OMAHA, Neb. — Arizona’s worst game of the season, if using a mercy-rule loss as a barometer, occurred almost four months ago against Louisville in Arlington, Texas.
The Wildcats were held to one hit — a Mason White home run — and lost 13-1 in eight innings on Feb. 16 in the Shriner Children’s College Showdown. As Chip Hale’s former coach Jerry Kindall would say, Arizona was “taken to the woodshed” by Louisville in that one.
It was the only mercy-rule loss of the season for the Wildcats, although North Carolina would have won in seven innings in the 18-2 rout last week in the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Super Regional if mercy rules were allowed in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels led 13-2 through seven innings.
Arizona (44-20) will have a rematch Sunday (11 a.m., ESPN, 1290-AM) with Louisville (40-23) with the season in the balance in the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field.
The Wildcats are projected to start normal Sunday starter Smith Bailey, a freshman right-hander who is 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA. He will be pitted against either junior right-hander Tucker Biven (3-0, 4.19) or freshman left-hander Ethan Eberle (6-2, 4.34), according to coach Dan McDonnell.
“I think obviously you know Biven and Eberle are two candidates,” McDonnell told reporters after Louisville practiced at the Nebraska-Omaha’s baseball field Saturday. “I know (pitching) coach (Roger) Williams would like to look at the matchups and feel great about both options, and really, obviously. all hands on deck tomorrow. You’d like both those guys to touch the baseball while they’re here.
“I feel really good about our pitching staff and our depth, especially with that off day. It’s probably more about the offense and just getting going a little bit. It’s gonna be blowing in, I think, again tomorrow. So man, you really just gotta be on the ball, move the ball, put a little more pressure on the defense than we were able to do (in Friday’s loss against Oregon State), and let’s see how it turns out.”
Arizona (44-20)
Coach: Chip Hale (152-94 in 4 years at Arizona and overall).
Program record in CWS: 43-33 in 19 appearances (won national titles in 1976, 1980, 1986, 2012).
Projected Lineup:
RF Brendan Summerhill (.354, 4 HRs, 34 RBIs)
CF Aaron Walton (.317, 14, 49)
SS Mason White (.332, 20, 73)
C Adonys Guzman (.326, 8, 42)
3B Maddox Mihalakis (.278, 5, 37)
2B Garen Caulfield (.257, 8, 44)
DH Andrew Cain (.245, 6, 22)
1B Tommy Splaine (.294, 5, 25)
LF Easton Breyfogle (.244, 5, 31)
Projected Starter:
RHP Smith Bailey (3-3, 4.01)
Arizona and Louisville are in a do-or-die situation after losing their first game Friday in Omaha — Arizona 7-4 to Coastal Carolina after the Chanticleers rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth and Louisville 4-3 to Oregon State on a walk-off win for the Beavers in the bottom of the ninth.
“We’ve done it before, so it’s just taking it pitch by pitch and knowing it can happen,” Arizona pitcher Owen Kramkowski said about how the Wildcats have rebounded well after a loss this season.
“If we trust it, it will happen. So, just trusting everyone we’ve got with us is the biggest part right now.”
Louisville’s players are similarly confident about bouncing back.
“When we get a loss during the season, we usually come back with an edge,” said right-hander Patrick Forbes, the starting pitcher in the Cardinals’ loss Friday night. “We’re definitely hungry after this win. That’s why they give you two losses.
“It’s not like basketball, where you lose once and you’re out. That’s what makes this game great. I am looking forward to how we respond.”
Louisville (40-23)
Coach: Dan McDonnell (791-358-1 in 19 years at Louisville and overall).
Program record in CWS: 4-11 in six appearances.
Projected Lineup:
CF Lucas Moore (.350, 5 HRs, 48 RBIs)
C Matt Klein (.320, 5, 30)
3B Jake Munroe (.348, 12, 59)
DH Eddie King Jr. (.360, 17, 60)
RF Garret Pike (.289, 4, 39)
LF Zion Rose (.314, 12, 63)
1B Tague Davis (.287, 18, 51)
SS Alex Alicea (.309, 1, 24)
2B Kamau Neighbors (.252, 0, 17)
Projected Starter:
RHP Tucker Biven (3-0, 4.19) or LHP Ethan Eberle (6-2, 4.34)
Third baseman Jake Munroe stated that the Cardinals have a “so what, now what?” mantra after losses.
“That’s a saying we use a lot,” he added. “It’s win or go home now. I think you’ll see some of the best baseball out of us.”
A look at Louisville and Arizona coming off a loss (interesting to note that each had its longest losing streak of the season in May, shortly before the end of the regular season):
— Arizona is 13-6 after suffering a defeat this season. The Wildcats’ longest losing streak was four games to TCU, Grand Canyon and Utah from May 4-10. Arizona lost two consecutive games following a win only three different times this season. They were 3-3 in Big 12 series after losing the first game. They won their series against BYU, Oklahoma State and Houston in this scenario.
— Louisville is 14-8 after a loss this season. Its longest losing streak was five games, with the opponents being Georgia Tech, Bellarmine, and Wake Forest in that span from May 11-16. The Cardinals suffered consecutive losses after a win five times. Louisville won only one series in the ACC after losing the first game, at Florida State. The Cardinals were 1-4 in ACC series after they lost the first game.
McDonnell remains encouraged about his team responding well Sunday after losing to Oregon State.
“I mean, there’s no reason for us to not be confident,” he said. “It hasn’t been the smoothest year. Success is not always a straight line. We’ve had our bumps in the road, and we’ve zigged and we’ve zagged.
“We’ve been knocked on the mat a lot this year, but we have always gotten up. When you come from Louisville, Kentucky, and you have a Muhammad Ali uniform, you talk a lot of boxing, and you’re going to get knocked down, especially with these teams.
“I’m as confident as I think as a coach should be and just looking forward to getting out there playing Sunday.”
Arizona unquestionably has shown resilience this season. No better example exists with the Wildcats winning the last two games at North Carolina after the 16-run loss in the opening game of the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Wildcats’ proven resolve and the four months that have passed since the game against Louisville makes the blowout loss obsolete.
Some tidbits on that game in which Louisville scored eight runs in the fifth and five in the eighth:
— Bailey’s first start as a college pitcher was superb, allowing three hits in four shutout innings with five strikeouts and no walks.
— Michael Hilker Jr. struggled in 2/3 of an inning after relieving Bailey in the fifth inning. He gave up eight hits and seven runs.
— After Eric Orloff, Tony Pluta and Julian Tonghini combined for one hit in three innings of relief, freshman left-hander Mason Russell gave up five runs on four hits and a walk in only a third of an inning in the eighth. Hunter Alberini put out the fire with two strikeouts in the last two-thirds of the inning.
— Louisville starter Peter Michael gave up only White’s home run in his 4 2/3 innings. Relievers Colton Hartman, Brennyn Cutts and Wyatt Danilowicz did not allow a hit in the last 3 1/3 innings. Michael, formerly of San Diego and Northwestern, is 4-3 with a 4.81 ERA in 13 starts this season. He worked into the sixth inning only three times with his longest outing 6 1/3 innings in an impressive win over North Carolina on March 16.
— The Cardinals had 16 singles among their 17 hits in the game. Eddie King Jr., a senior right fielder, had a triple.
“It’s a whole new season,” McDonnell said when asked about the game in February. “I mean, we’ll look at our scouting report and look at that game, but, my gosh, it’s February 16th. So it’s really a whole new game.
“We’re into scouting reports. We want to be organized and we want to be prepared. But this is about us. I’ve got to make sure these guys don’t get too down on themselves.”
Arizona’s lineup has developed and proven to be volatile since being subdued by Louisville in that early-season game, which capped an 0-3 start at Arlington.
The Wildcats did not become discouraged afterward, winning their next seven games, serving notice about their resolve.
“They’ve done it all year,” Hale said. “We’ve lost Fridays and won the series. It’s going to be tougher. This is a four-team deal. So it’s not just like winning two more games. We’re going to have to win a bunch of games (four to be exact to make the College World Series final series that starts June 21).
“To do that, we’ll have to fight and battle and scratch.”
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
Recommended for you
