Arizona dominated game three of its rivalry series against Arizona State en route to a 14-4 victory over the Sun Devils to take the series win at Hi Corbett Field on Sunday.
The Wildcats (28-13, 13-8 Pac-12) got going early thanks to a two-run home run to left center field by star catcher Daniel Susac in the first inning. It was a redemption day for Susac after he had an uncharacteristic 0-for-5 performance in Saturday’s loss.
“I think that’s from when I was little,” Susac said about bounce-back performances. “Having two brothers 10 and 11 years older than me, for lack of a better term, they kicked my butt in the backyard. I’d have to get back up and deal with it. I’d cry a little bit, but my dad would tell me to just deal with it and grow up
“So I think you know for me my mindset is you can only get better.”
The sophomore catcher finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBIs and two walks.
Tanner O’Tremba and Mac Bingham, along with Susac, helped lead the charge for the Wildcats’ offense combining for nine RBIs as the team never lost its lead after taking a 2-0 on Susac’s homer.
The Wildcats had to finish the game without Chip Hale after the first-year head coach was ejected in the bottom of the fifth for arguing with the umpire about whether or not Chase Davis leaned into a pitch.
Associate head coach Dave Lawn and assistant coach Trip Couch managed the team the rest of the way.
“Personally. I get riled up. I like it,” Susac said about Hale getting ejected. “Obviously you don’t want your coach gone, but I think it motivates the team sometimes. I think we had a pretty good lead at the time, I think it was 6-0, but I mean we tacked on more. I think the team was motivated. I think it gets some energy in the dugout.”
Hale watched the rest of the game from the video room and was surprised by how much a coach can learn by watching the game from a different perspective.
“I watch video a lot after the games to try to learn stuff, but to see it live and to see some things with the pitches that we’re swinging at, pitches that we’re taking, pitches that we’re throwing – yeah you can learn a lot,” he said.
Hale ultimately was not shocked at the ejection while arguing the Davis hit by pitch, and he had a feeling he was gone when he kept arguing the call.
“He basically had to throw me out because I was arguing basically balls and strikes,” he said. “I know it’s a college rule that you can’t lean in and get hit. I just didn’t feel like he moved his knee at all. I knew when I stayed out there, he’s gonna throw me out. I apologized to him after the game. He knows the rules better than I do at this level.”
The Wildcats pitching staff provided strong support behind all the offense Sunday and that included a solid performance from starter Garrett Irvin, who threw six innings while allowing three runs and six hits to go along with two strikeouts. His ERA now sits at a 3.18 after Sunday’s outing.
“It was so important, so important to get that start,” Hale said. “And he was really, really good for a while. I think the long innings kind of got to him, which is good for our offense, but I think if we don’t get that we’re in trouble.”
Irvin was dominant for the first five innings not giving up a single run and not allowing ASU to muster much offensively.
“Physically I felt great,” Irvin said. “Obviously I got the extra day of rest, which was great, and it was also nice coming from like Salt Lake and Omaha where its been like 40 degrees and then you come out here and its like 85. So it was really nice today I felt good.”
The bullpen also had a solid day combining to allow just one run over the final three innings.
The game was ultimately decided in the seventh inning when the Cats offense exploded for seven runs to put the game out of reach. The Sun Devils (20-21, 9-9 Pac-12) used four different pitchers in the inning and allowed five walks resulting in UA needing just two hits to score seven runs.
The Wildcats will now shift their focus to Tuesday night when they will travel to Las Cruces and face off against New Mexico State before returning home for a nonconference series against Nevada.
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