In Omaha, Coastal Carolina lost to TCU in its second game, meaning the Chanticleers had to win three straight to go to the finals. Bannister’s premature exit forced UA coach Jay Johnson to tax his bullpen, using Kevin Ginkel and Cameron Ming to get through the rest of the game. Ming struck out Austin Bush, JJ Muno and Dempsey Grover to end the game.
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With the loss, OSU finished the year with a 43-22 mark, while the Wildcats improved to 48-22.
Arizona scored twice in the eighth on an infield error and an RBI single by Ryan Aguilar. He is batting. 300 with two home runs and triple in the national tournament.
In the final frame, Santa Barbara had its best chance to break through as sophomore Clay Fisher had a lead-off double, followed by a redshirt junior Devon Gradford walk, which put the tying run at the plate with no outs.
Boyd soon scored after Gibbons got in on the Wildcats fun with a double to right-center. After defeating Arizona 1-0 on Monday, the Cowboys had allowed only six runs in the tournament. J.R. Davis hit a sac fly to score Jon Littell, but that would be all they could get out of the threat.
For the second game in a row, Arizona’s offense provided its starting pitcher with an early cushion by putting up a pair of runs in the first and second innings. After Boyd advanced to second on an errant throw by shortstop Donnie Walton.
“Zach Gibbons was put on this planet to hit with runners in scoring position”, Johnson said.
But the Wildcats provided themselves with some breathing room by scoring two unearned runs in the eighth inning. Few predicted the team would get this far, but Arizona is just one win from returning to the CWS championship series for the first time since winning the title in 2012.
Tyler Chadwick homered and doubled, Alex Cunningham pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, and surprising Coastal Carolina reached the College World Series finals with a 7-5 victory over TCU on Saturday night. The program has three runner-up finishes (1956, 1959 and 1963). But he will be merely the latest to stand in a firing line that has become a bit of College World Series tradition. The 42 victories are fifth-most in NCAA history.
Arizona third baseman Bobby Dalbec got dirty to keep the Wildcats playing in Omaha. The Pokes picked up their first CWS win since 1993.
The loss concludes Josh Holliday’s fourth season as coach.
· UA’s two first-inning runs give it six in five contests at this year’s College World Series. With the run, the Wildcats snapped the Cowboys streak of 18 scoreless in at the College World Series. Wildcats ace Nathan Bannister left the game with an arm injury after retiring the first eight batters he faced. Previously, Thomas Hatch had not surrendered more than two doubles in any game this season.
Another similar effort Saturday will have the once-dominant Oklahoma State team heading home early. Hatch had not given up more than three extra base hits in any previous outing.
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That was the first run Hatch had given up in 26 innings, but it certainly wasn’t his last.
