STARKVILLE, Miss. β Arizonaβs defense was so good in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday that the coaches couldnβt agree on which play was better.
First baseman Ryan Aguilar and second baseman Cody Ramer came up with impressive stops on consecutive plays to help preserve the UAβs 1-0 victory over No. 6 national seed Mississippi State in the opener of their best-of-three Super Regional at Dudy Noble Field.
After Wildcats starter Bobby Dalbec plunked the Bulldogsβ Jack Kruger to lead off the inning, Nathaniel Lowe hit a hard grounder between first and second. Aguilar made a diving grab, rose to his feet and threw to second to force Kruger.
βI thought the play their first baseman made late in the ballgame was really a game-changer,β MSU coach John Cohen said. βThey made plays when they had to.β
The next batter, Gavin Collins, also hit a grounder to the right side. Ramer ranged to his left, snagged the ball, turned and fired to second, where shortstop Louis Boyd needed to stretch to get Lowe.
βCody Ramerβs play was the play of the game,β UA coach Jay Johnson said. βIf that ball gets through, itβs first and third with one out. Instead, itβs two outs, man on first.β
Dalbec then struck out Jacob Robson looking.
Regardless of which play was better or more important, Arizonaβs defense again played a key role in a critical victory.
βHuge,β Johnson said. βFor a big part of the year, we were in the top 10 in the country in fielding percentage. I donβt know if we finished there. (The Wildcats were tied for 20th entering this weekend.) But a big part of it is Ryan and Cody.β
Power outage
Cohen and Johnson didnβt necessarily agree on how the umpires and NCAA officials handled the 37-minute power outage that disrupted the game.
The power went out at 7:32 p.m. local time, in the middle of the eighth inning. There was enough daylight to keep playing, and the umpires made a signal suggesting that was going to happen. But Cohen protested, and the delay continued.
βItβs pretty simple,β Cohen said. βIf you have lighting in the top half of an inning, you have to have lighting in the bottom half. Itβs called competitive fairness. I thought it was very well handled by everybody involved.β
Johnson wasnβt happy with the decision, in particular because Dalbec had retired 11 consecutive batters. Johnson declined to comment on the outage specifically, saying only: βI tip my hat to the umpiring crew. They wanted to do what was right.β
Dalbec, draft
Dalbec played in the Cape Cod League the past two summers. That experience included workouts at Bostonβs Fenway Park.
Dalbec now is a member of the Red Sox organization after they selected him in the fourth round of the MLB draft Friday afternoon.
βItβs pretty cool,β Dalbec said of the possibility of playing real games at Fenway. βThis obviously is a step closer to that.β
No other Arizona players were drafted Friday. Junior right-hander Kevin Ginkel is expected to be picked Saturday, when the draft concludes with rounds 11-40.
One of Arizonaβs top signees for next season, Yavapai College left-hander JoJo Romero, also went in the fourth round, to the Philadelphia Phillies. Another highly regarded commit, infielder Nick Quintana from Arbor View High in Las Vegas, wasnβt picked. He tweeted that heβd be coming to Arizona next season, although the tweet subsequently was deleted.
Inside pitch
βSticking with his postseason policy, Johnson wouldnβt say who will start Saturday. Itβs likely that ace right-hander Nathan Bannister will get the nod. Like Dalbec, Bannister would be throwing on four daysβ rest.
- βThe 1-0 victory was Arizonaβs first by that score in a postseason game since 1959. The UAβs last postseason shutout came in the 2012 College World Series.
