Anthony “Tonko” Susac was rolling in his new role as Arizona’s closer, so it was only natural to ask him: What does it feel like to get the last out in a game?
“There’s lots of emotions,” Susac said. “I got guys on the team giving me crap (because) I’m all psyched out and everything. But it’s awesome. It’s fun. Who doesn’t want to go do that?”
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
Well, Susac himself didn’t necessarily want to do it. Or at least didn’t plan to do it.
A onetime top-150 recruit, Susac had been a starting pitcher his whole life. He started more often than he relieved during his first two seasons as a Wildcat. He began this season as Arizona’s No. 3 starter.
Susac struggled in that role. He has thrived in this one — as important a development as any in the Wildcats’ better-than-expected-season, which continues Friday night against Grand Canyon in Game 2 of the NCAA Tournament’s Tucson Regional.
Arizona’s Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac kisses the championship trophy after the Wildcats rallied to defeat USC 4-3 in the Pac-12 Tournament title game Saturday night in Scottsdale.
It is a testament to Susac’s unselfishness and team-first attitude that it has worked out this way. He could have viewed his reassignment as a demotion. He could have sulked. He had to buy in. And he did.
“If you really know my son — I’m not saying this because I’m his dad — he’s been raised to be a team guy,” said Susac’s father, John. “That has never been an issue.”
Tonko Susac made his last start against New Mexico State on March 26. Neither Susac nor the team performed well. It turned out to be a turning point for both.
“I think he realized that ... to get back on the mound as a Wildcat there was gonna have to be some changes,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We sat down as a group, as a coaching staff, and realized that in short stints, this guy can be really special.
“And yes, he did have to buy in, there’s no doubt. If he didn’t buy in, then he wouldn’t be doing what he’s doing for us.”
Arizona’s Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac gets fired up while closing out the Wildcats’ win over ASU on May 7, 2024, in Phoenix.
‘Empty the tank’
Susac left the NMSU game with an ERA of 10.29. Since then, he has lowered it by nearly four runs.
In 14 appearances as a one-inning, high-leverage reliever, Susac has a 2.63 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In 13⅔ innings, he has allowed 11 hits with four walks and 21 strikeouts. He has a 2-0 record and a team-high three saves.
Before assuming that new role on April 2 vs. New Mexico — the first of nine consecutive scoreless appearances — Susac had a career ERA of 7.93 and a WHIP of 1.82.
Those numbers made little sense if you just watched Susac throw in the bullpen. His fastball crests in the mid-90s, and he can generate swings and misses with his slider if it’s set up and placed properly.
But Susac’s results weren’t aligning with his stuff. After a promising season debut against Northeastern in which he threw four scoreless innings, Susac couldn’t get out of the first at San Diego on Feb. 25. He allowed six earned runs in one-third of an inning, an outing he’d later refer to as a “nightmare.”
Arizona’s Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac delivers a pitch against Louisiana Tech on April 12, 2024, at Hi Corbett Field.
Pitching coach Kevin Vance had talked to Susac in the fall about possibly becoming a reliever. After the USD game, they talked again: Susac would either start midweek games or come out of the bullpen; Cam Walty would take his spot in the rotation.
In four midweek outings, including three starts, Susac allowed 10 runs on 18 hits in 9⅔ innings. The last of those was against NMSU. Afterward, Vance told him he’d be moving to the bullpen full time — which beat not pitching at all.
Susac would have to change his routine and his mentality. He had elbow surgery in high school, leading to a longer warmup regimen that was more conducive to starting. He’d also pace himself in anticipation of pitching multiple innings.
“When you go into a game and you’re starting, you feel like you have to get established and work that first inning, learn the umpire’s zone, get comfortable on the mound, figure out their lineup, worry about facing it for a second time,” Susac said. “Coming out of the pen it’s, ‘Let’s go in there, let’s blow doors and give ’em everything you got.’ ”
Arizona’s Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac stretches before the Wildcats’ June 2, 2023, NCAA Tournament opener against TCU at the Fayetteville Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Vance and his assistant, John DeRouin, brought a data-driven approach to Arizona’s pitching staff, which is among the most improved units in the nation. Susac said before the season that the two “speak my language.”
“I consider myself a very analytical person,” he said. “I’ve always looked into metrics and data and biomechanics.”
Sometimes, though, you need to cast all of that aside and take Crash Davis’ advice: Don’t think, just throw. John Susac has told his son as much at times: “You think about stuff way too much.”
As a closer, all Tonko Susac has to think about is executing the pitches Vance calls and getting those three outs. Susac also throws with maximum effort, which has enabled his stuff to play up.
“Empty the tank,” Susac said. “We’d have our intra-squads here and my last inning ... I would always say, ‘Burn the ships. Give it everything you got right here.’ It would always be my best inning.”
Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac holds the trophy as he and his UA teammates celebrate their win the Pac-12 Tournament championship game last weekend in Scottsdale. Pictured to the left is Cam Walty, who began the year as a reliever before taking Susac’s spot as a starter; Susac morphed into the Cats’ closer.
Said Vance: “We’re shifting him into that mindset of, ‘You can come in and throw hard. You throw hard with a good slider. Let’s go do it out of the pen. It’s gonna play.’
“‘Scrap your starting routine. Let’s go. Let’s just flip the switch and blow it by some guys.’”
Best roles for all
Moving Susac to the back of the bullpen and Walty into the starting rotation has allowed Arizona to be its best self. Walty relieved Susac against USD and allowed just one run in 5⅔ innings in a game the Wildcats rallied to win. As Arizona’s No. 3 starter, Walty joined Clark Candiotti and Jackson Kent on the All-Pac-12 Team, going 8-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
In Arizona’s walk-off win over USC to clinch the Pac-12 Tournament championship, Walty pitched the first eight innings before passing the baton to Susac, who threw a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.
“It was beautiful,” Hale said. “It’s not easy to go out there as a guy who usually comes in with a lead to keep it a zero that inning.”
Arizona’s Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac delivers a pitch against Washington during pool play in the Pac-12 Tournament at Scottsdale Stadium.
Although the role is new, the pressure Susac faces as a closer isn’t. In travel ball and in high school in the Sacramento area, he’d always pitch in the biggest games. The Susac name also carried a reputation; Tonko’s cousin Andrew, older brother of ex-UA catcher Daniel, made it all the way to the majors.
Tonko Susac has been around big-leaguers since he was a kid. “He understands that life and that pressure,” his dad said.
While he’s active and animated in the dugout, Susac is almost expressionless on the hill. Nothing fazes him.
He might not have intended to become a closer, but Susac sure acts like one.
“A lot of different things can happen in a year,” he said. “It’s my third year, and all three years, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of different things. So you never know where it’s going to take you.
“But in the end, I’m a competitive guy. I want to be on the mound. I want to do whatever I can to help our team win.”
