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Unlike the past three seasons, in which the Wildcats slugged their way to postseason berths, this UA squad has relied on pitching while its relatively youthful lineup endures ups and downs.

DeMello, Arizona’s hitting instructor, is tasked with guiding the players along that bumpy path. They’ve worked together to find a successful approach.

What makes that task especially challenging: Every hitter is different. Every situation is different. Some players have been in college for several years; some just got here. Some struggle to make contact at times; others make too much contact and get themselves out.

How does DeMello sort it all out?

“It’s just dependent on the player,� DeMello said this week before No. 17 Arizona hit the road for a three-game weekend series at Utah pitting the Pac-12’s first- and second-place teams.

“The biggest thing is trying to create really good relationships with guys in the fall. And then figure out what they need, what they like and then go from there. … It really just varies case to case.�

Despite a handful of injuries necessitating changes to the batting order, Arizona’s offense has stabilized after a rocky start. The Wildcats rank in the middle of the Pac-12 in several key offensive categories, but they’ve been more consistent of late. Arizona has scored four or fewer runs 13 times. It’s happened only three times since March.

The Wildcats also have struck out 10-plus times on 13 occasions — but only three times since the calendar flipped to April.

The strikeout issue illustrates how tricky DeMello’s job can be.

Arizona endured a horrific stretch from Feb. 23-March 1 during which its hitters struck out 17 or more times in four of five games.

DeMello recalled making two-strike hitting too big a deal for the 2022 club and having that strategy backfire; that team set the UA record for single-season strikeouts.

A change was made the following season.

“We’re not going to make two-strike hitting a thing necessarily,� DeMello said. “We’re going to practice it, but we’re not going to make it bigger than it is. It’s just another count, right?�

The 2023 team struck out 114 fewer times. Arizona went from 9.00 strikeouts per game to 7.80.

This year, with a largely new cast of players (many of whom are underclassmen), the Wildcats hit that rough patch where they couldn’t hit at all with two strikes.

“We hit that stretch and it was hard to not make it a thing because it was a thing,� DeMello said.

He didn’t want to overemphasize it again. But he couldn’t ignore it either. So DeMello went back to what he knows works best: Individualized instruction.

“Really trying to get with each guy,� he said. “How can you become a better two-strike hitter? Do I not need to change? Do I need to swing at better pitches? Do I need to identify what zone I’m looking at? All those types of things.�

Senior right fielder Emilio Corona is one of several players who needed to make adjustments over the course of the season.

Corona hit three home runs in Arizona’s first four games and seemed well on his way to building on last year’s breakout campaign, when he batted .336 with 11 homers.

However, like many of his teammates, Corona’s strikeouts spiked when Arizona visited San Diego and played in the Frisco Baseball Classic. After he went 0 for 5 at Cal on April 5, Corona’s batting average fell to .210.

“That’s one of those challenging ones,� DeMello said. “You don’t want to do too much. Sometimes when you try to quote-unquote fix some stuff, it makes them less confident. So really just trying to cue in on his process and making little changes.

“There was some movement stuff that was happening, affecting his timing and vision. Really tried to get back to what made him good.�

Corona made changes to his stance and his approach. He was pulling off the ball a bit, so now he’s more upright and closed. He also isn’t thinking about hitting the ball over the wall.

“Really just taking what the game gives me,� Corona said. “If it’s a walk one at-bat, take your walk. If it’s a base hit, then take your base hit.�

Corona had an eight-game hitting streak snapped at ASU on Tuesday night. He went 15 for 29 during the streak — 13 singles, one double and one triple — raising his average to .280. It sits at .276 entering the Utah series, which begins Friday morning.

Corona has walked seven times in his past eight games — matching his total from the first 39.

“It’s definitely been a mental grind this year,� Corona said. “Something that has definitely helped me a lot and I think will help me out in the long run: I’ve really learned that baseball is a hard game. You can’t expect to get the job done every single time, and you’ve got to be OK with failure because it’s a game of failure.�

Runnin’ Utes

Arizona (30-17, 17-7 Pac-12) leads Utah (30-16, 15-9) by two games in the race for the regular-season conference crown. They were picked to finish ninth and 10th, respectively, in the preseason coaches poll.

UA coach Chip Hale said he picked Utah and Cal higher than most because they had established players returning.

“The older teams usually win,� Hale said. “That’s just the way it goes. We’ve got some older pitchers that have really come through for us.�

Two of Arizona’s weekend starters, Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty, are seniors. Friday starter Jackson Kent is a redshirt sophomore.

Utah junior Core Jackson (.368) and senior Kai Roberts (.358) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in batting average. Roberts leads the league with 28 stolen bases, while Jackson is second with 17. The Utes lead the conferences with 81 steals — 36 more than any other team.

Arizona has surrendered 32 stolen bases, tied for fifth most in the Pac-12. The Wildcats have thrown out 25.6% of would-be base stealers, a mark that also ranks fifth.

UA catcher Adonys Guzman has one of the strongest arms and fastest pop times in college baseball. He has thrown out 5 of 19 would-be base stealers, including four of the past five who’ve tried to run on him.

But it’s not just on Guzman.

“We have to keep them close,� Hale said. “It’s one of our points of emphasis this week.

“That is a big part of their game. Again, veteran guys who know what they’re doing on the bases. So we need to shut that down.�

Inside pitch

Because they share a stadium with the triple-A Salt Lake Bees, the Utes have to work around the hosts’ schedule. The first two games this weekend are at 11 a.m. local time (10 a.m. in Arizona) and Sunday’s game is at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. here). “I feel like we’re playing ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ in the major leagues,� Hale said. “Maybe we’re getting some guys ready for the future.�

Third baseman Richie Morales (sinus fracture) is on the roster for the Utah series; he last played April 13. Outfielder Easton Breyfogle (hamstring) remains out but is “close� to returning, Hale said.

Redshirt-freshman outfielder TJ Adams, Breyfogle’s replacement in left field, hit his first career home run Tuesday in Phoenix. Adams is from Mesa. “It was awesome,� said Adams, who went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .366. “Growing up there and watching games, just a bunch of people there supporting me, it was nice. It was a dream come true.�

Both and have Arizona as a 2-seed playing at UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA Tournament. D1 has UCSB as the No. 15 national seed. BA projects the Gauchos as the No. 16 seed.

Hale on sophomore outfielder Brendan Summerhill‘s proclamation that he wanted to beat ASU 100-0 Tuesday night: “We talked about it — just how you have to be careful and there’s no reason to give the other team any fodder or bulletin-board stuff. But … I’ve always said that if we need bulletin-board stuff to get our players going, then we’re probably in trouble. We want to play every game like it’s the last game we’re gonna play.�