ARLINGTON, Texas — Asked before the season to pick a pitcher who might break out in 2022, Daniel Susac and TJ Nichols selected the same player — third-year sophomore Dawson Netz.
Susac, Arizona’s starting catcher, cited Netz’s competitiveness and consistency. Nichols, the Wildcats’ No. 1 starter, mentioned Netz’s character and “the way he carries himself on and off the field.”
Netz already had given glimpses of his potential last season, when he posted a 1.99 ERA over his final 22 2/3 innings. The right-hander took his game to an even higher level in his ’22 debut.
Netz threw five scoreless innings to pick up his first career victory as No. 13 Arizona defeated No. 23 Texas Tech 13-2 Sunday in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field.
The Wildcats finished the weekend 3-0 — the only school to go undefeated in the six-team, three-day tournament. Arizona opens the home portion of its schedule Tuesday night against Grand Canyon.
“I learned what I thought I knew about them,” first-year coach Chip Hale said of his team. “They’re going to play hard and have fun.”
Netz struck out a career-high six batters while allowing only three hits and one walk. He threw 50 of 78 pitches for strikes, mixing his low-90s fastball with three off-speed pitches (slider, curve, changeup).
Dawson Netz picked up where he left off last season by shutting down Texas Tech on Sunday.
“I was just trying to flood the zone, keep a good tempo for the defense, just kick-start our offense and get everyone going,” Netz said. “I didn’t need to do too much just because of how well we’ve been swinging it lately.”
Netz said that strong finishing kick last season gave him confidence heading into this one. But most of those outings came in relief. Netz still had to earn the trust of the coaching staff to nab a spot in the rotation.
“We’ve had a really good group of guys the last two years, and being able to play with them every day has been awesome,” Netz said. “There’s gonna be ups and downs. But the main thing in college is just keeping your head up and attacking the next day. So that’s all I’ve been focusing on.”
After allowing only one hit through the first four innings, Netz ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. A single and a walk put runners on first and second with two outs.
Red Raiders third baseman Parker Kelly worked the count from 1-2 to 3-2 and hit a hard hopper up the middle. Netz got a glove on the ball but couldn’t field it cleanly. It rolled in front of the mound. By the time he fielded it, Netz had no play on Kelly.
But baserunner Dalton Porter took an overly aggressive turn around third. Netz whirled and fired a strike to Garen Caulfield, who tagged out Porter to end the inning.
“We work hard on our pitchers’ fielding in practice,” Hale said. “One of the things we work on is when you do not make a clean play, not to panic.
“(Netz) did a great job getting to it and making an accurate throw, because a lot of times guys pick it up and just throw it in the stands.”
Texas Tech freshman left-hander Mason Molina matched Netz zero for zero until the fifth inning, when Arizona exploded for five runs.
Garen Caulfield dives in safely during UA’s 13-2 victory over the Red Raiders in Arlington, Texas.
Caulfield led off the inning with a double to left-center and advanced to third on a balk. Nik McClaughry followed with a double into the left-field corner to score Caulfield.
Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock brought in reliever Andrew Devine, who struck out Mac Bingham. Then came the onslaught.
Susac singled up the middle to score McClaughry. Tanner O’Tremba, Arizona’s hottest hitter, followed with a double to left-center to score Susac. Chase Davis then registered the biggest blow, a towering two-run homer to right. It was the sophomore’s first career home run.
Texas Tech scored two runs off reliever George Arias Jr. in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-2. Arizona responded with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to bump the lead back to five.
The Wildcats tacked on three runs apiece in the eighth and ninth. They scored at least eight in every game here, averaging 11.7.
Susac, O’Tremba and Davis — the 2-3-4 batters — each had three hits. They combined for eight RBIs.
“I saw that from Day 1, batting practice off the really hard throwing machines, nasty breaking balls,” Hale said. “I saw guys that had the ability to make adjustments.”
Hale got choked up as he delivered his postgame speech to the team in the visitors’ locker room. He had been looking forward to coaching at his alma mater for a long time. The opening weekend couldn’t have gone much better.
“It was very emotional,” Hale said. “I’m so proud to be back here and coach at the University of Arizona. We have such a great group of people. I’m just so proud of the university.
“When you play for somebody like Coach (Jerry) Kindall and you get to be in the same position he was, it’s just an honor.”
Inside pitch
Caulfield and McClaughry each went 2 for 5 out of the eight and nine spots in the order. McClaughry had two RBIs on a pair of doubles.
Relievers Trevor Long and Jonathan Guardado combined to throw three hitless innings to close the game. Long, who didn’t record an out in his first appearance Friday, struck out four batters in two innings.
Right-hander Chandler Murphy, on the mend from an arm injury, played long toss before the game with trainer James Ready. Third baseman Tony Bullard (shoulder) also remained out.
O’Tremba played for Texas Tech before transferring to Arizona. “I have no bad blood there,” he said Saturday night. “Like any other game, you wake up, you do the same thing. It’s a great team that we get to compete against, and that’s how I view that matchup.”
Arizona last faced Grand Canyon in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Wildcats defeated the Lopes 12-6 at Hi Corbett Field en route to winning the Tucson Regional.
