From Arizona Athletics
Behind a two-hit complete game from Bailey Ober, College of Charleston topped Arizona 3-1 in the first game of a three-game set Friday at the Ballpark at Patriots Point.
The loss dropped Arizona to 31-17, while College of Charleston improved to 24-25 on the season. Ober went all nine innings, giving up just one run on two hits, and striking out 13. He walked just one, needing 107 pitches total.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard first, plating a run in the first inning off starter JC Cloney. The leadoff man, Luke Manzo, was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved over to second base on a sacrifice bunt. He scored one batter later when third-place hitter Tommy Richter singled to center. An error allowed Manzo to score and make it 1-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however. On the first pitch of the second inning, JJ Matijevic hit his 10th home run of the season to right field to tie the game at one. The home run marked the first time an Arizona player reached double-digit home runs since Bobby Dalbec slugged 15 in 2015 to lead the Pac-12. It also extended his hitting streak to 10 games, which is his longest of the season. It also gave the junior three home runs in last three games, after he slugged two in last Sunday’s win over Washington.
The Cougars regained the lead in the fourth inning. With a runner on second and two outs, designated hitter Danny Wondrack singled off third baseman Nick Quintana’s glove to plate a run and make it 2-1. An inning later, College of Charleston extended its lead to 3-1.
The Cougars led off the inning with a double and a single to put two men on with no outs. Cloney struck out Manzo for the first out of the inning. But the next batter, Dupree Hart singled to right to plate a run and make it 3-1. The Cougars went on to load the bases with one out, but Cloney got a double play to escape further damage and get out of the inning.
Cloney got through the sixth, and then got two quick outs in the seventh. He exited at that point, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out four. The Cats got out of the inning with no further damage and held the Cougars off the scoreboard in the eighth. But Arizona couldn’t get anything going off Ober to come back.
Quintana had Arizona’s other hit, which was a double to right-centerfield. The Cats will look to even up the series Saturday. First pitch is set for 11:30 a.m., MST, though a potential storm could alter plans. Left-hander Cameron Ming is scheduled to pitch for Arizona.
Behind a two-hit complete game from Bailey Ober, College of Charleston topped Arizona 3-1 in the first game of a three-game set Friday at the Ballpark at Patriots Point.
The loss dropped Arizona to 31-17, while College of Charleston improved to 24-25 on the season. Ober went all nine innings, giving up just one run on two hits, and striking out 13. He walked just one, needing 107 pitches total.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard first, plating a run in the first inning off starter JC Cloney. The leadoff man, Luke Manzo, was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved over to second base on a sacrifice bunt. He scored one batter later when third-place hitter Tommy Richter singled to center. An error allowed Manzo to score and make it 1-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however. On the first pitch of the second inning, JJ Matijevic hit his 10th home run of the season to right field to tie the game at one. The home run marked the first time an Arizona player reached double-digit home runs since Bobby Dalbec slugged 15 in 2015 to lead the Pac-12. It also extended his hitting streak to 10 games, which is his longest of the season. It also gave the junior three home runs in last three games, after he slugged two in last Sunday’s win over Washington.
The Cougars regained the lead in the fourth inning. With a runner on second and two outs, designated hitter Danny Wondrack singled off third baseman Nick Quintana’s glove to plate a run and make it 2-1. An inning later, College of Charleston extended its lead to 3-1.
The Cougars led off the inning with a double and a single to put two men on with no outs. Cloney struck out Manzo for the first out of the inning. But the next batter, Dupree Hart singled to right to plate a run and make it 3-1. The Cougars went on to load the bases with one out, but Cloney got a double play to escape further damage and get out of the inning.
Cloney got through the sixth, and then got two quick outs in the seventh. He exited at that point, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out four. The Cats got out of the inning with no further damage and held the Cougars off the scoreboard in the eighth. But Arizona couldn’t get anything going off Ober to come back.
Quintana had Arizona’s other hit, which was a double to right-centerfield. The Cats will look to even up the series Saturday. First pitch is set for 11:30 a.m., MST, though a potential storm could alter plans. Left-hander Cameron Ming is scheduled to pitch for Arizona.
