SCOTTSDALE — Arizona already had clinched a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals when it faced Cal on Thursday night, so the outcome of the game didn’t really matter.
But it was an important outing for suddenly scuffling left-hander Jackson Kent, who couldn’t shake off his late-season slump.
Kent allowed seven runs in five innings as the Wildcats lost to the Golden Bears 7-5 at Scottsdale Stadium.
No. 1 seed Arizona will face No. 8 Stanford, the winner of Pool B, in the second semifinal Friday night. Cal, which took Pool A, will face Pool C winner USC in the afternoon game.
Kent entered May with a 2.41 ERA. Since then, he has allowed 21 earned runs in 18⅔ innings. His ERA now sits at 4.08.
“We want him to pitch well,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “He has not been up to (how) Jackson Kent had started out the year. It’s been a run of mediocre outings really, to be honest with you. He has to get better. (Pitching coaches) Kevin (Vance) and John (DeRouin) have to sit down, look at the video and figure out what’s going on.”
Kent struck out seven batters Thursday while walking only two. But he allowed seven hits, including three- and two-run homers by Peyton Schulze.
Kent has surrendered five home runs in his past three outings. He allowed only two in his first 12 appearances.
Considering how well Clark Candiotti (6-3, 3.27) and Cam Walty (8-1, 2.76) have pitched, it might be time for Arizona to rearrange its rotation. Candiotti, who’s scheduled to start Friday night, could start the following Friday in an NCAA regional on full rest.
“There’s concern (about Kent),” Hale said. “We have to decide after this is all said and done how we’re going to set up our rotation for the regional.
“We’ll see how Candi does tomorrow. Hopefully we get through that game and then we can see Walty on Saturday.”
Cal, fighting to get on the right side of the NCAA bubble, came in hot and stayed that way. Since dropping four straight in early April — including a UA sweep in Berkeley — the Golden Bears have won 20 of their past 24.
Arizona's Garen Caulfield connects at the plate during the Wildcats' second pool-play game, this one against Cal, at the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium.
Cal moved up six spots to No. 58 in RPI — ironically giving Arizona three more Quad 1 victories. (Road wins vs. top-60 teams qualify as Quad 1 outcomes.)
“My personal opinion is, Cal is definitely a team that belongs in the tournament,” Hale said. “They're very, very good. They have enough pitching. They’re a veteran offensive team.”
Schulze’s second home run boosted Cal’s lead to 7-1 in the fifth inning. Maddox Mihalakis’ sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 7-2. Mihalakis then blasted a three-run homer to right in the eighth to make it 7-5.
Arizona brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings. Pinch-hitter Andrew Cain struck out to end the eighth. Richie Morales lined into a double play to end the game, leaving Mason White, Arizona’s leading home run hitter, in the on-deck circle. White hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, his second in as many games and his 19th of the season.
Arizona and Stanford are the only programs to reach the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals in all three years of its existence. Last year, the Wildcats, seeded eighth, upset the top-seeded Cardinal. The roles are reversed this time.
Arizona’s Mason White flips his bat after yet another monster home run to right field — his second such missile in as many days — during the Wildcats’ second pool-play game, this one against Cal, at the Pac-12 Baseball Tournament Thursday at Scottsdale Stadium.
“It's going be a tough game,” Hale said. “They're hot. They're desperate. They’re playing for their lives. So they're gonna send everybody they can out there to pitch against us and probably run some guys longer than we’re used to seeing them on the scouting reports. Those are always dangerous teams.”
Inside pitch
• Cal’s victory knocked Oregon State out of the tournament. The Beavers defeated ASU earlier Thursday, but Stanford won Pool B with a 2-0 record. OSU would have made it as a wild card if Arizona had beaten Cal.
• Xavier Esquer replaced Easton Breyfogle in right field in the sixth inning. Breyfogle returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing almost a month because of a hamstring injury. Hale said Breyfogle was taken out for precautionary reasons.
• With Arizona’s outfield still depleted, Hale had to get creative in the ninth inning. After pinch-hitting for Esquer, Cain stayed in the game at third base. Morales moved from third to shortstop. White moved from shortstop to center field. And Brendan Summerhill moved from center to right.
• Casey Hintz, who started two games in center field last week, pitched the ninth inning. The right-hander retired all three batters he faced.
