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Arizona baseball walks off to complete comeback vs. USC, claim Pac-12 tournament title

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•05/25/24
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Jun 30, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; Arizona Wildcats bench celebrates during the sixth inning against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in game three of the College World Series championship series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

It is official. the Arizona Wildcats are kings of the Pac-12 with Saturday night tournament win. With the conference essentially disbanded and down to two members, the Wildcats now claim the final tournament champion title after defeating the USC Trojans 4-3 in thrilling walk-off fashion.

The matchup between the No. 4 seed and No. 1 seed in this year’s tourney was a low-scoring defensive battle affair. USC was first on the board after a double by Ryan Jackson gave them the 1-0 lead. The Trojans would extend that lead in the next inning, the top of the fourth, with a triple by Bryce Grudzielanek to bring in a runner. That score was followed by a double from Brayden Dowd to bring in Grudzielanek on the next at-bat, expanding USC’s lead to 3-0.

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Trojans pitcher Xavier Martinez was working on a shutout bid until the bottom of the seventh inning when Arizona got on the board courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Blake McDonald. That sacrifice fly woke up something in the Arizona dugout because, up to that point, the team only had one hit to their name. In the eighth inning, the Wildcats scored two more runs with an RBI single from Brendan Summerhill, followed by a sacrifice flyout by Garen Caulfield.

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Momentum in Arizona started off the inning with a single by McDonald. Corona was brought in to pinch hit for the Wildcats infielder and would steal second base, putting himself in scoring position. That would be all Arizona needed as two batters later, first baseman Tommy Splanie would single to left field, allowing Corona to score from second and ending the game in a walk-off victory for the Wildcats.

Arizona finishes 2024 as the Pac-12’s regular season and tournament champions, with both championships coming off walk-off victories. Up next for the Wildcats is selection day, when they will find out whether or not they will be one of the host teams in the 2024 college baseball championship tournament.