Just two days after delivering its most dominating pitching performance of the season, the Arizona baseball team was on the receiving end of a pitching gem at the hands of No. 12 Oklahoma State.
Sophomore Thomas Keeling kept Wildcat batters on their heels all night long, going seven innings and striking out 12 during a 10-4 OSU win Tuesday night at Sancet Stadium.
“”(Keeling) was going pretty good,”” said UA head coach Andy Lopez. “”He threw a lot of fastballs by our guys. He didn’t come into the game with good numbers (on the season), but he did a good job (Tuesday night).””
Keeling consistently delivered his fastball in the low-90s and Arizona (8-6) could never get around it.
On the flip side, freshman Kyle Simon (1-1) started for Arizona and was hit immediately. The 6-foot-5 right-hander battled with each hitter, taking some at-bats into double-digit pitch counts.
After walking on glass for three innings, he finally fell through in the fourth when he put two Cowboys on base. Lopez then replaced Simon with sophomore Daniel Workman, but Workman promptly surrendered a three-run bomb to OSU catcher Kevin David.
“”There was some bad relief,”” Lopez said. “”A lot of good things on Oklahoma State’s behalf, but not a lot of good things on our behalf.””
Senior Brad Glenn, playing first base as opposed to his regular position at third base, provided the only blip on the radar screen for Keeling was a solo home run in the seventh.
Arizona, however, did mount somewhat of a late-inning rally in the eighth inning once Keeling left the game. Glenn and left fielder Bobby Coyle led off with singles and designated hitter Daniel Butler was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Lopez then made a surprise move by pulling catcher Dwight Childs – who had two hits on the day – in favor of freshman Bobby Brown.
Brown proceeded to rip a single down the right field line to collect his first career RBI.
That hit capped the scoring, though, as the Wildcats couldn’t claw back from their early deficit.
Rematch up next for Arizona, OSU
The Wildcats will have a chance to rebound from Tuesday night’s loss as they face off against the Cowboys again tonight at 7 at Sancet Stadium.
Not only will it provide a chance to split the two-game series, it will also give Arizona a shot to prove itself against one of the nation’s elite teams.
Tuesday night’s loss was Arizona’s fourth against a ranked opponent in four games this season. To add salt to the wound, the Wildcats have been outscored in those four games, 43-19.
“”They’re better than us right now,”” Lopez said of the two ranked teams Arizona has faced this season in Georgia and OSU. “”They’re playing defense better than we are, pitching better than we are and hitting better than we are.””
Glenn didn’t put it quite so bluntly, but he did recognize that perhaps the Wildcats are putting too much pressure on themselves against ranked foes.
“”We’re trying too hard,”” Glenn said. “”I remember being a freshman in a season like this and thinking that I was done with baseball. As a senior I need to reach out to those players and help them realize that it’s the same game we’ve been playing for a million years.””
Freshman Donn Roach (1-2) will take the ball tonight for the Wildcats after losing his last outing on Saturday to UMass.
“”He didn’t throw a lot of pitches his last time out,”” Lopez said, referring to when Roach gave up four earned runs in three innings of work against the Minutemen. “”We need get these young guys more innings, so we’re going to throw Roach for about 60-70 pitches.””
