UA baseball rallies to victory over ASU in series opener
TUCSON – The Arizona knew what they had to do.
To secure a third straight NCAA Tournament berth, Arizona likely would have to win five of its final six games – or maybe even all of them.
Impossible? No. Improbable? Maybe. But highly, highly unlikely without a win Thursday in Game 1 of a three-game series against rival Arizona State.
“You can’t win six games all at once,” UA pitching coach Dave Lawn said on the eve of the series. “But you can win one game six times. That’s kind of our theme anyways. That’s the blueprint for what Wildcats we do.
“Yesterday has nothing to do with today. A win tomorrow night is a step in the right direction.”
The Wildcats have taken the first step. They rallied to defeat the Sun Devils 6-4 in front of 3,481 fans at Hi Corbett Field.
It was Arizona’s fifth straight win over ASU (21-29, 11-14 Pac-12), dating to last season. It was also the Wildcats’ second win in a row after they were swept in unsightly fashion at Cal last weekend.
“The makeup of these guys is good,” said UA coach Jay Johnson, whose team improved to 31-20, 11-14. “They are competitive. We have had some baseball deficiencies, some injuries that have reared their head – that have made some things a little tougher for them. I thought they displayed their character for what it is tonight.”
The Wildcats trailed 2-0 and 4-3. They came back thanks to offensive execution – especially with runners on third and less than two outs – and stellar work by a bullpen that struggled vs. Cal.
“It’s huge for us,” said senior righthander Zach Stone, who recorded his second save with a 1-2-3 ninth. “We know the pitching last week at Cal wasn’t where it needed to be. Everyone came in today doing their job.”
Arizona was down one entering the bottom of the seventh. The Wildcats scored three runs on a sacrifice bunt, a sac fly and an RBI single.