The final play in Pac-12 history was an walk-off play at the plate that took place well after midnight on the east coast. Arizona baseball defeated USC to clinch the conference’s final automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after failing to get a hit through the first six innings.
It could not have been written any better!
Caden Aoki took the mound for the Trojans on short rest after pitching on Tuesday. He was masterful. The right-handed junior threw six innings of no-hit ball with eight strikeouts and was charged with only one run in the seventh inning.
Unfortunately, it was not enough.
The Wildcats tied the game at three runs each in the eighth and the score carried into the bottom of the ninth. Arizona had two runners on with one out. First baseman Tommy Splaine was at the dish.
He knocked a line drive into left field on a 2-1 count. Senior Emilio Corona got on his horse from second base, rounded third and headed for home.
In that moment, USC left fielder Carson Wells delivered a rope to his catcher. It was going to be close.
The throw was ultimately a little bit too late and a little bit too far off of the plate.
Corona beat the tag. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 Championship on a walk-off double.
As it stands, that was the final play in the final sporting event for a conference that formed more than a century ago. Splaine knocked in Corona, who scored the final point/run in Pac-12 history.
The way in which the final Pac-12 After Dark came to an end was poetic.
A six-inning no-hitter became an instant classic that was decided by a walk-off winner after 12:00 a.m. ET. It does not get much more exciting!