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The Wildcats now have a chance to win the last Pac-12 sporting event of any kind.

Behind Clark Candiotti’s pitching and the Cats’ slugging sophomores, No. 1 seed ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ defeated No. 8 seed Stanford 6-3 in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday night at Scottsdale Stadium.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ will face No. 4 seed USC in Saturday night’s championship game — a matchup of programs that have combined to win 16 College World Series titles. The Trojans defeated No. 6 seed Cal 7-4 earlier Friday.

“An old 6-Pac battle for the ages,� UA coach Chip Hale said, referencing the Pac-10 South Division in which he played.

“Being in the last PAC 12 championship as of right now — who knows what's gonna happen in four, five, six years — it's important,� Hale added. “We want to win it.�

The Wildcats reached the tournament championship game for the second year in a row. They lost last year’s title tilt to Oregon 5-4.

“We've put on the Pac-12 Champs gear. We won the regular season. That's something we wanted. That's ours. We gotta go be the undisputed champs,� said sophomore center fielder Brendan Summerhill, whose three-run homer in the third inning gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. “There’s no ‘let off the gas’ tomorrow. I don't care if we’re in the (NCAA) tournament, not in the tournament, we want to win.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ took two of three from USC to open conference play. The Wildcats will close against a Trojans team that has won nine in a row and, like Stanford, needs to win the Pac-12 Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

“They're scrappy,� Summerhill said. “They're gonna hang around every game. They're not gonna go away. You feel like you're pulling away, then they'll score two and you're like, ‘Dang.’ So we're gonna have to bring our A-game tomorrow. We're gonna have to play our best.�

Because of a variety of factors, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ entered Friday’s game without having used its two most effective pitchers — Candiotti and Cam Walty. Candiotti stymied Stanford for the second time this season, limiting the Cardinal to one run in seven innings. He allowed four hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts, one off his season high.

Three weeks earlier, Candiotti threw a complete-game shutout against Stanford. This time, he shined in his hometown.

“It means a lot,� said Candiotti, who improved to 7-3. “Hometown Scottsdale, putting on a good show. But most importantly, playing for my team behind me and moving on to the championship. That’s what really matters.�

Candiotti had stressful innings in the first and seventh. In between, he retired 16 consecutive Cardinal batters.

After a pair of strikeouts to open the game, Stanford loaded the bases via a single, a double and a hit-by-pitch. Candiotti stifled the potential rally by getting Ethan Hott to fly out to left.

The Cardinal didn’t manage another baserunner until Candiotti hit Malcom Moore with a pitch leading of the seventh.

“Sometimes that's the way it is with your big star pitchers, good pitchers in the big leagues even,� Hale said. “If you don't get them early, watch out. They get hot. They get going. He got rolling.�

Moore came around to score in the seventh, making the score 6-1, and Stanford had runners on first and third with one out. Candiotti ended the threat by striking out Brandon Larson and Jake Sapien.

“It seems like every time he goes out we're gonna have zero runs into the sixth,� Summerhill said. “That's a recipe to win every time.�

Just in case, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ scored a run in the fourth inning and two in the sixth. Summerhill’s classmate, Maddox Mihalakis, was involved in all three.

Mihalakis led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Blake McDonald’s groundout. In the sixth, Mihalakis doubled in Mason White (also a sophomore) and scored on McDonald’s safety squeeze.

Sophomore Casey Hintz relieved Candiotti in the eighth inning and allowed a run to make it 6-2. Stanford scored another in the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs.

Cort MacDonald hit a routine grounder to shortstop White, who was supposed to throw to first because second baseman Garen Caulfield was playing the left-handed-hitting MacDonald to pull. But White decided to shovel the ball to Caulfield, who barely beat Owen Cobb to the bag. The call went to replay and was confirmed.

“I'm living my 60th year. I'm 59 years old,� Hale said. “It's not good for the heart.�

Welcome to postseason college baseball.

“I told them today: We’re in the playoffs now,� Hale said. “You can't take any days off, you can’t take any pitches off, you can't take any outs off.�

Inside pitch

• Candiotti and Hintz combined for 13 strikeouts and one walk. The staff has 33 strikeouts and five walks in the tournament.

• Friday’s game was the last live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks. Play-by-play announcer Roxy Bernstein, a Pac-12 Networks original, . He will call the championship game on ESPNU.