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EUGENE, Ore. — Arizona’s pitching staff was struggling.

The Wildcats lost five of six games from May 4-15. The staff had an ERA of 9.52 over that stretch.

Even when Arizona began a five-game winning streak May 16 at Houston, the staff gave up six runs (three earned).

But something happened in Houston that spawned a turnaround. The Wildcats have allowed just one run in each of their past four games.

Junior closer Tony Pluta called it a “mental reset.�

“We just started having a little more fun,� Pluta said after Arizona’s practice Thursday morning at Oregon’s PK Park, where the UA will face Cal Poly in the opener of the NCAA Tournament’s Eugene Regional on Friday afternoon.

“We had a little more fun in the dugout. We had a little more fun on the field pregame. We were just realizing that this time of year, it's time to go. And we were ready.�

Pluta has been a constant. He has surrendered runs in only two of 25 appearances — and hasn’t allowed one since April 1.

Many other members of the staff wavered, then recovered.

Sophomore Owen Kramkowski, who will start vs. Cal Poly, allowed 11 earned runs in starts vs. Utah and Houston before shutting out BYU over six innings in the Big 12 Tournament.

Freshman Smith Bailey, who will start Sunday should Arizona make it that far, allowed at least four runs in three straight starts vs. Texas Tech, TCU and Utah. He yielded just one in each of his next two starts at Houston and against TCU in the Big 12 championship game.

“I think it was just a resurgence in confidence,� second baseman Garen Caulfield said. “Our staff is really good, and they know that. I think just acting confident before seeing the results — before seeing the good results — was huge for them.

“You have to choose to be confident before you do something to make you feel confident. I just saw more confidence, more poise up there. They were attacking the hitters, and it was awesome to play defense behind them in Arlington.�

Garen and Aaron

Caulfield is batting .255, down from .310 last season. He went 2 for 14 in three games in the Big 12 Tournament but had two of Arizona’s top five exit velocities vs. TCU in the title game — possibly a sign that he figured something out.

“It's been a tough year for sure,� Caulfield said. “But I'm just trying to focus on game by game. I think I was 0 for 5 in that championship game, but I hit a couple balls hard and played great defense the whole time. I'm just trying to be the best player for the team right now and just focused on winning games.�

Center fielder Aaron Walton also has slumped recently. He was hitting .357 after going 2 for 3 with two home runs against TCU on May 2. Walton hasn’t hit a homer since, and his average has dropped to .309.

“If Walton and Garen get back to ... some sort of a middle ground, we could be dangerous,� UA coach Chip Hale said.

Both players should feel a sense of urgency this weekend. Walton, a junior, has risen on draft boards amid a strong first season at Arizona. Caulfield is out of eligibility after spending four seasons in Tucson.

Asked what it would mean to make a deep postseason run in his final year, Caulfield said:

“It would mean everything. I’m extremely grateful for putting on the uniform every day, and I will never take that for granted. I'm just excited to continue it this weekend and hopefully the next couple weekends.�

Along came Poly (eventually)

Cal Poly had a hard time getting to Eugene.

Because travel arrangements must be made on short notice during the NCAA Tournament — and not every program has an unlimited budget — teams sometimes have to split up to reach their destination.

Mustangs coach Larry Lee and about half the team arrived Wednesday after flying from San Luis Obispo to Portland. The other half of was supposed to fly from San Francisco to Eugene. But the plane had to be taken out of service. After a delay of about 2½ hours, the flight was canceled around 11 p.m.

The second traveling party had to stay overnight near the San Francisco airport and fly out Thursday morning. That group touched down in Eugene a little after noon — about 25 hours before Friday’s scheduled first pitch. Their practice was pushed back about 4½ hours.

“We travel quite a bit, but it's usually by bus,� Lee said Thursday morning, by which point the second group had gone through security in San Francisco. “We just deal with it. (When) they get here, they’re still going to be here a day before. So it's all good.�

Cal Poly proved adept at overcoming adversity during the Big West Tournament. The Mustangs got run-ruled by UC Irvine, forcing them to win three straight elimination games. They defeated Hawaii 2-1, run-ruled Irvine to force an if-necessary finale, then beat the Anteaters 6-4 after squandering a 4-0 lead.

“What we did this past weekend definitely prepared this team for what lies ahead,� Lee said. “We’ve got some toughness and a lot of resilience. They're battle-tested. They are able to get to the next pitch and the next inning, and they try not to ride the wave of emotions.�

Irvine ended up making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large entrant. Cal Poly might not have if it had lost.

Ballpark factor

The dimensions are not listed on the outfield walls at . The ones that are known are 335 feet down the left field line, 400 to center field and 325 down the right field line.

Those are demonstrably shorter than Arizona’s home park, Hi Corbett Field, and what the Wildcats experienced at Globe Life Field during the Big 12 Tournament.

“Some balls are gonna go out of the ballpark,� Hale said. “In Globe Life, there was probably 10 or so balls that would have gone out in this ballpark that didn't go out there. So just play the game. We have power. Everybody has power in this tournament.�

Some have more power than others, or at least have hit more home runs.

Oregon ranks ninth nationally with 107 homers. Utah Valley is tied for 43rd with 81. Arizona is tied for 133rd with 59. Cal Poly is tied for 157th with 55.

Inside pitch

– UA junior shortstop Mason White has hit safely in all 15 postgame games in which he’s played. “I love the pressure,� White said. “I love the postseason because I feel like when you get (to) these sites with a regional or tournament, it feels like everyone's on the same level. There's no other external factors in play. You're just competing, and I love that.�

– Hale on Cal Poly and its expected starter, right-hander Griffin Naess (7-2, 3.38): “Very West Coast. They're going to bunt when they get the opportunity. They're going to put pressure on you. ... The pitcher is going to throw strikes. He's going to throw fastball, breaking ball, change and heavily relies on his changeup. So we're going to have to get the ball up (in the zone).�

– Hale said Easton Breyfogle will be able to play his usual spot in left field. Breyfogle was limited to DH duty in the Big 12 Tournament after injuring his left (non-throwing) shoulder in the regular-season finale at Houston.

– Hale said right fielder Brendan Summerhill should have no issues with the hamstring injury he suffered late in the season. Summerhill appeared to aggravate it running out a grounder in the Big 12 championship game, but Hale said Summerhill was more frustrated than hurt.

– Lee on former UA left-hander Josh Morano, who has a team-best 2.16 ERA as a reliever for the Mustangs: “Very productive. He continued to grow as the season went on. When we first got him in the fall, he was going through some arm issues from summer ball. He's been one of the key pieces out of the bullpen.�

– Utah Valley’s players wore sleeveless hoodies during their workout at PK Park Thursday afternoon. It was 66 degrees in Eugene, 86 in Orem, Utah, where UVU’s campus is located.

– San Diego State fired head coach Shaun Cole, who was the pitching coach for Arizona’s 2012 national-championship team. listed current UA pitching coach Kevin Vance, a San Diego native, as one of several potential candidates for the job.