Cameron Cannon isn’t letting his fielding issues affect him at the plate.
The Arizona Wildcats junior came into Saturday night’s game against College of Charleston batting .404. He stroked a pair of doubles in his first two at-bats to give him 10 for the season. He was tied for the national lead entering the weekend.
Cannon’s three hits and two RBIs helped Arizona defeat Charleston 7-5 on a crisp, windless evening at Hi Corbett Field. The win was the Wildcats’ second in a row and a possible sign that they’re pulling themselves out of the funk that saw them lose three of their first five games on this homestand.
“We’re taking our approaches at the plate a lot better,” said Cannon, who raised his average to .426. “Our defense is going to come. And our pitching staff looks really good right now.”
Arizona committed only one error, ending a streak of four games in a row in which they had made four or more. Cannon, unfortunately, was again the culprit.
But unlike the previous four games, Cannon limited the damage this time. Starting at second base instead of shortstop, Cannon handled his three other chances cleanly.
Cannon continued to handle his business at the dish. All three of his hits were well struck, and his lone out was a loud one: a fly ball to left that was caught on the warning track.
“He had a special offensive game tonight,” UA coach Jay Johnson said. “That’s who he is in terms off his at-bats, the energy he brought to our team.”
This stretch hasn’t been easy for Cannon, who “cares immensely” about his craft and his team, Johnson said. That was evident in Cannon’s postgame comments.
“It’s been tough, mentally and physically,” said Cannon, who committed 10 errors in the previous four games.
“I’m just going to just keep working for my guys and keep working my butt off so I can be the best player I can be and we can be the best team we can be.”
Arizona received stellar starting pitching for the second straight night – this time without the blowup inning that put a blemish on Avery Weems’ outing Friday.
Redshirt freshman Quinn Flanagan allowed only one earned run, didn’t walk a batter and struck out four in a career-high six innings. The right-hander — who missed almost three full seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery – threw 96 pitches, including 64 strikes.
Just as he did the night before, Johnson brought one of his usual starters out of the bullpen to close the game. Left-hander Randy Labaut, who was slated to start Sunday, pitched a perfect seventh, allowed a run in the eighth but couldn’t get an out in the ninth.
Labaut yielded back-to-back doubles and a walk, putting the tying run on base with no outs. Freshman George Arias Jr. entered in relief. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third, Arias induced a popup and a groundout to third.
It was the first career save for Arias and the second in a row by a UA freshman after Bryce Collins pitched 3 1/3 hitless innings Friday.
“We believe in those guys,” Johnson said. “That’s why they’re in those spots. I anticipate they’ll continue to get better. Which is great for the now and for the future.”
The insurance runs Arizona would turn out to need came courtesy of one of Johnson’s favorite pet plays: a double squeeze. Freshman Tony Bullard executed it, bringing home Matthew Dyer and Dayton Dooney. This one just so happened to follow a double steal.
Inside pitch
- Arizona stole a season-high six bases. Matt Fraizer and Dyer each had two steals. Dyer returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday because of a bruised hand. He started in right field for the first time.
- The Wildcats will use a staff-by-committee approach Sunday for the series finale, Johnson said. Left-hander Andrew Nardi, who started Tuesday against Michigan State, is the most logical candidate to get the start.
