TUCSON – A day after Grand Canyon rallied nine runs over top-seeded Arizona, the Wildcats were shut out and completed the baseball season after falling to No. 2 Dallas Baptist 7-0 Saturday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
No. 2 Dallas Baptist, thanks to six solid innings from right-hander Jaron DeBerry and a pair of two-run homers from Tom Poole, kept its season alive with a win Saturday afternoon in brutal heat for Sunday play.
DBU (45-14) awaits the loser of Saturday night’s winner’s bracket game between No. 3 West Virginia and Grand Canyon.
For the second straight game, Arizona’s starting pitcher is struggling.
On Friday night, Clark Candiotti allowed a three-run double in the sixth to give the Lopes a 5-3 lead. On Saturday, Cam Walty, whose cutter was slipping away, allowed nine hits and six runs in the first four innings.
This quick exit from a regional tournament organized in Arizona reaffirmed parity in college baseball for coach Chip Hale.
“It’s obvious to me how good everyone is in college baseball,” said Hale, who led the Wildcats (36-23) to a third consecutive regional championship during his tenure at UA. “We talked about the state of our program and how young we were with the freshmen and sophomores. Some juniors there.
“But if you look at Grand Canyon. We played them four times this year and they beat us three. They’re a really good club. They do a great job. And they’re supposedly a mid-major. It’s a great thing. College sports in general you see that in the NCAA basketball tournament. It’s fun for those teams, but not for us.
DBU, the Conference USA champion, could have been a host school in a regional, but the Patriots were honored with a first-round loss to Big 12 West Virginia.
They bounced back in a big way with their offense after being held to one run against the Mountaineers, doing most of the damage in the first five innings.
They had nine of their 12 hits in the first five innings, as UA relievers Kyler Heyne and Tony Pluta combined to retire 12 straight batters after Walty left the game in the fifth when he gave up a second two-run homer. to Poole. , who has hit 11 of his 12 home runs since May 1.
“Cam had the arsenal to fight these guys really well,” Hale said. “He just didn’t have the cutter on him today. Heyne came in and really used the cutter, as did Pluta, and they neutralized them. He just didn’t have it today.”
DeBerry was on top of all his pitches from the start. He ended up throwing 118 pitches, the most of his career, but went six innings, allowing just three hits, walking four and striking out six.
The only inning Arizona threatened against him, in the fifth, left runners on second and third after Mason White came out to center to end the inning.
He was mixing a curveball for strikes with a fastball and a slider.
“It’s not about throwing harder or trying to do too much,” DeBerry said. “Anytime I can mix up my fastball, it makes my breaking balls better. The biggest thing, in those moments when things get tougher and the lineup is seeing pitches a little better, is just focusing more on execution.” “.
Poole said there’s no reason for his increased power other than finding pitches he can hit well.
“It’s as simple as it gets,” Poole said. “I was overthinking it. I just simplified it and did what I’m good at. The power will come.”
DBU coach Dan Heefner isn’t surprised by how open the Tucson Regional is.
“Anybody can beat anybody,” Heefner said. “Division I baseball is extremely competitive. It’s across the board. And this regional is one of those. One through four are all good teams. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if any of the four won this.”
To suggest ideas for human interest stories and other news, contact Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
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