ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Wildcats (39-18) mounted an improbable comeback and sealed a Big 12 Baseball Championship title with a 2-1 extar-innings victory over the TCU Horned Frogs (39-18) on Saturday night at Globe Life Field.
The victory secured the Big 12 Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats, who have now qualified for an NCAA Regional in five consecutive seasons.
Down 1-0 going into the top of the ninth, the Wildcats found themselves down to their final three outs when
Andrew Cain launched a game-tying home run into right to lead off the frame. Prior to Cain's homer, Arizona had been shut out on just three hits.
Reliever
Tony Pluta entered the game and worked scoreless bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, seeting up more heroics from the Arizona offense.
Mason White drew a one-out HBP, moved to third on a single from
Adonys Guzman, and came across for the go-ahead run on a bloop single from
Maddox Mihalakis to make the score 2-1.
Pluta took the mound again for the 10th and worked around a one-out single to slam the door shut and secure the victory for the Wildcats. He improved to 2-0 on the year.
Starting pitcher
Smith Bailey, a true freshman, was dominant for the Cats. The right-hander worked 5.1 innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five. Bailey's impressive performance kept the Wildcats in the game and enabled the late-game heroics.
White was named the Big 12 Championship's Most Outstanding player. Mihalakis, Pluta, and
Brendan Summerhill all joined White on the All-Tournament Team.
Arizona WildBATS
Bullpen Bullies
Number of the Night
- Arizona now claims 12 conference championships.
- The Wildcats pitching staff allowed three runs during their 3-0 sweep of the Big 12 Championship.
- Arizona's five straight NCAA Tournament berths are a first for the Wildcats since qualifying for 14 straight from 1950–1963.
Photo of the Night
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Next Up
The Wildcats await their NCAA Tournament destination, which they will learn during the selection show on ESPN2 this coming Monday, May 26 at 9:00 a.m. MST. Host sites for all 16 NCAA Regionals will be announced on Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. MST.
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