Arizona outfielder Chase Davis watches as his second-inning home run clears the fence. His shot to left field gave the Wildcats the lead.

 Sam Navarro, Miami Herald

Because of Tropical Storm Alex and other weather delays, the Arizona Wildcats waited a full day — and then some — to open NCAA Regional play.

They may have less than a day left.

Peyton Chatagnier went 3 for 4 with four RBIs as Ole Miss topped Arizona 7-4 on Saturday night in the Coral Gables, Florida, regional, putting the Wildcats in a win-or-go-home situation on Sunday. The UA will play Canisius at 8 a.m. Sunday, with the winner advancing to another elimination game between the loser of Ole Miss ans Miami (Fla.) in the evening.

T.J. Nichols, the UA's flame-throwing righty, will start Sunday's early game, coach Chip Hale said.

As for Saturday?

"We probably just were a little amped up tonight, swung at some pitches that we shouldn't," Hale said. "We have to learn from it. It's not who we are. It's disappointing that we came out that way. We sat in the hotel for a long time. We waited for this, we started the game it rained again. We knew this was gonna happen coming here. I mean, everybody in the United States of America saw there was a tropical storm on its way here. We were prepared for that. We were prepared to try to battle it. We just didn't handle it very well."

Arizona's path to a regional championship got much tougher, in part because of Ole Miss' performance in Saturday's eighth inning.

The game was tied 4-4 when Arizona went to reliever Javyn Pimental to start the frame. Pimental walked the first two batters he faced and was lifted; Trevor Long didn't fare much better, allowing Kevin Graham to reach on a fielder's choice before walking Kemp Alderman, loading the bases. Hayden Dunhurst struck out, then Chatagnier ripped a double into the left-field corner, scoring two easily. Arizona's Chase Davis appeared to misplay the hit, allowing the third run to score.

The Wildcats had a chance to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Tony Bullard walked and Garen Caulfield singled, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But Ole Miss closer Brandon Johnson struck out Tommy Splaine, Noah Turley and Mac Bingham in order, ending the game.

The Wildcats fanned a season-high 20 times, managing just seven hits while walking just twice. Ole Miss starter Dylan DeLucia struck out 12 over six innings while allowing four runs — all of them earned. Davis and Caulfield ripped homers in the second inning, accounting for two of the Wildcats' runs. Tony Bullard's sixth-inning double scored the other two.

The Wildcats are looking to return to the College World Series under Hale, a first-year college coach and former Arizona Diamondbacks manager who took over for Jay Johnson nearly a year ago. Johnson, now the head coach at LSU, stands in the Wildcats' way of advancing. The Tigers overcame a four-run, ninth-inning deficit to beat Southern Miss 6-2 in Saturday's second game of the regionals; the victory puts the Tigers in line to host the Super Regionals next week.

Their opponent? The winner of Arizona's regional in Coral Gables.

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