Sundays had been pretty good for Arizona this season, as had the final games of 3- and 4-game series. But this Sunday day was not a fun day.
The Wildcats lost 8-5 at USC, dropping a weekend series to the Pac-12’s last-place team. Arizona (33-17, 14-10) has gone 8-7 against the bottom five teams in the league, losing three of those series, and finishes the regular season with two of the top five squads in the conference.
The UA drops into a tie for third place in the Pac-12 with UCLA and are four games back of first-place Oregon State. The Wildcats host OSU (38-9, 18-6) next weekend in their final home series.
Seven UA pitchers combined to allow 10 hits but also issue eight walks—tied for second-most this season—along with a hit batter and three wild pitches. Four of USC’s runs were scored by batters who reached on walks of HBPs, while the Trojans (23-21, 8-16) also hit three solo home runs.
Arizona went up 2-0 in the first on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Susac and a solo homer from Chase Davis, his 14th of the season and eighth in Pac-12 play. USC went up 4-2 after the third but the Wildcats retook the lead in the fifth on a 3-run, 2-out double by Tony Bullard.
The Trojans retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on just two hits but also three consecutive walks and a wild pitch.
The UA had two chances to tie or take the lead after that, loading the bases in both the sixth and eighth with two outs. Susac was at the plate in both instances but grounded to third on the first try and lined to short on the second.
Arizona’s series against the Beavers begins Friday at 7 p.m. PT.
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