After a pitchers duel put the Wildcats on the brink of elimination, it was an offensive explosion that now pits both Arizona and Oklahoma State in a do or die match up for the final match of the bracket on the 25th. Whichever team comes out the victor in that game will take away the opportunity to play for the national championship while the other will leave Omaha just one game short of the biggest dance of their life.
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In the latest battle between Arizona and Oklahoma State the initial outlook was that the pitching would be the deciding factor as the stadium the game was played it was notorious for being a pitcher’s park and the wind was blowing at home plate at upwards of 18 miles per hour in consistent gusts throughout the day. Yet somehow only a single pitcher went further than four innings as both teams pulled out bull pen replacements early, and in the Cowboys’ case often. For Arizona they had Nathan Bannister start the game but he did not finish the third inning due to precautionary measures after tweaking something on a ball four walk with two outs in the third.
Arizona relied heavily on Cameron Ming, normally a two inning or less closer as the main workhorse on the mound for five solid innings of baseball. Ming kept the Cowboys off balance by only giving up two hits against the 18 batters he faced on the day. The Cowboys simply could not get the ball to carry out against the Wildcats due to the wind and Ming putting the ball in places the hitters for OK State could not carry them.
For Arizona this time out against the pitching of the Cowboys they seemed to find the right spot and carry the ball to just the right places all over the diamond. While Dalbec struggled in the game with five appearances at the plate with no hits and a troubling three strike outs, it was the 8 and 9 hitters in the Arizona line that kept the pressure on regularly it seemed during their treks to the plate. Cesar Salazar and Louis Boyd combined for three hits and an RBI but more importantly they ran the base paths well. The two accounted for four of Arizona’s nine runs in the game and by themselves would have beaten the Cowboys who only brought in three in the game.
Jay Johnson and his team also benefited from some bad errors on the part of J.R. Davis who sailed an easy ground out throw to first for the final out that allowed an inning to continue. Later in the game J.R. Davis went to cover first base on a bunt attempt and the throw went through his legs on a toss that was low from the pitcher. That brought in another run for Arizona and seemed to knock whatever wind was in the Cowboys sails out as the team looked dejected and frustrated that they let one slip away from them.
Arizona now must come together to face the biggest stress test of their season thus far. Johnson will likely go over with his team going into the potential last game of the year about good, instinctual base running as the Cats have had a bad time with throw outs as of late. They had a few in the first couple of games against Miami and the first meeting with Oklahoma State, and once again found themselves rounding the third base line on a play at home that was clearly not going to go in the runner’s favor. Bad decisions like that could cost Arizona a chance to play for yet another National Championship, something these players have clearly put their focus on and seem to be getting more intent on achieving that as the pressure continues to mount.