2-1 against 3 ranked SEC teams isn’t too shabby
HOUSTON—To be the best you’ve got to beat the best. Hanging with them isn’t too bad, either.
Arizona saw its 7-game win streak end on Sunday at the hands of defending national Tennessee, losing 5-1 at Daikin Park. The Wildcats (7-4) went 2-1 in the Astros Foundation College Classic, beating No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 18 Mississippi State on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“That’s what it looks like; that’s an Omaha team,” UA coach Chip Hale said of the 3rd-ranked Volunteers, who are 11-0. “As Mississippi State and Texas A&M will eventually be. So we got to see three really good ball clubs. And obviously the SEC has set the standard in Omaha. That’s where we want to go, and we have to get better and we know it.”
Arizona led 1-0 after getting back-to-back extra-base hits in the bottom of the 2nd. With two out, Adonys Guzman doubled to right center and then came home on Easton Breyfogle’s triple to left center. It would only get four more hits the rest of the way against a Tennessee pitching staff that has a 1.82 ERA and an opposing batting average of .166.
UA freshman Smith Bailey was stellar for his first three-plus innings, retiring 11 of the first 12 batters he faced to extend his scoreless streak to begin his career to 13.2 innings. But then back-to-back pitches were knocked out, putting Tennessee up 2-1.
“They were both breaking pitches and left them a little bit up,” Guzman said of Smith, who allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings. “That’s baseball, but overall he executed it very well.”
Arizona had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the 6th after getting three straight 2-out hits. But the third, a sharp single to left by Guzman, was charged by Jay Abernathy in left field who then threw home to easily tag out Garen Caulfield trying to score from second.
“Donnie hit it too hard,” Hale joked. “If he hits a ground ball through the hole he scores easy. I’ve coached third here a lot in professional baseball against the Astros, and it’s just a tough place. Sometimes you have to take your your lumps and hold the guy but in college you got to make the guy throw you out.”
The Vols added a 2-run homer—their 31st in 11 games—in the 7th and an insurance run in the 9th to match their lowest scoring output of the season.
Arizona finished its 4-game Texas trip 3-1, including an 11-8 win at Rice on Wednesday, much better than the 0-3 performance at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington on opening weekend. The three starters combined to allow just six runs in 15.2 innings, with Casey Hintz throwing a masterful five innings of relief on Friday and Tony Pluta twice entering games in the 9th with two on and no out and not allowing a run either time.
The UA hitters, facing some of the best pitchers in the country, hit only .220 and struck out 43 times.
“I think there’s a lot of things we can grow from,” Hale said. “Obviously, we’ve got to improve offensively, we’re striking out way too much. And every little mistake, these good teams are gonna take advantage of it. The positive is, is we’ve seen the best. I think we know if we do things right and get better on the mound and get better with the bats we can be there.”
Arizona returns home for its next nine games, starting a 4-game series with Pepperdine on Thursday night at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats will then host ASU in a nonconference game before opening Big 12 play against Cincinnati.