For two innings on Sunday, Luc Fladda looked great. He retired all six batters he faced, striking out three, and looked in line for a solid outing.
Then came the top of the 3rd
, when a loss in command combined with the hot, windy conditions at Hi Corbett Field led to him giving up four runs. That would be it for him in that game, but it also set the stage for a chance at redemption a few days later.On short rest, Fladda had arguably his best outing of the season in Arizona’s 6-0 win over BYU on Thursday
night to open a critical Big 12 series. The senior left-hander struck out a career-high 11 batters over 6.2 innings, scattering six hits and walking none for the sixth time in 10 starts.
“My changeup was really working for me,” said Fladda, who improved to 3-1. “They couldn’t see it, couldn’t hit it, so it was perfect.”
With the series against BYU starting a day earlier than normal, UA coach Chip Hale and pitching coach Sean Kenny decided to adjust the starting rotation to keep right-handers Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey on their regular rest for Friday and Saturday, respectively. Hale said he was hoping for maybe five innings from Fladda, who had thrown 53 pitches on Sunday, but he ended up getting to 101 before coming out with two outs in the 7th.
“I think he got better and better as he went on,” Hale said. “They were kind of on him early, and he made some adjustments.”
Fladda said he was used to pitching twice in a week from his time at Tulane, when he would occasionally start on a Tuesday and come on in relief over the weekend. Since he knew when he exited Sunday’s start that this was the plan he had a head start on getting prepared for Thursday.
Ranked third in Division I in walks allowed per nine innings (0.9) entering the game, Fladda lowered that number and has issued just five free passes in 56.2 IP. The 11 strikeouts were two better than his previous best and the product of his approach to make hitters “play offensive defensively” by throwing strikes.
“If I’m getting ahead, they’ve got to take defensive swings, and not try and hit the ball over the fence like if I was down 2-0,” he said. “They’re going to make defensive swings, and that helps me out a lot.”
At the plate, Arizona recorded 10 hits with all nine starters reaching base at least once. TJ Adams and Beau Sylvester each drove in two runs, both on 2-out hits.
Sylvester was 2 for 4, raising his average to .327 for the season and .400 in Big 12 play. The transfer from Oklahoma State has become the primary catcher and has an 11-game hitting streak, best by a Wildcat this season.
“Honestly, it sounds cliche, it’s just like taking it pitch to pitch, at bat to at bat,” said Sylvester, who is listed as a senior but has earned a medical redshirt for an injury-shortened 2024 season and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Thursday’s win temporarily moves Arizona ahead of Texas Tech for 12th place in the Big 12 standings, important because only the top 12 schools make next month’s conference tournament. The Wildcats also have their two best starters yet to go, with Kramkowski coming off a strong 7.1-inning performance and Bailey earning Big 12 and NCWBA Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out 15 against Kansas State.
“Everything looks great on paper, but they’ve got to go out there and pitch well,” Hale said. “I mean, this (BYU) team is a way better hitting team than they hit tonight. Part of that was Fladda, part of it was probably getting used to our lights and used our ballpark and all these things when you go on the road. So we’re gonna have to be ready for them. They’re gonna come back with a vengeance tomorrow, so we gotta be ready.”
