New Mexico State brought the thunder, lightning sent the teams off the field and Chip Hale wasn’t happy.
He had little reason to be.
His Arizona Wildcats trailed the Aggies 9-1 in the fifth inning when inclement weather delayed Tuesday night’s game at Hi Corbett Field. NMSU was halfway to winning its first road game since April 2, 2023. Arizona was on its way to its third loss in four games.
“I just let them know that that wasn’t acceptable,” Hale said afterward. “Obviously, they swung the bats really well. … But we didn’t make some plays that we needed to on defense, and I felt like our at-bats were lackluster.
“I don’t ever like to take away from what the other team does. They did a great job. They came in here prepared, and they kicked our butt early. I thought we played a lot better after the break. Just not good enough.”
Hale’s address to the team didn’t quite have the Jason Heyward effect; the Wildcats couldn’t overcome the deficit, losing 12-9. But they fought back and at least showed the type of competitive spirt Hale had sought from the start.
“We just said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna go back out there, and whether we win by two or lose by 10, we’re gonna play our butts off and we’re gonna hustle. We’re gonna have spirit, and we’re gonna represent the “A.” ’ I thought they did a better job,” Hale said.
Arizona’s inconsistency has tested the patience of Hale and the fan base. Every time it seems like the Wildcats are about to go on a streak and put themselves in position for a postseason berth, they stumble.
Arizona won three in a row toward the tail end of its 11-game road trip earlier in the season — then lost four straight. The Wildcats then won two in a row before losing three of four.
“We have an idea of what we think we have,” Hale said. “But it has to happen out here. And right now, it’s not in some places.
“That’s our job, to get the best out of them. So we’re just trying to compete every game the best we can. Obviously, we’re not anywhere near a championship-caliber team right now. We just have to battle our butts off to get better every day. And, luckily, there’s a lot of season left.”
Arizona is 10-13, 4-5 in the Pac-12 entering a three-game series against UCLA (10-12, 4-5) that runs Thursday-Saturday at Hi Corbett. The Wildcats have 30 games left, plus the Pac-12 Tournament, should they qualify. (The top nine regular-season finishers make it.)
In a sense, the Wildcats need lightning to strike twice. They were barely on the NCAA Tournament radar last year before winning seven of their final 11 regular-season games and three of four in the Pac-12 Tournament. That enabled Arizona to secure its third straight NCAA tourney bid.
“We have to play our best baseball every night,” Hale said. “We can’t slip up and give the other team runs or make mistakes.”
Four of NMSU’s five runs in the fourth inning were unearned after errors by pitcher Raul Garayzar and shortstop Mason White.
Susac’s struggles
Right-hander Anthony “Tonko” Susac again struggled and could be in jeopardy of losing his midweek starting role.
Arizona's Anthony Susac deals to a Washington batter in the first inning of their game at Hi Corbett Field on April 6, 2023.
Susac allowed four earned runs on six hits — including two doubles, a triple and a home run — in three innings. His season ERA ballooned to 10.29.
Since throwing four shutout innings in his 2024 debut on Feb. 18, Susac has an ERA of 12.00. Coming into the season, the analytics that Hale and his staff track suggested the former Top 150 national recruit was on the verge of a breakout. Three years in, Susac’s stuff still hasn’t translated.
“It was really good in the fall again, and it was good in the preseason,” Hale said. “Obviously, the hitters are seeing the ball pretty good.”
Some metrics indicate that Susac has been the victim of bad luck to a degree. But he ranks last among UA starters in strikeout rate (17.8%) and home runs allowed per fly ball (21.1%), according to D1Baseball.com.
Arizona’s weekend starters — Jackson Kent, Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty (who replaced Susac in the rotation on March 3) — all have ERAs of 3.82 or lower and have pitched at least five innings in 15 of 16 starts.
Arizona right fielder Emilio Corona gets a glove on a sinking liner from Arizona State’s Isaiah Jackson but can’t make the catch in the fourth inning of their Pac-12 game at Hi Corbett Field on March 16.
Corona yet to shine
Senior right fielder Emilio Corona was being counted on as a middle-of-the-lineup run producer after hitting .336 with 11 home runs last season. But after a solid start, Corona has slumped.
Corona was hitting .269 after going 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs against USC on March 8. Since then, his average has fallen to .214.
Corona has struck out 33 times in 98 at-bats while drawing only five walks. Among UA regulars, he has a lineup-worst 16.9% popup rate, per D1Baseball.
White (.315, nine home runs, 32 RBIs) and Garen Caulfield (.386, 20 RBIs) — who most often bat second and third in the lineup — have done their part. Arizona needs more out of Corona, who lately has been hitting fifth.
“Those guys are middle-of-the-lineup guys who we want to be there,” Hale said. “So we have to do a better job of getting them right.”
Inside pitch
White’s nine home runs rank third in the Pac-12 and are tied for the most by a UA shortstop in a single season. White (Salpointe Catholic HS) has a six-game hitting streak. He also has walked six times over that span.
Sophomore outfielder Brendan Summerhill has moved from leadoff to cleanup and has shown he can handle either role. Summerhill also has a six-game hitting streak. He has 10 RBIs in his past three games and ranks second on the team behind White with 29.
Arizona ranks fourth nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (2.90) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.28). Reliever Tony Pluta has yet to allow a walk in 10⅔ innings. He has a 1.69 ERA. Fellow reliever Kyler Heyne has yielded one walk in 7⅓ innings and has a 1.23 ERA.
UCLA, whom Pac-12 coaches picked to finish third in the conference, is one of five teams with a sub-.500 record in league play. The Bruins lost seven games in a row from March 1-12. They have won their last three, including a 13-12, 12-inning victory over UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday in which outfielder Payton Brennan went 7 for 7.
Former Arizona Wildcats men's basketball player and longtime Major League Baseball legend Kenny Lofton saw his name placed in the UA basketball Ring of Honor at McKale Center Saturday, March 2, 2024, during a UA blowout win over Oregon. (Courtesy Arizona Athletics)
