With a team ERA of 5.87, Arizona has one of the worst pitching staffs in the NCAA Tournament field. But over the last eight games, including the run to the Pac-12 final, the Wildcats have allowed four or fewer earned runs six times.
That includes holding regular-season conference champ Stanford, which had scored at least six runs in 17 straight games, to four in a mercy-rule victory in the Pac-12 semifinals. Since that ridiculous 21-20 win over the Cardinal on May 14, which started the late push to the postseason, Arizona’s pitchers have been holding up their end of the bargain more than at any point since the first few weeks of the season.