As Chip Hale inquired with the home plate umpire about challenging an out call at first base that ended the bottom of the 8^th inning, Clark Candiotti didn’t wait to see if a review would happen or not. Nor did he check with pitching coach Kevin Vance about how short his leash might be.

He was on the mound within seconds of that play at first, getting ready to throw his final set of warmup pitches for what would be his second complete game of the season.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Candiotti said. “I just went out there and treated it like the first inning.”

The senior right-hander limited Stanford to five singles in a 5-0 win on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. Two of those hits came in the top of the 9^th, but after Arizona had scored two insurance runs in the bottom of the 8^th Candiotti was allowed to match his career high with 119 pitches.

“His last hitter was the pop-up before the last hitter, but then when he got to two outs we gave him one more hitter,” said UA coach Chip Hale, who recorded his 100^th win at his alma mater.

Candiotti (5-2) struck out seven and got nine ground ball outs, both of which were the result of his gameplan.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting ahead of hitters and just attacking, try to get them out in four pitches or less and let the defense do their work,” he said.

Of Stanford’s 31 plate appearances, 20 started 0-1 or the ball was put in play, and 17 of the batters Candiotti retired saw four or fewer pitches. He’s the first UA pitcher with multiple complete games in a season since Garrett Irvin in 2021, and the first two do so twice in Pac-12 play since Cameron Ming in 2017.

“Clark controlled the game,” Hale said. “Obviously he was missing barrels.”

Arizona (28-17, 16-7 Pac-12) had allowed 40 runs in the previous three games yet its ERA in the league is 3.45. The Wildcats have multiple shutouts in conference play for the first time since 2016, and combined with losses by Oregon State and Utah (twice) on Saturday have a 2-game lead in the loss column on those teams and Oregon with seven remaining.

As impressive as Candiotti was, Arizona’s approach at the plate was also on point. Despite facing a lefty, which has been the team’s nemesis this season, the Wildcats made Stanford freshman Christian Lim throw 110 pitches in five innings after Friday starter Matt Scott didn’t get out of the 5^th.

“I think we’ve just had a really good gameplan coming in,” said Garen Caulfield, who was 3 for 5 and was a home run short of the cycle.

Caulfield has batted third the last two games, moving behind Mason White. Hale said the move was partly due to the absence of Adonys Guzman, who had been batting cleanup but missed a second straight game—he’s expected to start Sunday’s finale—after taking a ball off the arm in practice.

The move could become permanent if Caulfield continues to produce. He is 5 for 9 with three RBI and five runs scored in the No. 3 hole.

“We know Garen’s a guy in this league that’s got a reputation, so if you don’t throw strikes to Mason you’re going to have to face Garen with guys on base,” Hale said.

Arizona scored twice in the bottom of the 1^st and added another in the 3^rd but then went cold in the middle innings before manufacturing offense in the 8^th for the second night in a row. On Friday it was a safety squeeze bunt to create a 4-run lead, this time it a sac bunt, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly all contributed to adding two runs.

“It depends on where we are in the order, who we have on the bases, who we have at the plate,” Hale said. “When we get the personnel in the right spots we can do a bunch of things.”

Arizona can go for its fifth sweep in the last six weekends Sunday at 12 p.m. PT, with righty Cam Walty (6-1, 2.64) on the mound.