Arizona Baseball clinches Pac-12 Title with OSU series win

CORVALLIS, OR – Arizona Baseball (38-14, 21-9) clinched their first Pac-12 Title in nine years with their series clinching win over Oregon State on Sunday. 

The 2021 season has been a terrific year for Arizona Baseball. The Wildcats have seen multiple, lengthy winning streaks, improved pitching, and consistent offense.

While all of that has led to a historic season for Arizona, however, the work is far from over, and now the real challenge starts.

Arizona Wildcats

Entering the weekend, their series against the typical Pac-12 perennial power Oregon State Beavers would be a great measuring stick for the Cats.

Turning to Chase Silseth in game one, the Wildcats would get a dominant performance from their ace he delivered six marvelous innings, surrendering four runs on six hits with six strikeouts.

However, the real story was the Wildcats’ offense. Combining for 12 runs on eight hits, Arizona would also hit three home runs en route to the 12-4 victory.

Game two wouldn’t quite go the way Arizona had hoped. Despite receiving another dominant pitching performance that held to the Beavers to just three runs on nine hits, it was the Wildcats’ bats that would go silent in this one.

The Beavers would start early in this one, picking up a run in the first, and then again in the third inning when they plated two more.

Arizona would get a run back in the sixth, but unfortunately it was too little too late as the Wildcats fell 3-1 in game two.

All coming down to a third and final game, Arizona Baseball would rely on a big performance in game three to come away victorious.

Turning to Austin Smith in game three, he would get roughed up early in this one and wouldn’t even last a full inning before being pulled after giving up three runs on two hits.

The Wildcats would use five other pitchers in this one to ultimately get the job done, holding the Beavers to just two runs on nine hits. Senior reliever Vince Vannelle came in the eighth and closed the door on Oregon State to pick-up in the win, improving to 4-2 on the year.

Despite Oregon State taking a 5-1 lead after four innings, Arizona wouldn’t go quietly in this one. Using some late game heroics, the Wildcats would explode for four innings in the top of the eighth inning to tie it.

All coming down to the ninth inning, Arizona would use timely some hitting, setting Nik McClaughry where the sophomore infielder came up in the clutch, hitting a single to right field to score Kyson Donahue to help lift the Cats over the Beavs 6-5, clinching their first conference title since 2012.

With the win, Arizona gets the automatic bid from the conference for the NCAA Tournament and most assuredly gets the regional host bid as well.

The Wildcats will have one series left on the regular season as they play host to Dixie State in a three-game series at Hi-Corbett Field from Thursday through Saturday.