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Last week, James Farris threw 100 pitches. Arizona won 13-1.
This week, James Farris threw 100 pitches. Arizona won 6-0.
Farris (W, 2-0) absolutely dominated the Alcorn St. Braves on Saturday night, allowing just five hits and one walk on the night. The game only took a little over two hours, which was good for catcher Jordan Berger.
"I gotta finish some homework actually," said Berger. "I got a D2L quiz and an essay due at midnight, and I don't want to do that after the game tomorrow."
According to head coach Andy Lopez, Farris only missed his location with the fastball five times on the night. That's the way a Friday night guy should be pitching.
"The umpire had a tight zone, but James stuck with it," Berger said after the game. "He had real good location with his fastball, and when he threw his curveball, it had real good bite on it and kept them off-balance. James did a real good job."
"Real good command of his secondary stuff, which is important for him," Lopez added. "He's not a real hard-thrower, so he's gotta get hitters with his secondary pitchers and he did a real good job about that."
Arizona's offense was not as consistent as it could have been, but did manage to get a run across the plate in five of the eight innings.
"I don't feel like we're there yet offensively," coach Lopez said.
Berger led the way for the Wildcats at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs batted in. He was starting in place of Riley Moore for defensive purposes, but his offense was there as well.
"You gotta go up there with an attitude," Berger said of his improved approach at the plate. "Every time you have to be optimistic that good things are going to happen."
Saturday night also saw a new face in the lead-off spot. Zach Gibbons got the call, with Kevin Newman moving down to the three-hole. Gibbons went 2-for-4 along with a walk of his own (six different Arizona batters walked on the night). Newman went 1-for-5.
"We're gonna try that, I want to get Newman back in the three-hole," Lopez said. "See how he feels in the three-hole, I think he's been pressing in the one-hole, and Gibbons led-off for us last year sometimes."
Arizona and Alcorn State have a double-header scheduled on Sunday, with the first game starting at 2 PM and the second game starting at 6 PM. You'll be able to follow along and watch a live stream right here for both games tomorrow. Cody Hamlin will start on the mound in game one, and Tyler Crawford will take the ball in the nightcap. Also, expect to see Riley Moore out there catching one of the games, and probably Jordan Berger catching the other.
"We're still trying to grab an identity," stated Coach Lopez.