That’s 5 in the last 8 home games!
Arizona sure does have a flair for the dramatic, though it may not be good for the health of the fanbase, or its head coach.
“These guys are gonna give me a cardiac arrest,” Chip Hale said after the Wildcats beat Washington State 8-7 on Friday night for its fifth walkoff victory in the last eight games at Hi Corbett Field.
The UA (22-15, 11-5 Pac-12) scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning after giving up four in the top of the inning, its normally reliable bullpen having a rare off night. But despite being down two with three outs to go, Hale had confidence that another comeback was possible.
“When they came in (the dugout) I said ‘hey, you guys are good at this, let’s see if we can do it again,’” Hale said.
Arizona tied a school record with its eighth consecutive conference win, and combined with losses by Oregon and Oregon State moved into sole possession of 1st place in the Pac-12.
Sophomore Maddox Mihalakis had the game-winning single, a sharp liner to left that scored Easton Breyfogle from second. The freshman’s headfirst slide just beat a great throw home from WSU left fielder Max Hartman, who earlier in the inning flipped over the fence down the line trying to haul in a foul ball.
It was Breyfogle’s walk two batters earlier that kept the rally alive. He took a pair of close pitches inside to give Arizona runners on the corners and two out for Emilio Corona, who smacked a single thru the left side on the first pitch he saw to tie it.
Corona had struck out and Breyfogle flied to left to end Tuesday’s 5-4 loss at Grand Canyon, stranding runners on 2nd and 3rd after Arizona had scored twice in the inning.
“Recently, the thing I’ve said to myself is trust yourself,” Breyfogle said. “I definitely wanted to get one back for my team.”
Arizona benefitted from a huge break earlier in the ninth when, with a runner on and 1 out, Mason White hit a towering fly to the track in center that WSU’s Nate Swarts straight up dropped. Adonys Guzman then drove in a run with a groundout to make it 7-6 with two down.
Guzman finished with three RBI, including a 2-run single in Arizona’s 3-run 3rd. Tommy Splaine homered in the 4th and the Wildcats led 5-2 after Garen Caulfield’s RBI double in the 7th.
Another walkoff didn’t seem likely, as Arizona got six strong innings from Jackson Kent. Kent, who didn’t have his best stuff, allowed two runs and seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Kyler Heyne threw a clean 7th before giving up a solo home run in the 8th, just the fifth homer allowed by Arizona’s bullpen. The 9th began with Dawson Netz getting the call, but after walking his first batter in more than a month and allowing a single he was pulled for Tony Pluta.
The Cougars (18-18, 7-12) had the next three reach against Pluta, tying the game on a 2-run double from Hartman and going ahead on a 2-run single by Kyle Russell. It was the second outing in a row that Pluta allowed two runs, giving up a pair in the top of the ninth Tuesday at GCU.
But the sophomore struck out the next two batters before Jaeden Swanberg came in and got a ground out and ended up earning the victory. Swanberg also got the win last week when Arizona rallied from down 5-0 in the ninth to beat Louisiana Tech.
“We kept it at two, which was manageable for us,” Hale said.
Arizona and WSU play the second game of their 3-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. PT. Righty Clark Candiotti is on the mound for the Wildcats.