There was a lot that went right for the Arizona baseball team in a 14-4 win against the University of Oklahoma Saturday night. Here are some key stats that stood out in the win.
Batters only struck out four times:
After striking out 14 times in Friday’s win against Kansas State, the Arizona hitters took a much better approach to the plate on Saturday against Sooners. They consistently put the ball in play, making the Oklahoma fielders get them out instead of beating themselves. Oklahoma committed two errors as well, showing even more why it is so important to put the ball in play as you never know when your opponent will beat themselves.
Five hitters with multiple hits:
We saw signs of last year’s dominant lineup Saturday under the bright lights of Globe Life Field. Tanner O’Tremba collected three hits, while Mac Bingham, Noah Turley, Tyler Casagrande and Blake Paugh all collected two hits. Arizona had 15 hits as a team.
12 runs in two innings:
The Wildcat hitters struck big first in the third inning, putting 5 runs on the board in a frame that was highlighted by two-run triples hit by Bingham and O’Tremba. Arizona later blew the game wide open in the seventh inning, pouring in 7 runs. O’Tremba led the frame off with his second home run of the year. They later took advantage of a wild Oklahoma bullpen as Paugh and Garen Caulfield each drew a walk with the bases loaded before Bingham launched a two-run double. We saw it all of last season and we’ll see it again this year in that Arizona can put 5-7 runners on the board any given inning.
4-11 with RISP:
You can put all of the runners on base that you want, but it is the hits with runners on base (specifically in scoring position on second and third base) that matter the most and the Wildcats took advantage in all of those situations.
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Zero errors:
The Wildcats led the Pac-12 in errors committed with 78 last season. So far so good this year as they committed just one error Friday (on a super tough hop to Caulfield at third base) and did not commit a single error on Saturday.
Middle relief came through:
Quinn Flanagan, Chris Barraza and Josh Randall combined to allow 2 runs across five innings with seven strikeouts out of the bullpen. Barraza, a transfer from New Mexico State, and Randall were making their Arizona debuts on the mound.
The Wildcats will be looking to sweep the State Farm College Baseball Showdown as they get set to face Texas Tech on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST.
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