The Arizona Wildcats took the No. 17 Rice Owls to extra innings on Sunday in the series rubber match, but an error on a Rice bunt brought in the game-winning run. The Owls then held off UA in the bottom of the tenth to take the game 6-4, and clinch the three-game series.
After the Wildcats tied the game at four in the bottom of the seventh inning, neither team was able to score in the eighth or ninth. Then with a runner on second and second baseman Grayson Lewis at the plate, Arizona put on the crash play to try and get the runner at third.
"We obviously had a chance to do something in the tenth there from a defensive standpoint and take what they were trying to do with bunting the run to third base," head coach Andy Lopez said afterwards. "Our defense was set up, everything was right in line, and eh, physical error."
First baseman Sawyer Gieseke fielded the bunt, and shortstop Kevin Newman was covering third. Gieseke threw it wide of the base, and the ball ended up in left field, letting Rice take the 5-4 lead.
"Physical errors I'm not too concerned about," Lopez continued.
"(We work on it) everyday," Newman explained. "Unfortunately we didn't get it today. We'll probably go back to work on it in practice on Thursday and hopefully clean that up."
Rice catcher John Clay Reeves came up two batters later to drive in the final run of the day to make it 6-4. Reeves had an enormous weekend for the Owls, going 8-for-14.
"That's a very good hitting team," coach Lopez said about the Rice lineup. "That's about as good a hitting team as I've seen in about the last four or five years. Really, really impressive."
"They came out swinging," Newman added. "Three days in a row they really punched us in the mouth to start the game."
Rice scored two runs in the first inning in each of the three games this weekend, spoiling last week's performance by the Arizona starting pitchers. But Andy Lopez was not too concerned about that either.
"If Rice had come in here hitting .210 and averaging four or five hits a game, I'd probably be a little more concerned. But they played this team called Texas four times and averaged double-digit hits. So that's a good hitting team. They're old. They do a good job with their plate coverage. I can look at it both ways. I'd like to hang zeroes in that first inning, but again, you've got a group averaging double-digit hits every time out, so maybe two's better than six."
"I thought each game was doable and within reach. I don't think we're going to start down two runs for the next 13 weeks unless we see Rice the next 13 weeks."
The Wildcats were kept in the game by relief pitcher Cameron Ming. Ming went 3 2/3 scoreless innings while surrendering just three hits.
Arizona returns to action Tuesday night against Oakland University. The game is scheduled to start at 6 PM MST.