ARLINGTON, Texas — When he became Arizona’s hitting coach last summer, Toby DeMello didn’t implement drastic changes. He inherited the remnants of one of the most potent lineups in the nation.
DeMello did work with one batter to alter his swing path: veteran outfielder Tanner O’Tremba.
The changes O’Tremba made have been working so far. The fourth-year junior smashed his second home run in as many games Saturday, sparking No. 13 Arizona to a 14-4 victory over Oklahoma in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Park.
O’Tremba finished the night 3 for 5 with three RBIs. He has as many home runs in nine at-bats as he had in 67 last season.
“The biggest thing Toby does is, he wants to get a little depth and to stay in the zone longer,” O’Tremba said. “I had a bat that was going through the zone too fast. I wasn't able to hit the balls that were outside, that were low, off-speed that was down. So really just keeping a path that allowed me to hit every pitch, or at least get my best swing off.”
Arizona improved to 2-0 under first-year coach Chip Hale. The Wildcats will play their final game of the tournament Sunday afternoon against No. 23 Texas Tech.
Arizona had 15 hits, with nine players notching at least one. The only starter who didn’t get a hit was star catcher Daniel Susac.
“This lineup’s got a lot of dudes that can hit,” O’Tremba said. “I trust any one of them to go into a game and get a big knock for us. To have it as a group performance is amazing. And it's awesome to see your teammates do great.”
After the way last season ended, it was fair to wonder which version of Garrett Irvin would take the mound for Arizona on Saturday night.
In his first postseason appearance last spring, Irvin hurled a gem – a three-hit, 10-strikeout shutout against UC Santa Barbara. The hashtag #Gary was trending on Twitter.
Irvin’s final two outings were uncharacteristically short and messy. He allowed a combined 12 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in losses to Ole Miss and Stanford.
So which Irvin showed up for the Wildcats’ second game of the tournament? Both, basically.
Irvin cruised through the first three innings, allowing only one hit while striking out four. He needed only 46 pitches – 30 of which were strikes – in the first three frames.
Irvin labored through the fourth. He fell behind four of the seven batters he faced and walked two — including one who was down 0-2. Oklahoma scored a pair of runs.
“Good. It wasn't great,” Hale said of Irvin’s performance. “He didn't throw as many strikes as he'd have liked to. Him being a veteran, you’d think he could get 80 pitches and get five innings. But he battled and got through it.”
Irvin ran his pitch count up to 81 and was done for the night. But he left with the lead after Arizona scored five runs in the bottom of the third.
Mac Bingham and O’Tremba each notched two-RBI triples. Oklahoma center fielder Tanner Tredaway misjudged Bingham’s line drive, which sailed over Tredaway’s head to the wall. Right fielder Trent Brown got a piece of O’Tremba’s drive to deep right-center but couldn’t hang onto the ball as he crashed into the padding near the home-team bullpen.
Oklahoma scored a run in the fifth to make it 5-3, but Arizona immediately responded. RBI doubles by Tyler Casagrande and Blake Paugh extended the lead to 7-3.
Casagrande rebounded after going hitless in the opener, including two strikeouts in four at-bats. He finished Saturday 2 for 3 with two walks.
Arizona broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh, scoring seven runs. The inning featured O’Tremba’s second home run, consecutive bases-loaded walks and a two-RBI double by Bingham. Bingham’s four RBIs were a career high.
Arizona took better at-bats Saturday, striking out only four times compared to 14 on Friday. First-base coach Brian Anderson, a former big-leaguer, commented that the bright lights of a major-league stadium can adversely affect a young player.
“You (saw) some of our guys swing at pitches that they didn’t swing at the entire fall,” Anderson said. “That has nothing to do with their lack of depth perception. It's just because those lights go on and it adds a little bit of adrenaline, a little bit extra to the game.”
Led by O’Tremba, the Wildcats seemed to have made the necessary adjustments by Saturday.
Inside pitch
• Third baseman Tony Bullard missed his second consecutive game because of a shoulder injury. He most likely will be out Sunday as well and will miss Tuesday’s opener to attend his father’s funeral. Bullard could return for the series opener vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday.
• Right-hander Chandler Murphy (arm) played catch during warmups. Murphy does not have a set timetable to return.
• Right-handed relievers Chris Barraza and Josh Randall made their UA debuts and finished the game. Barraza, a transfer from New Mexico State who attended Sahuarita High School, allowed one walk and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning. Randall, a freshman, allowed one walk and struck out two in two scoreless frames. His fastball touched 97 miles per hour.
• Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson probably doesn’t want to face Arizona again anytime soon. The Sooners allowed 32 runs in a pair of losses to the Wildcats last year in the Frisco College Baseball Classic about 40 miles up the road.
• Right-hander Dawson Netz (0-0, 4.50 ERA in 2021) will start Sunday’s finale. He will face Texas Tech freshman left-hander Mason Molina.
