Feb. 25, 2011
LBSU 2, Arizona 1 (Box Score)
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The No. 18 Arizona baseball team dropped its first game of the season on Friday evening, a low-scoring affair that saw host Long Beach State escape with a 2-1 victory despite a ninth-inning rally by the Wildcats at Blair Field.
Arizona (3-1) struggled offensively with runners in scoring position throughout the game, but seemed poised to break through in the top of the ninth inning. After trailing 2-0 heading into their last at bat, freshman Johnny Field delivered an RBI double to the left field corner to put the Wildcats on the board.
Field advanced to third base with no outs on a wild pitch, giving the Wildcats three opportunities to drive home the tying run. But pinch-hitter Bobby Brown went down swinging on strikes, Alex Mejia grounded out to third and Bryce Ortega flew out to shallow centerfield to strand Field at third base, the sixth Wildcat left in scoring position and the eighth left on base overall in the game.
In a game dominated by pitching and defense, it was ultimately a pair of defensive miscues that led to runs, including UA's ninth-inning comeback bid. LBSU third baseman Matt Duffy pulled first baseman Jeff Yamaguchi off the bag to allow Josh Garcia to reach first on a throwing error. Garcia scored on Field's double.
The game-winning run proved to be scored on a balk by UA starter Kurt Heyer. With two outs and runners on the corners, Heyer was called for a balk that allowed the game's second run to score and give LBSU a 2-0 edge.
Earlier in the game, Long Beach State (2-3) scratched across a run in home half of the fourth. Brennan Metzger singled to lead off and later scored on a RBI single by Duffy, marking the first run allowed by Heyer on the year.
Arizona threatened to score several times in the game, including in the second inning when Robert Refsnyder singled to open the frame and advanced to third with just one out. LBSU starter Andrew Gagnon struck out Field and Seth Mejias-Brean to end the threat.
It was a reoccurring theme throughout the game as Gagnon came through with big pitches in big moments. The right-hander struck out seven and walked none as he earned the victory in 7.2 innings of work.
Perhaps the biggest jam Gagnon was able to work out of came in the top of the sixth. Joey Rickard led off with a double and Cole Frenzel was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
But Jett Bandy, after fouling off two bunt attempts, grounded into a double play. His hard chopper was fielded by Duffy, who stepped on the third base bag to force out Rickard before throwing to second to cut down Frenzel. Then, Duffy made another play, snagging a hard grounder hit by Refsnyder to end the inning.
Despite some initial trouble in the ninth, reliever Shawn Stuart displayed the same resiliency. He battled through the error, RBI double and his own wild pitch before settling down to retire three straight Wildcats with a runner at third to earn the save.
Heyer suffered the loss despite giving up just two runs on six hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter in 7.0 innings of work.
Matt Chaffee thwarted a potential Dirtbag threat in the bottom of the eighth to keep the Wildcats within striking distance. After Heyer gave up consecutive singles to open the eighth, Chaffee was able to come on and record three outs, including a strikeout, to keep the score at its 2-0 margin and set up the potential ninth-inning charge.
The game was completed in a brisk two hours and 44 minutes despite some on-again, off-again rain showers. The game was originally scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start, but was instead rescheduled for 3 p.m. in attempt to avoid the heavier rains still forecasted this evening. The series will continue on Saturday with the second game scheduled for 6 p.m.
