Arizona Baseball rallies again to be Crowned last-ever Pac-12 Tournament Champs
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - It was a fitting end for Arizona Baseball (36-21, 20-10) as the Wildcats rallied to beat USC and win the last-ever Pac-12 Tournament Title.
Staying on brand with their present season results, Arizona Baseball once again used some late-inning heroics to beat USC to win the last-ever Pac-12 Tournament Title.
And concluding conference baseball action at Scottsdale Stadium with the Pac-12 Tournament Championship on the line, the Wildcats delivered in the clutch!
Cam Walty would get the start on the bump for the Cats as he would last eight innings, surrendering three runs on five hits as he struck out four Trojan batters.
He would eventually be replaced by Anthony "Tonko" Susac who would close the door on USC in the final inning, helping to deliver the 4-3 win for the Cats and also picking up the win as he improved to 2-2 on the year.
Offensively, the Wildcats may have started a bit sluggish before exploding for four runs in the final three innings of play as they rallied to come away with the impressive victory!
It was a collective effort on Saturday night from the dish, but it was Tommy Splaine who stole the show for the Cats as he went 2-4, hitting the game-winning single that scored Emilio Corona and gave Arizona the win!
Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, Arizona Baseball rallied to secure the last-ever Pac-12 Tournament Title.
It wasn't the prettiest game offensively for Arizona to start this one as the Wildcats struggled to find any sort of rhythm against Caden Aoki. And for six-and-a-third innings, Aoki was dealing, surrendering just one run on one hit. He would strike out eight Wildcat batters before being relieved by Xavier Martinez and eventually Josh Blum.
USC would be the one to get things going early in this one. Jumping out to a 1-0 lead after the third inning, the Trojans weren't done, tacking on two more in the fourth as they led comfortably at 3-0.
Still struggling to find any sort of offense, finally, the bats broke through in the bottom of the seventh!
After a quick ground out, Mason White would single through the right side to get on base, setting up Maddox Mihalakis who would then draw a one-out walk. A wild pitch then sent White to third, prompting the Trojans to pull Aoki.
From there, Blake McDonald would come on to pinch hit, belting a 2-1 pitch to left field to score White and make it 3-1.
The very next inning, the Cats would come to life again, using some timely hitting that set up Brendan Summerhill to single to center score Splaine from third, and advancing the runners.
One batter later, Garen Caufield would hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Richie Morales and tying the game at 3-3.
Holding the Trojans hitless in the ninth, Arizona would have another opportunity to put this one away for good, and boy, did they deliver!
Thanks to some timely hitting and patient at-bats, the Wildcats found themselves with two runners on and just one out. That then set up Tommy to become the hero as the junior first baseman and catcher connected on a 2-1 pitch that found its way to left field, scoring Corona from second as the Wildcats completed the rally, winning by a 4-3 final!
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 36-21 (20-10) on the year, winning the last-ever Pac-12 Conference Title and Pac-12 Tournament Title.
Arizona now turns its focus to NCAA Tournament action, but first, they will have to wait to learn of its Tournament fate when the NCAA starts selecting Region sites. We should know shortly just who the Wildcats will face next weekend!
Next. Arizona Baseball's rise from ninth in the preseason poll to Pac-12 Champions. Arizona Baseball's rise from ninth in the preseason poll to Pac-12 Champions. dark
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