CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Arizona will live to see another day.
Tanner O’Tremba doubled in two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to propel the Wildcats to a 4-3 victory over host Miami on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament’s Coral Gables Regional.
The UA was down to its last out. Now it will face Ole Miss in the regional final. The Wildcats must beat the Rebels twice to advance to the Super Regionals. Ole Miss defeated Arizona on Saturday and edged Miami – the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament – earlier Sunday. First pitch is slated for 10:06 a.m. Tucson time.
“Wow, that was exciting,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We talked about just letting them play. Just letting it go and leaving everything you got on the field. Do the best we can. And they really did. They never stopped fighting. I’m very proud of them.”
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— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) June 6, 2022
Arizona (39-24) won for the first time this season when trailing after eight innings. The Wildcats had been 0-21 in those situations.
O’Tremba’s hit was also their first of the game with runners in scoring position. They had been 0 for 8.
The double to right-center came off Miami closer Andrew Walters, who had 14 saves and a 1.14 ERA. It scored Nik McClaughry, who had reached on a two-out infield single, and Tyler Casagrande, who had entered as a pinch runner for Daniel Susac (HBP).
“The biggest thing you can do as a hitter in that situation with a guy who’s that good and throws that hard is hit something hard the other way,” said O’Tremba, who executed that plan to perfection. “That was the biggest thing I told myself. If I give us a chance by putting the ball in play, we’ve got Nik on second – hopefully it leads to a run. Just staying on top and not trying to do too much was the goal there.”
Arizona Wildcats outfielder Mac Bingham (7) watches as he circles the bases after hitting a home run during the third inning against the Miami Hurricanes during the Coral Gables NCAA Baseball Regional at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida, Sunday, June 5, 2022.
Miami put the tying run on third with one out in the bottom of the ninth. But Quinn Flanagan struck out Gaby Gutierrez and retired Renzo Gonzalez on a groundout to earn his second save of the day (and season).
“The whole time I felt under control,” Flanagan said. “Obviously the first couple of guys didn't really show that. (Pinch hitter Arial Garcia singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and made it to third on a deep flyout to center). Just being able to adjust. After that wild pitch, I settled myself down. (Pitching coach Dave Lawn’s) mound visit did a great job doing that as well.”
The Hurricanes (40-20) were 1 for 20 with runners on base and 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Miami drew seven walks and put the leadoff batter on base seven times, but five UA pitchers limited the Canes to four hits.
The bottom of the ninth also featured an intentional walk of Yohandy Morales, Miami’s star third baseman, who had put the Hurricanes ahead 3-1 with a two-run run homer off UA freshman right-hander Anthony Susac in the sixth. The homer was Morales’ 18th of the season – including three Saturday vs. Canisius.
Arizona Wildcats pitcher Dawson Netz (27) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Hurricanes during the Coral Gables NCAA Baseball Regional at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida, Sunday, June 5, 2022.
“We basically did everything you're not supposed to do,” Hale said. “Walk the go-ahead run. Let him steal second. A little blooper could have beat us. He's fantastic.”
Morales’ nickname is “YoYo.” Is there a more apt description of the 2022 Wildcats?
They began the season by defeating three Big 12 teams – including two NCAA Tournament squads – in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. Their first home series in the Pac-12 was a sweep over Stanford, which would go on to earn the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament.
Arizona also went 3-6 against the three teams in the Pac-12 that didn’t make the conference tournament. The Wildcats ended the regular season by getting swept at Oregon – then beat the Ducks four days later in the league tourney.
Arizona opened the regional with a 7-4 loss to Ole Miss in which UA hitters struck out a season-high 20 times. The Wildcats rebounded with a 7-5 victory over Canisius less than half a day later. Then they stunned a partisan crowd of 2,068 at Alex Rodriguez Park by knocking out the host Hurricanes.
“The mentality of nothing to lose is big for our team,” Daniel Susac said. “Over the course of the year, the times when we struggled is when maybe we were going into a game and we were underestimating a team. When you have nothing to lose and you just play with your tail on fire, that's when we play best.”
Tony Bullard hit a solo home run to make it a one-run game in the eighth.
Miami Hurricanes outfielder Zach Levenson (9) arrives safe at second base after a late tag from Arizona Wildcats infielder Nik McClaughry (11) in the second inning during the Coral Gables NCAA Baseball Regional at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables, Florida, Sunday, June 5, 2022.
The UA pitching staff – led by starter Dawson Netz – kept Miami within striking distance.
The right-hander, who’s been building up his stamina after missing a chunk of the season because of an arm injury, pitched four innings – his longest outing since March 27.
The very first pitch Netz threw was driven over the right-field wall by CJ Kayfus. But that was the only hit Netz allowed – even though his velocity appeared to be down.
“We've been trying to get him back, get him some innings, get him some more pitches,” Hale said. “He was having a hard time holding onto the ball. He hit a couple guys, obviously not on purpose.
“That’s why Tonko (Anthony Susac) was down there in the bullpen so much. We just didn't know when. It's almost like you're going to the top step and going back. You just don't want to overreach with him and get him hurt (again). You gotta really tip your cap to him.”
Netz exited after walking Dorian Gonzalez Jr. to lead off the fifth. Susac stranded him, retiring the next three hitters and leaving the score at 1-1.
The Wildcats couldn’t get much going against Miami right-hander Alejandro Rosario, who entered Sunday with a 7.57 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. That changed when Mac Bingham led off the third inning. Bingham drilled the first pitch he saw over the wall in left-center for his sixth home run of the season.
Extra points
The game was delayed multiple times at the outset when ran began falling just as leadoff batter McClaughry approached the plate. Tarps were put over the mound and plate area. The rain quickly subsided. But it took several minutes to get the mound right – including a second round of pouring sand, tamping and raking after Rosario had thrown three pitches. The delays totaled about 31 minutes.
Javyn Pimental and Trevor Long combined for three scoreless innings between Susac and Flanagan.
Would Daniel Susac have scored from first on O’Tremba’s double? “Standing up,” Susac said.
Flanagan on whether he’d ever pitched three times in less than 24 hours: “Maybe in ‘MLB The Show.’ ”
Hale and Lawn were going to huddle overnight to figure out a starter to face Ole Miss. Possibilities include right-hander Chandler Murphy and lefties Eric Orloff and Holden Christian (who would be an opener). The Rebels are expected to start right-hander Derek Diamond (4-4, 6.57 ERA).
