Arizona dropped all three games to Arizona State this weekend on the diamond by a score of 4-1 on Friday, 7-3 on Saturday, and 23-9 on Sunday. The Cats are 0-3 in conference play and 11-10 overall.
Arizona jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Sunday and then again jumped out to a 4-3 lead, only to succumb to the Sun Devils powerful offense, which put up 23 runs. Arizona continues to struggle with its starters and quality starts are few and far between. Bryce Bandilla had an awful outing, not recording one out. He gave up three earned runs on one hit and two walks. Not one out. That's no way to start a game. By the bottom of the third inning, the Cats were down 11-4 and the onslaught was on. Arizona relievers Kyle Simon and Donn Roach were both lit up for 5 earned runs.
Arizona started off the Pac-10 conference play going 0-3 against the Sun Devils. This is not the way to get going. Sunday's performance showed a lot more about this team, and not in a good way. The Cats must step up and get things going against UCLA, traveling to California for a three game series. I'm not worried yet, as the Sun Devils have a terrific squad that will probably be on top of the Pac-10 standings at the end of the season, but the Cats must get some momentum.
Next up: UCLA three game series in California. First game, Friday, March 27, 2009.