OMAHA, Neb. – Buoyed by a three-run first inning, Arizona opened its 17th College World Series appearance with a convincing 5-1 victory over third-seeded Miami before a crowd of 25,715 at TD Ameritrade Park on Saturday.
Arizona (45-21) capitalized on a shaky start from left-hander Michael Mediavilla, who found himself in a two-out bases-loaded jam after walking one and hitting a pair of Wildcats. Mediavilla then walked Kyle Lewis, bringing home Cody Ramer who drew a walk to open the game. Jared Oliva added a two-run single to plate Zach Gibbons and J.J. Matijevic, who were each hit by pitches.
The cats grabbed a 3-0 lead before taking the field for defense.
"It was huge," coach Jay Johnson said of Oliva's hit. "We try to stay a pitch at a time, an inning at a time. And the reality of it is it's a little bit easier to do that when you're playing with a lead. And we've been fortunate in four of the last five games against 45-whatever-win teams that we've been out in front, 2-0, 3-0, and that's a credit to our players being prepared to play from the first pitch."
The early run support was more than enough for Nathan Bannister and Cameron Ming, who combined for 14 strikeouts and limited the Hurricanes to one run on nine hits. Bannister tied his career high with 11 strikeouts over seven innings, improving his record to 12-2 on the season.
"When the offense, before I even throw, puts up three, that's a good cushion to work with, especially in this park and with the defense I have behind me," Bannister said. "Just letting them make the plays behind me; that was a smooth transition."
Miami (50-13) pushed across its only run of the game on Christopher Barr's single in the fourth inning, briefly making it a two-run game.
That margin was brief as the Wildcats quickly answered with two more runs. Louis Boyd doubled and Ramer singled, putting runners at the corners. Gibbons, who was 2-for-3, delivered a two-run double into the right field corner before being thrown out at third trying to stretch out a triple.
Bannister thwarted a handful of threats throughout the contest by holding Miami to a 2-for-9 clip with runners in scoring position. But they key for him and Ming was allowing only one leadoff runner to reach over the nine frames.
Ming took over in the eighth inning and tossed two scoreless innings. Outside of an eighth inning single, the lefty reliever cruised and ended the game with a clean ninth inning punctuated by his third strikeout.
Miami was held to a single run for only the third time this season, while Arizona limited its foe to a run or less for the third time in the last four games.
"(Bannister was) making pitches and throwing a lot of strikes and hitting spots," Miami star Willie Abreu said. "Whenever a pitcher does that, they'll be successful. All his pitches were getting around for strikes, and he continued to pound the zone, so he did well."
Arizona advances to winner bracket action against Oklahoma State, which defeated UC Santa Barbara 1-0 earlier today, on Monday, June 20. First pitch will be scheduled for 6 p.m. (CDT) and the Wildcats will be the home team.
"Well, and this is the honest truth, I haven't thought one second about Oklahoma State," Johnson said after the game. "And I love the schedule of the College World Series as opposed to the Regional round. We're going to have a sandwich, have a Diet Coke, and I'm going to think a lot about the orange and black Cowboys over the next 36 hours."
