

Patience.

Hale had to learn how to ride the highs and lows of a game — to stay steady throughout — because every game means so much.

“The one thing about coming from the pro side to the college side is, in pro ball, (if) you’re out of the game, you don’t have a good start, you have 144 in the minor leagues, you have 162 in the big leagues. So be it,” Hale said. “But every game is the World Series in college. The RPI means so much. It’s super important to win every game.

“So to be patient through a nine-inning game, understand that there’s going to be ebbs and flows ... 18- to-22-year-olds sometimes don’t understand that. So just be patient. If they need a little jab or a little kick in the butt, know when to do that. That’s been probably my biggest goal this year.”

Hale set the tone for a team that pulled off seven walk-off victories — including one Saturday night that gave the Wildcats the Pac-12 regular-season championship. That accomplishment earned him the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award.

Hale became the first person in Pac-12 baseball history to win both Coach of the Year and Player of the Year. He shared Pac-10 South POY honors with UCLA’s Torey Lovullo in 1987.

“To me, it’s a staff award,” Hale said Tuesday as No. 1 seed Arizona prepared for its Pac-12 Tournament opener against No. 9 seed Washington on Wednesday night at Scottsdale Stadium.

“From Frankie Manca, our equipment manager, to Kevin Vance, our pitching coach, every one of my staff members is so important in what they’ve done for each player to get them better and get us the Pac-12 regular-season championship. Trip Couch with recruiting, Toby (DeMello) with the offense, Kevin and John (DeRouin) with the pitching, Will (Gaines) doing the operations, keeping everything smooth for the guys.

“I’m very proud.”

Hale’s approach already has proved useful this week. The players weren’t locked in during practice Monday — understandable after Saturday’s dramatic, emotional finish against Oregon State.

“We didn’t have a great practice,” Hale said. “We talked about it: ‘We’ll give you a pass today, but tomorrow, let’s have a good one. Be ready for Wednesday.’ ”

With no experience in college, Hale had to start from scratch as a recruiter. His success and reputation helped Arizona land Clark Candiotti in the transfer portal. Candiotti was one of six Wildcats named to the All-Conference Team on Tuesday.

“I knew how good of a coach he was and that he would bring back the legacy to the University of Arizona,” said Candiotti, whose father, Tom, played with Hale on the 1997 Los Angeles Dodgers. “Just knowing of his success, that’s what brought me here.”

Hale’s relationship with Garen Caulfield, another All-Pac-12 honoree, ensured that Caulfield would stick around for a third season at Arizona. The second baseman lost his full-time job last year. He could have transferred.

“Those thoughts go in your head,” Caulfield said. “But I knew in the back of my heart that I loved Arizona. I chose to come here for a reason. And I wanted to fulfill my commitment to the school and to Chip that I made early on.”

Looking back

The key moment in Saturday’s conference-clinching comeback? According to Hale, it was a routine flyout to center field.

That was the result of Travis Bazzana’s at-bat in the top of the ninth inning. The Pac-12 Player of the Year had worn out the Wildcats all weekend. By retiring him to end the frame, Arizona faced a deficit of only one run.

“The biggest play that nobody really talks about is when they went ahead and got ahead by one and had first and third,” Hale said. “I went to Kevin. I said, ‘Do you think we should just walk Bazzana and move on to the next hitter?’ He’d done so much damage against us. Kevin says, ‘No, I think we should go after him.’ And the first pitch, he flies out.

“That was probably the biggest play of the whole night because it gave us some hope: ‘Hey, we’re only down one. We can scratch out one in our ballpark. We’re so good in the ninth. We’ve come back so many times.’ If it got to two or three, it would have been tough.”

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Knowing the Wildcats had gotten blown out in the first two games of the series, Hale had two messages for them before Game 3: (1) They had earned the right to play for the Pac-12 title and deserved to be there; and (2) if the game was close, they would win it.

“That game described our whole season right there,” Caulfield said. “It really felt like all of us believed.”

Looking ahead

Washington was set to face No. 6 seed Cal in the final game of Tuesday’s slate in Scottsdale. The Huskies came in slumping, having lost six in a row and nine of their past 11.

Washington took two of three against Arizona in late April in Seattle, winning the series finale 9-8 in 13 innings after trailing 8-3 entering the bottom of the eighth.

Might that outcome provide some extra motivation for the Wildcats?

“Not necessarily,” Caulfield said. “The season has gone on. ... When we were up there, we were playing in their weather and at their home park. So it’ll be nice to play in the heat and get another shot at them.”

The biggest challenge for Arizona could be refocusing after Saturday night’s thriller. Unlike last year, the Wildcats don’t need a good showing in Scottsdale to make the NCAA Tournament. Wednesday’s game has letdown potential.

Candiotti said the key is to “just go simple.”

“Just win the first game. Then win the next, then win the next. You gotta be consistent,” Candiotti said.

“You can’t worry about too much. You can’t worry about the end result. You can’t focus on the last game we had. It’s just the next game, whoever’s up, next pitch.”

Inside pitch

Arizona is using a bullpen strategy for Wednesday’s game. Left-hander Bradon Zastrow (1-2, 4.43 ERA) will start, and he’ll pitch no more than three innings. That will enable Jackson Kent to start Thursday against Cal on full rest. Kent made the All-Pac-12 team but showed signs of fatigue down the stretch.

Starting right fielder Emilio Corona, who injured his right hand in the opener vs. OSU, could be available for pinch-running and/or defense this week. “I don’t know if he can grip a bat yet,” Hale said. “As soon as he can grip a bat, he’ll be back in there.”

Freshman outfielder Easton Breyfogle, who’s been out since April 27 because of a hamstring injury, was slated to work out with the team Tuesday. Hale said Breyfogle is “close” to being able to return and is hopeful he’ll be in the lineup Wednesday.

Breyfogle’s backup, TJ Adams, is working to regain movement in his shoulder after crashing into the wall May 10 at Utah. He will be on the roster and, like Corona, could be available to pinch-run.

The latest NCAA Tournament projections from D1Baseball and Baseball America have Arizona as a 2-seed playing in a regional hosted by UC Santa Barbara. The official bracket will be revealed Monday.