This summer, each member of the Star’s sports team will assemble a list of the five most memorable Arizona games they’ve covered since joining the beat. This week, Michael Lev will reflect on five football and baseball games.
Lev’s No. 4:
Arizona, Dalbec shut down Mississippi State in opener of Starkville Super Regional
What went down: Behind Bobby Dalbec’s brilliant pitching, Arizona upset No. 6 national seed MSU 1-0 in the opening game of their best-of-3 super regional on June 10, 2016, in Starkville, Mississippi.
What we wrote at the time: Amid a throng of rabid, maroon-and-white-clad Mississippi State baseball fans, Bobby Dalbec was the fiercest bulldog in the building.
Pitching on short rest with a big heart and a devastating changeup, the Arizona junior shut down favored MSU — and put the UA on the brink of returning to the College World Series.
Not even a suspiciously timed power outage could stop Dalbec and the Wildcats, who defeated the SEC champion Bulldogs 1-0 in front of 12,913 stunned spectators Friday at Dudy Noble Field.
“I knew he would respond extremely well,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “That’s who he is. That’s who our team is.”
One more victory in the best-of-3 super regional will send the Wildcats to Omaha, where they won the College World Series in their last appearance in 2012. Arizona (43-21) had to win three elimination games in the rain-delayed Lafayette Regional to get to this point.
“One of our strong suits is, we don’t flinch,” Johnson said. “We played four games in 31 hours in the NCAA Tournament last weekend.”
Those happened Sunday and Monday. Dalbec won the first of the elimination games Sunday night. He returned to the mound on four days’ rest, which is less than what college pitchers usually get. Of course, Dalbec won’t be a collegian much longer.
His afternoon began with the news that the Boston Red Sox had selected him in the fourth round of the MLB Draft. He found out from teammate Casey Bowman, who texted him. Dalbec’s family was following along from afar via MLB’s webcast and social media.
Arizona players react to an out during the eighth inning of their NCAA Super Regional victory against Mississippi State on June 10, 2016, in Starkville, Mississippi. UA starter Bobby Dalbec retired 26 of the 36 batters he faced as the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series during a game that featured numerous power outages — on the field by both high-powered offenses in a 1-0 final, and a literal one that stopped play temporarily that night at Starkville’s Dudy Noble Field.
Dalbec then pitched 82/3 shutout innings against a lineup featuring six .300 hitters and one .400 hitter. He described the day as a “whirlwind.”
“It’s been pretty wild,” Dalbec said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen this morning. It ended up working out for me.
“I just did my thing on the mound. I just got ready, prepared, kept a narrow focus and got the job done.”
— Michael Lev
Player of the game: The only possible choice is Dalbec, who allowed five hits, walked two batters and struck out nine. He outdueled future MLB pitcher Dakota Hudson, who surrendered seven hits and one walk while striking out six in 61/3 frames. Honorable mention goes to Arizona DH J.J. Matijevic, who went 2 for 4 with the lone RBI in the game.
By the numbers: Dalbec shut out a team that was averaging 6.6 runs per game. He defeated a team that was 27-9 at home. He would finish the season with an 11-6 record, seven saves, a 2.50 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
The aftermath: Arizona would defeat Mississippi State again the next night, again by one run, to advance to the College World Series. This time the win came on a walk-off via Cesar Salazar’s well-placed single in the 11th inning.
The Wildcats weren’t expected to make it to Omaha in Johnson’s first season; they were picked to finish ninth in the conference after failing to make the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous three seasons. But they got hot at the right time, displayed tremendous grit and fortitude, and got one stellar pitching performance after another from Dalbec, Nathan Bannister, JC Cloney, Cameron Ming and others.
Arizona made it all the way to the CWS finals and won the first game of the best-of-3 series vs. Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers rallied to win the final two games, both by one run, ending Arizona’s remarkable postseason ride in heartbreaking fashion.
Dalbec made it to the big leagues with Boston four years later — as a position player. Entering this week, he had 45 home runs in 826 career at-bats.
Arizona pitcher Bobby Dalbec’s dominance on the mound on June 10, 2016 in a 1-0 NCAA Super Regional Game 1 win over Mississippi State was that much more impressive considering it came the same day he was taken in the fourth round of the MLB Draft as a projected third baseman/power hitter. The next day, in a win that clinched Arizona’s berth in the 2016 College World Series, Dalbec lived up to that hype, hitting a solo home run in Arizona’s 6-5 11-inning Game 2 victory.
Personal reflections: I had been on the road, in steamy Louisiana and Mississippi, for over a week when the Wildcats and Bulldogs squared off in “Stark Vegas.” When Dalbec did what he did, I knew the journey would continue in Omaha.
A case could be made that the game the next night, which clinched Arizona’s spot in the CWS, was just as memorable. It featured a late-inning rally from a 5-1 deficit, a walk-off ending and a spirited on-field celebration. But Dalbec’s singular excellence in the series opener sticks with me to this day.
It wasn’t just how well he pitched but the circumstances in which he thrived. The crowd was massive and loud. The humidity was unrelenting. And in the middle of the eighth inning, after Dalbec had retired 11 batters in a row, the power went out.
Johnson kept Dalbec in the game despite a 37-minute delay, and he nearly finished off the Bulldogs himself. Johnson lifted him with two on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Ming needed just three pitches to seal the win.
Two funny things about Dalbec: He didn’t particularly like pitching, even though he was really good at it; and he rarely showed his true personality in interactions with the media. Dalbec’s fellow Wildcats often said he was a top-notch teammate and locker-room presence. He elected not to show that side in public.
It’s extremely difficult to go into those huge, hostile SEC ballparks and come out victorious. The Wildcats already had proved their mettle by winning three straight elimination games in Lafayette. This performance took it to another level. For the first time, it felt like they could win it all.
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This summer, each member of the Star’s sports team will count down the five most memorable Arizona games they’ve covered since joining the beat. This week's participant: Michael Lev. Here's No. 5 — Arizona coughs up the 2018 Territorial Cup.
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