Starkville, Miss. – Bobby Dalbec pitched the Arizona Wildcats past Mississippi State in the opening game of the Starkville Super Regional on Friday night, despite a 37-minute delay due to a power outage.
Dalbec tossed 8 2/3 shutout innings, lifting the Cats to a 1-0 win over the Bulldogs.
Dalbec, who was drafted in the earlier in the day by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round, was electric all night, even with the power outage. The junior right-hander, who came into the game with four starts on the season and a team-high 25 appearances, went the deepest in a game he has all season. He retired the first two men in the ninth, before giving up two hits.
Left-hander Cameron Ming then came on to get the final out, striking out leadoff man Jake Mangum to end the game and give the Wildcats a 1-0 win.
“That was a great college baseball game in an unbelievable environment,” coach Jay Johnson said after the win. “I am very proud of our team. (Mississippi State starter) Dakota Hudson, who was a first-round pick last night, did not make things easy. JJ Matijevic put a good swing on a good pitch. Bobby Dalbec had an unbelievable effort. Cameron had the poise to come in with the tying run in scoring position. It was a good win and we are excited about it.”
Dalbec let a man reach in the first and second, two more in the third and fourth, but then turned it up a notch starting in the fifth inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, and then struck out the side in the sixth on just 11 pitches. He again retired the side in order in the sixth, getting a flyout, a groundout and a foul pop out.
All total, Dalbec went 8 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two walks (one intentional) and struck out nine. It was the longest start of the season for the righty. He went 7 2/3 innings three times prior this year.
“Being able to mix speeds on both of my breaking pitches,” Dalbec said as to why he had success Friday. “I didn't give each pitch the same look. If I threw it two times in a row, I wanted to throw it at different speeds. My slider got stronger as the game went on. I was attacking.”
The Cats got Dalbec his run in the sixth thanks to a clutch two-out hit. Alfonso Rivas singled with one out, but was then thrown out at second when Ryan Aguilar reached on a fielder's choice. With two outs and Aguilar on first, JJ Matijevic slugged an opposite-field double to left field to score Aguilar all the way from first and give the Cats a 1-0 lead.
That stood up thanks to Dalbec's 10th win of the season. Ming earned his second straight save to close it out. The sophomore lefty also closed out Arizona's 3-1 Regional Championship win over Louisiana on Monday. On Friday, Ming struck out Mangum on three pitches.
“I knew I had to fill up the zone, make good pitches and keep the ballgame where it was,” Ming said. “I embraced it. I think it is a very run role to have, and I have executed my pitches well.”
The win marked Arizona's first 1-0 postseason win since beating Texas A&M 1-0 in the District 6 playoffs in 1959. It was the team's first postseason shutout since Konner Wade threw a 4-0 shutout against UCLA in the 2012 College World Series.
Arizona will now have a chance to advance to the College World Series on Saturday in Game 2 of the Super Regional. First pitch is set for 3:04 p.m., MST, on ESPNU.
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