Arizona's second game of a three-game series against Utah was significantly more challenging than the first.
The Wildcats (29-11, 14-6 Pac-12) made easy work of the Utes on Friday night to open the series, but Saturday's game was much more of a battle. Utah scored three times before UA was able to post any runs in the game, but the Wildcats were able to score twice in the bottom of the eighth to secure a 4-3 win at Hi Corbett Field.
Arizona coach Jay Johnson was not surprised by the challenge his team faced Saturday going so far as to stay he had a dream after Friday's game about what would transpire in the second game of the series. In Johnson's dream the Wildcats won the game 5-4, and the UA head coach joked he was "off by one run" in his dream.
"Doing this long enough I knew today was gonna be really hard," Johnson said about Saturday's game. "... It's so just about that day and the play, and the team that deserves to win is going to win. I think our pitching tipped the scales for us, in terms of the bullpen, we made plays late in the game and we got just enough good at-bats in a row right there.
"And that was the separator. It wasn't easy, but definitely deserved to win tonight. I just knew it was gonna be harder."
The eighth inning proved to the be key for Arizona on Saturday. The Wildcats used three singles to tie the game before taking their first lead of the night after an error on the infield for Utah.
Utes shortstop Matt Richardson missed second base on a would-be double play allowing left fielder Mac Bingham to score from third for the go-ahead run. Right fielder Ryan Holgate tied the game 3-3 with a single that brought in first baseman Branden Boissiere for one of his two runs in the game.
"It's just sticking to it," Boissiere said of how Saturday's game played out. "That's our biggest thing is sticking to our plan at the plate and on the pitching side as well. I think we did a really good job of staying into the game as it went on. Things didn't go our way, they made some plays, but just stuck to our plan and stuck with our guys.
"And, it came out in our favor."
Starting pitcher Garrett Irvin found himself in some early trouble as he walked the leadoff batter, Jaylon McLaughlin, to open the game. The Utah center fielder would be moved over to third on a groundout after he stole second base. A single would bring in McLaughlin to set up what would be a short night for Irvin in his seventh start of the season.
The UA lefty was able to get out of the first inning without any more damage, but the second inning turned into a disaster for the Wildcats.
Shortstop Jacob Blas committed two errors in the inning allowing the Utes to tack on two unearned runs on a single to left field.
Irvin was ultimately on the mound for just 3 1/3 innings while Blas was removed from the game by Johnson in the third after his two costly errors. The UA head coach said back tightness for Blas was the reason he was forced to exit the game.
After closing out the fourth inning for Irvin, who had six strikeouts, UA right-handed pitcher Chandler Murphy shined in his latest relief appearance. The freshman didn't give up a run and allowed just three hits to go with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.
Riley Cooper earned his second win of the season after getting McLaughlin to ground out to end the eighth on just four pitches. Vince Vannelle struck out two batters in the ninth en route to his seven save of the year.
Johnson was pleased with how the Wildcats' bullpen kept the Utah offense in check and scoreless over the final seven innings of the game. He gave Murphy credit for his ability to control the game during his time on the mound as the UA pitcher continues to settle into his role as a reliever.
"I think it was really important for me to go as long as I could," Murphy said. "Towards the end I was getting a little wild there for a minute, but I knew our other guys would come in and get the job done. For me to go that long it was very helpful for our team for tomorrow."
UA will attempt to pull off its second consecutive series sweep Sunday morning as they face the Utes (10-25, 5-10) one more time. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. Arizona heads into the matchup on a current eight-game winning streak.
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