The Arizona baseball team took the field Saturday morning at Scottsdale Stadium in an elimination game against Stanford.
Anthony Susac got the start for the Wildcats. After Arizona went down in order to begin the game, Anthony Susac walked the first two batters he faced. He was able to limit the damage to one run with a ground out and a couple of fly outs.
The Wildcats got on the board in the third inning on an RBI single hit by Daniel Susac following a single by Mac Bingham and double by Nik McClaughry. Following a wild pitch that scored McClaughry, Arizona took a 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats lead did not last long as Carter Graham lifted a 2-run home run in the bottom half of the third inning to give Stanford the lead right back at 3-2.
Anthony Susac went two innings, allowing three runs on one hit with two strikeouts and four walks.
The Wildcats bullpen pitched very well, keeping Arizona in the game. Javyn Pimental followed Anthony Susac out of the bullpen. He tossed a couple scoreless innings. Head coach Chip Hale brought him out for a third inning, but a throwing error by Tony Bullard at third base led to an unearned run scoring for Stanford to put them ahead 4-2 after five innings of play.
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The Stanford pitching staff also kept the Arizona hitters in check most of the game.
Holden Christian got the Wildcats out of a first and third jam with one out in the fifth inning, which was followed by three innings of one-run ball thrown by Chris Barraza.
Trailing 5-2 heading into the ninth inning, Arizona was now three outs away from being eliminated from the Pac-12 Tournament.
Noah Turley opened the frame with a single, which was followed by a triple hit by Tommy Splaine to bring Turley home and cut the deficit to 5-3. On the very next pitch, Mac Bingham hit a sacrifice fly to bring the Wildcats to within 5-4. After a couple quick outs, Daniel Susac kept Arizona alive with a single. Cameron LaLiberte, who pinch-ran for Daniel Susac, advanced to second base on a balk which Stanford then intentionally walked Tanner O’Tremba.
The next hitter in the lineup would have been Chase Davis, but he had to leave the game early after injuring his shoulder making a catch while running into the wall. Tyler Casagrande stepped up to the plate, already with a hit in the game and fouled out to the third baseman for the final out to cut the Wildcats late comeback short.
Arizona will now wait for Monday’s selection show to see where they will be headed in the NCAA Tournament.
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