Arizona Wildcats senior Kyle Lewis just wasn’t playing like himself during the first two games of the USC series last weekend.
Lewis, an underrated and invaluable member of last year’s College World Series runner-up, went hitless in seven at-bats and left four runners on base. In Saturday’s game, Lewis failed to execute a sacrifice bunt, popping the ball up for an out. UA coach Jay Johnson labeled the attempt “a train wreck.”
But Johnson has a special place in his heart for Lewis, not only because he helped the Wildcats reach the CWS finals but because Lewis generally plays the way Johnson did: doing all the little, fundamentally sound things to offset a lack of obvious athletic gifts.
So Johnson spoke with Lewis before Sunday’s finale against the Trojans.
“He’s a special, winning-type player,” Johnson said. “I felt like he was getting away from that a little bit. He knows who he is, obviously, because he got right back to it.”
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Lewis responded with a pair of hits and RBIs on Sunday. In Tuesday’s win over Arizona State, the second baseman was the defensive star of the game. He turned a foul pop-up into a double play and took a hit away with a leaping grab of a line drive.
The conversation with Johnson helped Lewis rediscover his form.
“I’m characterized a little bit as a grinder,” said Lewis, who transferred to Arizona from Sierra College in Rocklin, California, in the summer of 2015. “Those little singles here and there. Making plays on defense. Just doing whatever it takes to win on that day. That’s definitely who I am.”
Lewis filled in at multiple positions last season. Since the return of Louis Boyd last week, Lewis has settled in at second base. He’s batting .292 with a .381 on-base percentage heading into No. 10 Arizona’s three-game series at Washington State that starts Friday.
No one was more fired up than Johnson about the double play Lewis started against ASU. Lewis made a sliding grab in foul ground behind first base and threw out Andrew Shaps at the plate.
“That was awesome,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of him for his play the last two days. He’s been what we needed him to be for our team to be as good as it can be.
“That (play) typified it. Hustle. Bounce up. Awareness. That’s him at his best.”
Cal’s crash course
Cal Stevenson is still adjusting to a higher level of baseball.
The 2015 Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year at Nevada, Stevenson is batting .266 — nearly 100 points lower than his average with the Wolf Pack that year (.359).
But the junior right fielder is contributing in other ways, and his bat is coming around. Stevenson hit a grand slam against the Sun Devils.
“I’ve never hit a grand slam before in my life, so I was pretty excited about that,” Stevenson said. “And it was against ASU, so it was 10 times better.”
Johnson praised Stevenson’s defense — he’s a center fielder by trade and has the best arm among Arizona’s starting outfielders — and his ability to get on base and make pitchers work as the Wildcats’ primary leadoff hitter. Stevenson ranked second in the Pac-12 with 22 walks entering Thursday and has a .405 on-base percentage.
“He plays great defense in the outfield,” Johnson said. “He runs the bases smart and aggressive. He was leading our team in runs scored (currently tied for third) and getting on base at a high level. The batting average may not be where six of the other guys are, but the productivity has been.”
By the numbers
Halfway through the regular season, Arizona has the best offense in the Pac-12, and it isn’t close.
Entering Thursday, the Wildcats ranked first in the league in batting average (.328), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.483), runs (253), hits (323), doubles (70), triples (13), home runs (19), total bases (476) and walks (141). They were fourth nationally in average and third in OBP.
Junior first baseman JJ Matijevic leads the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.658), hits (45), doubles (17) and total bases (77). He’s tied for second nationally in doubles.
Sophomore designated hitter Alfonso Rivas leads the Pac-12 in on-base percentage (.530) and ranks second in batting average (.400).
Junior center fielder Jared Oliva ranks first in RBIs (35) and tied for first in runs (32) with teammate Mitchell Morimoto. Arizona owns the top six spots in the conference in runs scored.
Senior left-hander JC Cloney, who’s slated to start Friday, is tied for first in the nation with six victories. He’s one of four six-win pitchers who doesn’t have a loss.
Inside pitch
- Sophomore right-hander Michael Flynn, who left Sunday’s game because of forearm discomfort, played catch Wednesday and was scheduled to throw a bullpen session before the Washington State series. If all goes well, he’ll be available to pitch.
- Arizona (21-7, 5-4 Pac-12) was second in RPI behind Oregon State entering Thursday. The top-ranked Beavers are 25-1 and have won 20 games in a row. OSU hosts Utah this weekend.
- Arizona is expected to start Cloney and fellow lefties Randy Labaut and Rio Gomez in Pullman. The Cougars (14-12) are just 1-5 in the Pac-12, but they’re 10-1 overall at home. Arizona took 2 of 3 from WSU in Tucson last year.
- Arizona has faced the toughest schedule of any team in college baseball, according to WarrenNolan.com. UA opponents had a .666 winning percentage entering Thursday.
