It’s been a tough first six weeks for Arizona this season, and it’s about to get tougher.
The Wildcats are on the opposite side of the country this weekend for a series at UCF, a road trip so far away they left Wednesday morning to acclimate to the time change. It’s also the first of a string of challenging opponents on the schedule.
The Knights (15-8, 5-1) are tied for first in the Big 12 with West Virginia, which will be at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday for a single nonconference game Tuesday after playing this weekend at ASU. UCF’s current RPI is 26, while West Virginia is 27 and next weekend’s opponent ASU is 25.
Arizona (9-15, 2-4) is 0-4 this season against Top 100 RPI opponents, of which there are 23 left on the schedule. But resume isn’t really a concern for the UA, which at 223 in RPI only has a chance to make a sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the Big 12 Conference tournament for the second straight season.
The first two Big 12 weekends have seen Arizona be competitive in every game, leading in all but one of them, only to see its pitching depth come into play late. Injuries to four relievers have thinned out the bullpen options, leading to a 6.31 ERA in conference play.
Shootouts may be the best way for Arizona to pick up league wins, and the offense appears to have turned a corner. It scored 29 runs last weekend against Texas Tech and is hitting .307 in conference games with a .409 on-base percentage.
A big part of that comes from better 2-strike discipline.
“We’re battling,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “I think for the most part we’re making them come in with two strikes. I think a lot of our guys … they slow down a little bit with two strikes, instead of jumping so much. And maybe they see the ball a little better. You don’t want to be defensive, but you want to be in a position to get at a lot of pitches.”
Arizona has drawn 36 walks in Big 12 play, and leading that charge is outfielder Andrew Cain. The junior has seven walks against one strikeout in conference games and a 17/12 walk/strikeout split for the season, compared to his first two seasons when he struck out 69 times and drew 35 walks.
“I think it’s just kind of trusting what I do in there,” said Cain, who is hitting .275. “The experience being here for two years, seeing a lot of pitching and kind of knowing how guys are gonna attack you, obviously helps a lot. Just staying committed to what I can do, and I know I have a good zone, and if I swing at the right pitches, it’ll be very helpful.
“It’s kind of been a thing for us to really, really focus on shortening up and seeing the ball deeper, and fouling tough pitches off and getting one when you like, putting it in play.”
