Dalbec Brilliant, but Cats Drop 1-0 Decision to Cowboys
06/21/2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – One catch and one run was effectively all Oklahoma State needed to hold off Arizona in a 1-0 decision Monday evening at TD Ameritrade Park. The Cowboys advance into winner's bracket action Friday, awaiting the outcome of an elimination game between the Wildcats and UC Santa Barbara to be played here Wednesday evening.
Donnie Walton's two-strike double to left field opened the top half of the fourth inning and was quickly followed by Garrett Benge's run-scoring single to provide the decisive run.
Right-handers Tyler Buffett and Bobby Dalbec went toe to toe throughout the contest, but it was the former that earned the victory. Buffett improved to 9-3 on the season for eight complete innings of work before he turned the game over to Trey Cobb in the ninth, who earned his sixth save.
Arizona (45-22) had a few scoring chances against the Cowboys, but found itself an inch short on the few occasions it did.
Cody Ramer laced a liner to begin the bottom of the first, but Oklahoma State's Ryan Sluder made a sensational diving catch to rob extra bases in centerfield. Later, two close calls at first base went against the Wildcats.
The defeat overshadowed a brilliant pitching performance by Dalbec, who went eight full innings. He struck out a career-high 12, walked only one and scattered five hits. Still, the lone run in the fourth dropped his record to 10-5 for the season.
If Dalbec had a flaw, it was retiring leadoff batters. The Cowboys put the leadoff runner on base four of the eight frames they faced Dalbec, with Walton's double proving costly.
Oklahoma State (43-20) earned its second consecutive 1-0 victory at the College World Series after opening with a victory against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
The Wildcats and Gauchos now square off Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CST) for a chance at redemption against Oklahoma State on Friday. Arizona, determined by coin flip Monday night, will be the designated home team for the elimination contest.
Game Notes:
• Arizona dropped its first contest in seven games at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. It also marked the first time the Wildcats failed to score first in the venue. Prior to the 1-0 deficit in the fourth inning, UA had never trailed in 60 innings.
• The Wildcats lost a one-run game for the first time since April 17 (6-5 vs. Stanford). UA had won seven straight one-run games, including a 3-0 mark in the postseason.
• Arizona lost for the first time this season when holding an opponent to two runs or less. Entering the game, the club was 23-0 in such games.
• Zach Gibbons' first-inning single was his 97th hit of the season, tying tying Alex Mejia and Lynn Garrett for 9th all-time in a single season at Arizona.
• The start of the game was delayed two hours and 21 minutes due to inclement weather in the area.
• Bobby Dalbec set a career high with 12 strikeouts, surpassing the 10 he registered at Washington State in 2015. The dozen punchouts tied for the most in a single pitcher in a College World Series game played at TD Ameritrade Park.
• Dalbec became the seventh straight UA starter to go at least seven innings when pitching at TD Ameritrade Park.
• Dalbec and Nathan Bannister (11 strikeouts Saturday vs. Miami) are the first pair of pitchers to each record double-digit strikeouts in the same College World Series since UCLA in 2012.
• UA was held without an extra base hit for the first time in 14 games.
• The Wildcats were shutout for only the second time this season. It was the first time the program has been shut out at the College World Series since June 13, 1970 (4-0 loss to Florida State).
