Chip Hale notched his 100th career victory. Arizona clinched a series win over Stanford. The Wildcats locked up a spot in the Pac-12 Tournament.
That all happened Saturday night.
So what about Sunday? Without as much at stake, could the UA find the motivation and focus to keep performing at a high level?
The Cats were shaky at first. But they eventually found their stride in a 7-2 victory over the Cardinal at Hi Corbett Field.
The win gave No. 21 Arizona its fourth sweep in its past five Pac-12 series. It also kept the UA (29-17, 17-7) two games ahead of Utah and Oregon State in the loss column atop the conference standings. The Wildcats close the season against the Utes and Beavers.
“I thought today we just weren’t there mentally the first couple innings,” Hale said. “Our bats weren’t there. We had the ball drop, easy fly ball, and no one was covering second. That was disappointing.
“Cam Walty kept us in it with really, really good pitching. Kind of let the guys settle down. Then they got it going. And we had the big inning again, which was huge.”
Arizona right-hander Cam Walty once shut out the Wildcats while at Nevada, opening some eyes in Tucson.
On the heels of teammate Clark Candiotti’s shutout Saturday night, Walty authored his fourth quality start in his past five outings. He allowed two runs on nine hits over seven innings with one walk and three strikeouts to earn his seventh win — most in the Pac-12.
“I think to start this game we weren’t ready to play,” said center fielder Brendan Summerhill, whose three-RBI double was part of a six-run sixth inning that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 lead.
“But Cam was able to let us get ready to play, and that’s why we were able to come back.”
Arizona didn’t register a hit until Mason White’s infield single in the fourth. By that point, the Wildcats were trailing 2-0 — mostly the result of fielding miscues in the second.
Arizona frequently deploys defensive shifts under Hale. The Wildcats took it to the extreme against Stanford star catcher Malcolm Moore. If Moore came up with no one on base, shortstop White would line up in short left field. The rest of the outfielders would slide toward right.
Sure enough, in the second, Moore hit a fly ball to right-center. But right fielder Emilio Corona never saw the ball, which fell for a hit. Making matters worse, no one covered second base, allowing Moore to turn what should have been an out into a double.
Two batters later, another left-handed hitter, Brandon Larson, beat the shift with a line single through the vacated shortstop hole. Moore scored to give Stanford a 1-0 lead.
The next hitter, Trevor Haskins, hit a grounder to first baseman Tommy Splaine. Splaine threw to second to get the lead runner, but White was several feet away from the bag. Both runners were safe.
That series of events prompted Hale to visit the mound. He usually only does so when making a pitching change.
“It wasn’t very friendly, obviously,” Hale said. “I was just upset. We do a lot of things to get you ready for the game, and we just came out like we weren’t ready.
“The first-pitch fly ball, routine fly ball with the four outfielders, Emilio didn’t see it. Which is fair. But that’s why we have the four guys out there. Brendan could have come across and probably made the play if he goes.
Arizona sophomore outfielder Brendan Summerhill socked a three-RBI double in the sixth inning Sunday to help put away Stanford.
“The way you rotate, the third baseman’s gotta go over and cover second, and Mason comes in from the outfield to cover third. And everybody just stood there and watched.
“These are things we practice every day. Sometimes they get screwed up.”
Arizona scored one run in the fourth on Maddox Mihalakis’ RBI groundout to halve the lead before rallying in the sixth. Corona (RBI single) and Andrew Cain (two-RBI double) drove in three runs before Summerhill, who’d been slumping, drilled a double into the right-field corner.
Stanford starter Nick Dugan exited in the sixth with runners on first and third and no outs. The hits by Corona, Cain and Summerhill came against the Cardinal bullpen.
“We knew we just had to stay close till we got after their starter,” Summerhill said. “We knew we were gonna get him. It just took a couple times through the order. And once we took the lead, we knew we were gonna win the game.”
The only stress thereafter came in the seventh, when Walty loaded the bases with two outs. Moore, Stanford’s biggest power threat, fouled off four pitches before flying out to left field.
The Arizona baseball team gathers in right field after defeating Stanford 7-2 on Sunday at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats have swept four of their past five Pac-12 series.
Before finishing Pac-12 play against Utah and OSU, Arizona visits ASU for a nonconference game Tuesday night. The Sun Devils took two of three from the Wildcats in Tucson in mid-March.
“We want to score 100 and give up zero. We want to beat them,” Summerhill said. “They beat us here this year. So we’re gonna go out there and play our butts off and beat them as bad as we can.”
Inside pitch
Corona went 2 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to eight games. He has raised his batting average from .238 to .280.
Casey Hintz and Anthony “Tonko” Susac each threw a hitless inning in relief of Walty. Susac hasn’t allowed a run in his past nine outings, spanning nine innings.
Catcher Adonys Guzman returned to the lineup after missing the first two games of the series. Wearing a sleeve on his left arm, Guzman went 1 for 3 with a walk.
Hale said left-hander Bradon Zastrow is a candidate to start at ASU. Zastrow hasn’t pitched since April 21 because of an undisclosed injury.
Hale on logging his 100th career win as UA coach Saturday: “It’s not me. It’s the whole program and the staff. They do such a good job. We’re proud of it. We’re proud of the wins. That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to graduate guys and give these kids a great experience and win games.”
