ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

So, how does he calm himself down enough to throw strikes and retire batters?

“It’s just breathing, really,� the junior right-hander said. “If you can just slow down, take a couple deep breaths, you’d be surprised how calm you can get even in situations like that.�

Pluta has proved he can focus, compartmentalize and execute as well as any reliever in the country.

Pluta leads the Big 12 and is tied for sixth nationally with 10 saves. That total equals the fourth most in a single season in UA program history. Jason Stoffel holds the record with 13 in 2008. Stoffel had 11 in ‘09, as did Mark Melancon in ‘05.

Pluta also leads the Wildcats in ERA (1.93) and WHIP (0.81).

“More than anything, it’s just his poise,� said UA coach Chip Hale, whose 24th-ranked team hosts TCU Friday through Sunday. “He does not get shaken. He had the bad game at Grand Canyon, came back the next time and closed out games for us. He’s just such a smart guy, and he understands what makes him good.�

Fellow right-hander Casey Hintz, who has played with Pluta since eighth grade, credited the consistency of his teammate’s day-to-day approach. That routine was thrown out of whack on April 1 when Arizona visited GCU.

Pluta, who’s majoring in aerospace engineering, had an exam and couldn’t ride on the team bus. He drove up with assistant equipment manager Frankie Manca, but they were delayed because of an accident on I-10. Pluta arrived in the second inning. He was called upon in the eighth and allowed four runs in one-third of an inning.

“It was tough,� Pluta said. “We were in the car for four hours. So I was a little tight. But I was still able to get my normal warmup in; it was during the game, so it wasn’t ‘normal,’ but I was ready to go. I just kind of fumbled it there. That happens.�

If you exclude that outing, Pluta’s numbers become microscopic: His ERA would be 0.39, and his WHIP would be 0.61. He has allowed only one run in his other 19 appearances.

Pluta added an upper-80s cutter this year to his low-90s fastball and 12-to-6 curveball. He also comes at hitters from an unusual angle. Pluta is listed at 5-foot-9, on the short side for pitchers in the modern era.

Only two pitchers in MLB history listed at 5-9 or shorter have more than 50 career saves: Roy Face (191) and Tom Gordon (158).

“My whole career, everybody has doubted me to some extent,� Pluta said. “But I’ve been able to prove myself, and this coaching staff has shown a lot of trust in me, even with my size. I couldn’t be more grateful for this staff and the opportunities.�

Summerhill update

Star junior Brendan Summerhill suffered a Grade 1 upper-hamstring strain on Saturday at Texas Tech, Hale said. Grade 1 is the mildest version of that type of injury.

Summerhill, who got hurt in his second game back after missing a month because of a broken hand, took batting practice before Tuesday’s game vs. New Mexico State. Although he’s pushing to play this weekend, it’s more likely that Summerhill will be held out with a goal of getting to 100% for next week’s series vs. Utah or the final regular-season series at Houston.

“Obviously it would be great to put him in there and let him hit or pinch-hit,� Hale said. “But we can’t take a chance that he blows it up worse and then he can’t play in the conference tournament, at Houston, wherever it is or whenever it is.

“He seems to think he’s going to play this weekend, but he’s going to have to prove it. He’s going to have to be able to run. Whether it’s DH or pinch-hitting, you know what happens when a guy hits a groundball — he’s going to run as hard as he can. And then it’s gonna go bad. So we’ll make sure it’s 100%.�

The Wildcats struggled to overcome Summerhill’s injury. They were leading 3-2 in the series opener when he pulled up running to first base. They were outscored 20-5 the rest of the series, losing two of three games.

“You could visibly see guys frustrated, coaches, myself included,� Hale said. “You know how important he is to our lineup. (By Monday) guys had calmed down again and understood that, hey, we’re going to have to win games without him. And when he comes back, it’s just going to be a bigger boost.�

Summerhill went 3 for 6 with a home run and four RBIs in his two appearances last week. He leads the team in all three triple-slash categories (.414/.508/.697).

Rotation change

Arizona is rearranging its starting rotation this weekend.

Sophomore Owen Kramkowski is moving from Saturday to Friday after notching his team-high seventh victory at Texas Tech. The Walden Grove High School product has three quality starts in his past four outings and ranks 12th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.63-1).

“He’s earned it,� Hale said. “You want your Friday-night guy to be able to log the most innings, and he’s done that and won big games for us. So hopefully he sets the tone.�

McKinney, who has started every weekend opener, will move to Saturday. McKinney’s 3.02 ERA ranks sixth in the Big 12, but he has struggled to go deep into games. Among the top 24 qualifiers , McKinney has the most combined walks and hit batsmen (39).

Hale said McKinney had a neck issue that flared up in Lubbock and might have affected him; he lasted just 2⅔ innings, walking four batters and hitting one. McKinney had an “outstanding� bullpen session this week, Hale said.

Inside pitch

– West Virginia leads the Big 12 at 16-3. TCU is tied for third with ASU at 14-7. The Wildcats (13-8) took two of three from the Mountaineers and Sun Devils on the road, but Hale said ASU is the best Big 12 team he’s seen so far. “I can talk to you more about it next week after playing TCU in person, but I think ASU is as talented as anybody in this league,� Hale said. “Even above West Virginia.�

– Pluta on the TCU series: “They are a great team. I think we’re better than everyone in this conference. If we can take this series, it’s gonna put us in a really good spot for the tournament. So it is paramount. This is the biggest series of the year. So we gotta be ready to go.�

– Pluta on former UA pitching coach Dave Lawn, who’s on the staff at TCU: “He was a fantastic coach. Some things we worked on just didn’t work out, but he was one of the most inspirational coaches around. He would always be the one to bring you up, not put you down. He’s just one of those guys that’s made to be a coach. He’s awesome.�

– Right-hander Smith Bailey (1-2, 4.26) will follow Kramkowski and McKinney. TCU righty Tommy LaPour (7-2, 2.14) is set to square off against Kramkowski. LaPour, a sophomore transfer from Wichita State, leads the Big 12 in ERA and ranks third in WHIP (1.00; minimum 43 innings).

– Another pitching change for Arizona: Senior right-hander Raul Garayzar, who has started multiple midweek games, is moving into a weekend role. Garayzar, who pitched on Wednesday and Sunday last week, will be used as a multi-inning reliever. The Rio Rico High School product is second on the team with a 2.88 ERA.

– Arizona dropped out of the top 16 in the latest NCAA Tournament projections. Both and have the Wildcats as a 2-seed. D1 one has them going to the Irvine Regional hosted by No. 8 overall seed UC Irvine. BA has Arizona in the Auburn Regional hosted by No. 5 overall seed Auburn.

– Longtime student manager and bullpen catcher Grant Flesher has left the team to join the police force in Mansfield, Texas. “Grant’s an unbelievable kid, could do anything, whether it’s real estate, business,� Hale said. “He’s really into this, and I’m excited to see how it goes.�