Saturday in the elimination round of the Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional is like the season in microcosm for Arizona.
“They know the situation for sure,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said of his team after Friday’s 12-4 loss to TCU in the opening round of the regional.
The Wildcats (33-25) were thought to be close to the end in the regular season going through a 12-18 mark in the Pac-12, getting swept by UCLA, ASU, Oregon and Oregon State.
By winning seven of eight games to reach the Pac-12 tournament championship last week against Oregon, the Wildcats did just enough to be one of the last four teams to make the NCAA tournament field.
Welcome back to times of uncertainty, Arizona.
The Wildcats will try to stave off elimination and keep their season going Saturday at noon, facing Santa Clara (35-19) in the elimination bracket semifinal at Fayetteville. The game will be on ESPN-Plus.
Arizona lost to TCU on Friday a few hours after Santa Clara was defeated 13-6 by host Arkansas. Now, the Wildcats will return to Baum-Walker Stadium about 15 hours after the game with the Horned Frogs ended.
“They are going to come out and play hard,” Hale said of the Wildcats. “I think it is good that we get to play (in less than 24 hours). As bad as we played tonight, I’d hate to sit. But it’s tough to play at 8 p.m. (Arkansas time) at night. It stinks. So to get back out there and play right away will be good for them.”
TCU (38-22) will play Arkansas (42-16) at 6 p.m. in a semifinal game.
The Santa Clara-Arizona winner faces the TCU-Arkansas loser on Sunday at noon in the elimination-bracket final.
Arizona slugged three home runs but it was not enough to keep up with TCU’s run production in Friday’s loss.
First baseman Kiko Romero, a CDO graduate, crushed a pair of home runs, one in the first inning and another in the eighth, to break the Arizona single-season RBI record. His 89 RBIs surpass the 86 that Ron Hassey produced in 1974.
Romero also has 21 home runs this season, tying Chase Davis for the team lead. Romero and Davis are only the second pair of Arizona teammates with at least 20 home runs in a season. George Arias (23 home runs) and Jason Thompson (20) were the first pair to achieve the feat in 1993.
“I mean the first at bat I just kind of was trying to get something up,” Romero said of his first-inning home run that gave Arizona the early lead. “It was a good little slider that got up and I just made a good swing down on timing there.”
His second home run was a moon shot that reached the roof of a building adjacent to the right field fence.
“Got my foot down early and did it,” Romero said.
Freshman second baseman Mason White, a Salpointe grad, also hit a home run, smacking a solo shot in the fourth inning for his ninth home run of the season.
“When you face a potent lineup like Arizona (96 home runs, second in school history to the 115 hit by 1993 team), they’re going to run into some baseballs,” TCU coach Kirk Saarloos said. “It’s how you respond to those situations that ends up if you win or lose.
“There was definitely some baseballs hit hard, but I thought our guys didn’t blink. They kept attacking and executing pitches to give themselves a chance.”
Chip Hale was not prepared to name a starting pitcher yet, but it will be either LHP Bradon Zastrow (6-5, 5.28) or RHP Aiden May (5-2, 6.50).
Santa Clara will probably go with RHP Jared Feikes (6-1, 5.05). Feikes allowed 2 ER in 7.1 innings in his last start in the WCC tourney.
— Brian Pedersen (@realBJP) June 3, 2023
Left-handers Jackson Kent and Eric Orloff, along with right-hander Dawson Netz, contributed quality relief after starter Cam Walty lasted only one-plus innings allowing eight hits and six runs.
Kent, Orloff and Netz combined to hold the Horned Frogs without an earned run across five innings of work while striking out three.
TCU had a scouting advantage on Walty, a right-hander who pitched at Nevada last season under coach TJ Bruce, who is now the Horned Frogs’ associate head coach.
“Obviously, we thought that we would come out and Cam has been throwing the ball so well,” Hale said. “We scored two runs in the top of the first (on Romero’s home run) and then you go down. And they kept battling, it was just a matter of TCU being ready and they swung the bats extremely well.”
ARIZONA RECORD WATCH
INDIVIDUALS
CAREER
HOME RUNS
1 Shelley Duncan, 55 (1999-2001)
2 Brad Glenn, 43 (2006-09)
3 Chase Davis, 39 (2021-23)
4 Kenny Corley, 36 (1995-98)
5 Nick Quintana, 35 (2017-19)
HIT BY PITCH
1 Colt Sedbrook, 55 (2006-08)
2 Jett Bandy, 54 (2009-11)
3 Brad Glenn, 42 (2006-09)
4 Donta’ Williams, 40 (2018-21)
5 Jason Donald, 39 (2004-06)
6 Kenny Corley, 32 (1995-98)
7 Nik McClaughry, 30 (2021-23)
7 Joey Rickard, 30 (2010-12)
7 Ryan Haug, 30 (2016-18)
SEASON
HOME RUNS
1 Shelley Duncan, 24 (2001)
2 George Arias, 23 (1993)
3 Chase Davis, 21 (2023)
3 Kiko Romero 21 (2023)
5 Jason Thompson, 20 (1993)
5 Shelley Duncan, 20 (1999)
5 C.J. Ziegler, 20 (2008)
RBIs
1 Kiko Romero, 89 (2023)
2 Ron Hassey, 86 (1974)
3 Ron Hassey, 84 (1976)
3 Terry Francona, 84 (1980)
5 Terry Francona, 81 (1979)
5 Alan Zinter, 81 (1989)
EXTRA-BASE HITS
1 Trevor Crowe, 49 (2005)
2 Todd Trafton, 44 (1986)
3 Kiko Romero, 42 (2023)
4 Jacob Berry, 41 (2021)
4 Kevin Long, 41 (1989)
6 Chase Davis, 40 (2023)
6 Cameron Cannon, 40 (2019)
6 JJ Matijevic, 40 (2017)
6 Dave Stegman, 40 (1976)
6 Les Pearsey, 40 (1978)
6 Willie Morales, 40 (1993)
6 Nick Hundley, 40 (2005)
TOTAL BASES
1 Trevor Crowe, 188 (2005)
2 George Arias, 173 (1993)
2 Jason Thompson, 173 (1993)
4 Kiko Romero, 168 (2023)
4 Dave Stegman, 168 (1976)
6 Jacob Berry, 167 (2021)
7 Todd Trafton, 166 (1985)
8 Chase Davis, 164 (2023)
8 Terry Francona, 164 (1980)
8 Todd Trafton, 164 (1986)
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
1 Dennis Haines, .765 (1974)
2 Lloyd Jenney, .758 (1952)
3 Chase Davis, .756 (2023)
4 Alan Hall, .754 (1960)
5 Les Pearsey, .735 (1978)
6 Kiko Romero, .734 (2023)
6 Ken Bolek, .734 (1974)
8 Jason Hendricks, .718 (1998)
9 Dillon Baird, .716 (2009)
10 Trevor Crowe, .715 (2005)
TEAM
SEASON
DOUBLES
177 (1986)
158 (1993)
154 (2019)
153 (2005)
150 (2023)
HOME RUNS
115 (1993)
96 (2023)
87 (1998)
78 (2000)
77 (2008)
HIT BY PITCH
96 (2006)
90 (2021)
90 (2007)
80 (2011)
79 (2023)
STRIKEOUTS
574 (2022)
501 (2021)
485 (2016)
454 (2023)
438 (2019)
SACRIFICE FLIES
49 (1986)
42 (2012)
39 (1985)
39 (2007)
38 (2023)
38 (2021)
38 (2003)
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
.592 (1993)
.575 (1998)
.562 (1974)
.551 (2023)
.536 (1986)
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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