Playoff win hangovers are indeed a very real thing and No. 5 seeded Arizona might have fallen victim to that in its second-round matchup in the Pac-12 tournament against top-seeded Stanford at Scottsdale Stadium on Thursday night.
The conference’s top home-run hitting team eventually combined for five home runs to hand the Wildcats a loss, 15-8.
‘Gary Day’ was not as fun of a day as it usually is for Arizona as left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Irvin (4-4) struggled giving up four home runs, two of which were back to back in the second inning to put the Wildcats in an early 2-0 hole.
He also gave up a solo home-run in the top of the third inning in a challenging day on the mound for the UA veteran.
On the night, Irvin pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 10 hits and seven earned runs to go with a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Irvin’s seven runs surrendered is the most he has allowed in a game all season.
The pitching staff as a whole gave up 21 hits, which is a season high.
After falling behind early, the Cats (36-22) were able to get themselves back in the game following a three-run third inning thanks to third baseman Tony Bullard and designated hitter Noah Turley combining for the team’s first three RBIs on a pair of singles.
Arizona had to rely heavily on its bullpen but did not get the results that helped secure a win in the opening round. Right-handed pitcher Chandler Murphy allowed three runs in his single inning of work followed by right-handed pitcher George Arias Jr. surrendering a three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning that put the Cardinal (39-14) up 13-4.
Left-handed pitcher Holden Christian and right-handed pitcher Jonathan Guardado pitched clean outings in a combined 1 1/3 innings of work.
Offensively, Arizona had a strong day but the eight runs it scored were still not enough to overcome the pitching struggles.
Outfielder Tanner O’Tremba and Bullard headlined the lineup’s production with each of them having three hits and combining for four of the team’s seven RBIs. O’Tremba hit a home run after being hit in the face by a ball that eventually went for a Stanford home run that bounced off of the right field wall.
With the Cats down 3-0 going into the bottom of the third, Bullard drove in two runs on a single that put the Wildcats within one run of Stanford. After Turley tied the game up at three Arizona fell behind again in the fourth inning and never regained the lead. Other notable players for Arizona in Thursday’s game were outfielder Chase Davis, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and shortstop Nik McClaughry who went 2-for-5 in the loss.
The Wildcats now go into the elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 8-seeded Arizona State (26-31) Friday afternoon with the teams playing for a chance to face Stanford again in the semifinals on Saturday with the Cardinal now on a 14-game winning streak. First pitch for the game against the Sun Devils is set for 3 p.m. (MST) on Pac-12 Networks.
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