Arizona Baseball: Arizona struggling after being swept by Washington State

In 2008, the Arizona Wildcats spent time at the top of the rankings. They had 11 players drafted by Major League Baseball (a school record), including 2 first round selections (Daniel Schlereth, Ryan Perry). With a 42-19 record, the baseball team made it to Coral Gables, FL in the Super Regional - falling to the Miami Hurricanes in 3 games.

In 2009, the University of Arizona baseball team is in last place in the Pac-10. Their 16-19 record does not exactly elicit memories of Terry Francona or Jerry Kindall - or the three national championship banners hanging on the outfield wall at Jerry Kindall Field (1976, 1980, and 1986). Most recently, the Wildcats were swept by Washington State, losing three games by one single run. Cody Bartlett doubled in Garry Kuykendall with the winning run for Washington State with one out in the 11 th during Sunday’s game. Matt Veltman (2-5) took the loss for UA, allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings. Starter Kyle Simon went five innings and gave up four runs, three of which were unearned. Dillon Baird was 2 for 5 for Arizona and hit his fifth homer of the year to go with a stolen base. Jett Bandy and Kyle Stiner also had two hits, while Hunter Pace stole three bases.

The weekend provided a microcosm on the season for the Wildcats. After dropping the first two games of its series against Washington State (18-16, 8-4 Pacific 10 Conference) by one run each, the Wildcats - who committed six errors in the series - saw normally reliable closer Jason Stoffel blow a save on Sunday that would have allowed the team to salvage a much-needed conference win. Even when things look good, something derails them.

Chalking up the struggles as them being a “young team” is not fair, either. Granted, there are only four seniors on the team, but Arizona was given an incredibly favorable schedule compared to last year’s, playing 35 of its 55 regular season games at the friendly confines of Jerry Kindall Field. With a mostly veteran infield, this team was supposed to be a lot better defensively than last year, giving the pitchers more confidence knowing they have a consistent defense to back them up. They’ve made 59 errors in 35 games - almost two free outs for the opponent each day. Arizona has made 18 more errors than its opposition.

Not everything is doom and gloom, though. Arizona’s roster is made up of 37% freshmen, with eight of its eleven pitchers a freshman/sophomore. The team’s leading hitter - Dillon Baird - is a junior and five of the team’s nine leading hitters are freshman/sophomore. Arizona should field a more established team in coming years - ready to make a serious run at Omaha. They are also led by Andy Lopez, who has the distinction of taking four programs to the College World Series (including the 2004 Arizona Wildcats).

Arizona has 20 games left, including 14 in the Pac-10. For any realistic hope of competing in the Regionals, they must have a strong finish - probably 15-5 and a winning record in the Pac-10 (a 12-2 finish in the Pac-10). It is hard to see even that finish pushing Arizona into the NCAA field. UA will visit Gonzaga in Spokane, WA, for a non-conference game Monday.

Following Sweep by Wash St., Arizona Baseball a Complete Mess