Arizona baseball falls at Stanford, locking up Pac-12 title for Cardinal

Two seasons ago, a series win in its final road series of the season helped lock up a Pac-12 title for Arizona. On Saturday, the Wildcats helped crown Stanford as repeat champions.

The UA lost 9-2 to the Cardinal in Palo Alto,Calif., giving the Cardinal at least a share of the regular season title with four games to go. Meanwhile, the Wildcats now are on the outside of the projected field for the Pac-12 Tournament.

Combined with Cal’s win over Washington State, Arizona (26-22, 9-17) has fallen to 10th place. The UA is a game behind Cal, whom it has the tiebreaker over, and a half-game behind WSU.

Unlike every other conference road game this season, Arizona never led after the Cardinal (34-13, 21-6) went up 2-0 in the first on a 2-run home run. It was the first of four 2-run homers for Stanford, two allowed by UA starter Bradon Zastrow and two by TJ Nichols in the seventh inning.

Arizona’s scoring came on a pair of solo homers, one by Mason White in the fifth and the other by Cameron LaLiberte in the eighth. It was the first career homer for LaLiberte and the first this season by a Wildcats catcher.

Righty Aiden May will start for Arizona in Sunday’s series finale. The Wildcats are 2-14 on the road this season, 1-13 in Pac-12 play.