Cats Cruise to 9-3 Victory, Force Decisive Game
06/24/2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – Arizona's bats came alive and reliever Cameron Ming was sensational for the Wildcats, who dropped Oklahoma State, 9-3, in yet another elimination game Friday at the College World Series. Now the two clubs will face off again Saturday with a berth in the College World Series championship series on the line at TD Ameritrade Park.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play and had ace Nathan Bannister rolling on the mound. But with two down in the bottom of the third, Bannister issued a walk to nine-hole hitter Collin Theroux.
With a runner on base for the first time, Arizona's coaching staff and athletic training staff visited the senior righty on the mound. After evaluation and two brief warmup tosses, the decision was made to replace Bannister for precautionary reasons.
Kevin Ginkel worked out of the third inning, before giving up two runs in the fourth. Still, the Wildcats held a 4-2 lead heading to the fifth.
Thereafter, Arizona (47-22) turned to left-hander Cameron Ming, who has been nothing short of spectacular this postseason. The sophomore retired the first 12 batters he faced and by the time the ninth inning came around, his offense extended the lead to 9-2.
Oklahoma State (43-21) pushed across a run in the ninth inning, which was the first allowed by Ming in four appearances at the College World Series. Even so, he earned the save – his fourth – for five complete innings of work.
Offensively, the Wildcats rapped out 14 hits led by three-hit games from Zach Gibbons and JJ Matijevic. Catcher Caesar Salazar added two hits and scored three times out of the No. 8 slot in the order.
Cowboys' starter Elliott Jensen struggled in his two innings of work, giving up a two-out RBI single to Matijevic that staked the Wildcats to a lead in the first frame. In the second inning, Louis Boyd doubled in a run and later scored on Gibbon's second hit of the contest.
Jensen suffered the loss, falling to 9-3 on the year for yielding three runs on five hits and a walk in two innings.
Facing reliever Ramey Reed, Arizona added another run in the fourth. Walks to Salazar and Boyd opened the inning, eventually setting up a sacrifice fly for Gibbons.
Oklahoma State's pair of runs came on following a two-out walk issued by Ginkel. An RBI triple by Conor Costello broke up the shutout, and the designated hitter scored on a wild pitch.
Ginkel was credited for the win, improving to 5-1 on the season, for his 1.1 innings of work in place of Bannister.
The score remained 4-2 through the middle innings, before the Wildcats capitalized on a pair of miscues late.
Two runs crossed home in the eighth, including Jared Oliva following a throwing error. Ryan Aguilar added a two-out RBI single to send home Salazar.
In the top of the ninth, another error set up a three-run inning. Matijevic's leadoff double set up a bunt single by Justin Behnke. Oliva drove in Matijevic with a single, Behnke scored on a mishandled throw at first base and Cody Ramer brought home the final run with a sacrifice fly.
When it was all said and done, Arizona's bottom third of the order proved productive. The trio of Oliva, Salazar and Boyd combined for four hits, six runs and a pair of RBI. The four hits equaled the total produced by the Cowboys.
The same two teams will meet Saturday at a time to be determined based on the result of tonight's Coastal Carolina-TCU game. A TCU win would knock out the Chanticleers from the College World Series, leaving the Wildcats and Cowboys to play at 7 p.m. (CDT). A Coastal Carolina win would set up a rematch and placed the UA-OSU game to be played at 2 p.m. (CDT). Either way, the Wildcats will be the home team.
Game Notes:
· Arizona earned its 41st all-time win at the College World Series, breaking a tie with Oklahoma State for sixth-most in NCAA history.
· The Wildcats improved to 5-0 in elimination games this postseason.
· UA's 47 wins this season are tied for the sixth-most in program history. The Wildcats are one win shy of matching the 48 victories for the 2012 national championship team.
· UA is the sixth team to allow four runs or less in its first four CWS games (first since 1972).
· Zach Gibbons went 3-for-5 and became the eighth player in UA history with 100 base hits (first since Trevor Crowe in 2005). His tally of 101 hits this season leads all Division I players.
· The Cats' 14 base hits were their most at this year's College World Series. In 2012, the team notched double-digit hits on three occasions, including a high of 15 in the second game against Florida State.
· UA took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, handing OSU its first deficit of the NCAA Tournament. Previously, OSU posted a streak of seven-straight games without trailing, which was an NCAA Tournament record. It was also the first run allowed by the Cowboys in Omaha.
· The Wildcats improved to 8-0 all-time when scoring first at TD Ameritrade Park (3-0 in 2016).
· Arizona improved to 35-11 when scoring first this season and 16-5 when scoring in the opening inning. In 11 postseason games, UA is now 7-0 when scoring first and 4-0 when scoring in the initial inning.
· The Wildcats scored a first inning run for the second time this CWS (scored three runs in 5-1 victory in opening game vs. Miami).
· Dating back to 2012, UA has scored 12 first-inning runs over its last seven CWS games.
· UA has eight two-out RBI at the College World Series and has surrendered only two such runs.
· Caesar Salazar and Louis Boyd hit back-to-back one-out doubles in the second inning. It was Salazar's third postseason double, while Boyd collected his second at the CWS and has six in the postseason. Boyd had five two-baggers in the regular season.
· Zach Gibbons collected his team-leading 20th two-out RBI, however it was his first in 11 postseason games.
· Louis Boyd stole his 11th base of the season and has the only two swipes of the postseason for Arizona.
· UA tallied its first double-digit hit game of this year's College World Series. In 2012, the club had three such games out of five contests.
· Nathan Bannister was lifted after 2.2 innings on the mound, marking the shortest start for a UA pitcher at TD Ameritrade Park. Previously, all eight starters for the Wildcats had worked seven innings.
· UA and Oklahoma State entered today's game with the two best fielding percentages in the CWS field. The Wildcats played error free baseball, while OSU committed two errors that led to four unearned runs.
· Cameron Ming has pitched in eight of UA's 11 postseason games, compiling a 1-0 record, four saves and a 1.10 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts and four walks in 16.1 total innings.
