For the first time this season, guests were allowed at Hi Corbett Field. Chase Silseth’s father, Chad, and his grandfather, Frank Diaz, drove 7½ hours from Farmington, New Mexico, to see Chase pitch.
The butterflies were churning inside the Arizona right-hander’s stomach.
“It's been forever since they’ve been able to see me play,” said Silseth, in his first season as a Wildcat after transferring from College of Southern Nevada. “Seeing them and seeing other people's families up there, it’s just awesome.”
About 60 guests of players and coaches watched Arizona defeat Southeastern Louisiana 7-4 Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. The Wildcats won their second in a row to improve to 3-2. SLU fell to 3-1.
Silseth again looked the part of an ace, allowing four runs and striking out 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings. All four runs came across in the sixth.
“I think he'll tell he’d like to do a little bit more, but he put us in position to win a ballgame and get our guys that we want at the back end of the game in there,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “He did his job.”
After surrendering a double to lead off the game, Silseth retired 12 consecutive batters. After that shaky sixth inning, he lost his command in the seventh. That’s when he got help from his friends.
A pair of walks put runners on first and second and brought the tying run to the plate. Vince Vannelle entered from the bullpen and ended the threat with a groundout to second.
Vannelle pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings. Preston Price threw a scoreless ninth to earn his first career save. The pair of “super senior” relievers have combined to throw nine scoreless innings this season.
“The energy it brings to the field, it's something a lot of people don't have,” said center fielder Donta’ Williams, who went 4 for 5. “We're definitely grateful to have Vince and Preston and a bunch of other guys in the pen that we know will get the job done. It just fires us all up. It gives us that extra boost of energy, confidence, whatever we need. We trust them, and we know what we're going to get out of them.”
Vannelle helped himself in the eighth inning by picking off a runner at second base. Second baseman Kobe Kato wedged his foot between the bag and baserunner Nick Ray’s hand, leading to a delayed out call.
Johnson often talks about the importance of winning the “free-base war.” What does that really mean?
Here’s one way to win the war: Make fewer mistakes than your opponent.
Arizona took advantage of Southeastern Louisiana’s generosity early in Thursday’s game.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, UA freshman Jacob Berry hit a shallow fly ball to center. SLU center fielder Tyler Finke never saw the ball, and it fell for a three-RBI triple.
In the bottom of the second, with a runner on first base, Williams dropped a bunt down the third-base line. Third baseman Eli Johnson fielded the ball cleanly but threw wildly to first. The error put runners on second and third.
After Mac Bingham popped out to second, the Lions had Ryan Holgate in an 0-2 hole. But SLU starter Will Kinzeler left a breaking ball over the plate, and Holgate stroked it into right-center for a two-RBI single. Holgate leads the team with nine RBIs.
Arizona’s seventh run came home on an error. SLU committed three errors in all. The Wildcats did not commit an error for the first time this season.
The Lions came into the series with a set of statistics that didn’t seem real. SLU outscored Mississippi Valley State 66-0 in a three-game sweep. The Lions came to Tucson with a .487 team batting average.
Context is required, though: MVSU went 0-15 in 2020. The Delta Devils were outscored 142-25 in those games.
Johnson liked the way his team played Thursday, but he doesn’t expect anything to come easy the rest of the weekend.
“It’s a long season, and we have a really tough schedule with good opponents,” he said. “This one's no different. We're just going to face one of the best pitchers in the country tomorrow night. So we’ve got to be ready to roll for that.”
Inside pitch
- Junior left-hander Trey Shaffer (1-0, 0.00) is scheduled to start for SLU on Friday. Shaffer struck out 12 batters in five innings in his 2021 debut. He will face right-hander Chandler Murphy (0-0, 3.00).
- Holgate went 2 for 5 is batting .421.
- UA first baseman Branden Boissiere went 2 for 2 with two walks and three runs scored.
