On a night when the starting pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts, it ended up being timely hitting that made the difference in Arizona's matchup against Ole Miss to close out the first day at the Coral Gables Regional.
UA's Garrett Irvin and Ole Miss starter Dylan DeLucia worked through five innings with only a few blemishes, but by the sixth and seventh innings the bats began to take over.
That led to a 4-4 tie entering the eighth inning in a game that was ultimately decided by a big double that scored three runs giving Ole Miss the 7-4 win on a rainy night in South Florida.
"We have to learn from it," UA head coach Chip Hale said. "It's not who we are. It's disappointing that we came out that way."
Rebels second baseman Peyton Chatagnier had three hits when the two teams met up last year in the Tucson Super Regional. He matched that three-game total in one night Saturday. Chatagnier's two-run home run in the seventh inning tied up the game and eventually contributed to the Wildcats bringing in someone to relieve Irvin.
The next inning Chatagnier punched a double down the line in left field that was misplayed by Arizona outfielder Chase Davis allowing three runs to cross home plate sealing the victory for the region's No. 3 seed.
The game-winning hit came off UA reliever Trevor Long, but he was only part of a shaky inning for the bullpen. Javyn Pimental opened up the inning for the Wildcats on the mound in relief of Quinn Flanagan.
The UA lefty struggled with his command and walked both batters that he faced in the game in addition to throwing a wild pitch. Another walk by Long loaded the bases before Chatagnier's bases-clearing double.
"Left handers are much better against him, and Javyn's been throwing the ball really well for us," Hale said. "So, we felt like that was the right matchup. It didn't work out."
The breakdown by the bullpen overshadowed a strong performance by Irvin, who bounced back from a difficult start last year against the Rebels in which he was pulled from the game in the second inning after allowing seven runs.
This time around the left hander was dialed in for most of the night with the run-scoring plays being some of his few mistakes in the game.
"You can't really make mistakes against their lineup, and if you do you gotta miss down," Irvin said. "Both of them, I knew what their strengths were and I pretty much did what you're not supposed to do."
The Wildcats (37-24) made things interesting in the ninth inning putting two runners in scoring position with just one out but failed to tack on any more runs.
Arizona took the lead in a big way early in the game as both Davis and second baseman Garen Caulfield hit solo home runs in the second inning to help the Wildcats claim a 2-0 advantage.
Two innings later Ole Miss (34-22) used the long ball to even up the game when shortstop Jacob Gonzalez hit a two-run home run down the line in right field that just stayed fair.
The Wildcats regained the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run double from third baseman Tony Bullard, who shined in the postseason last year. His hit brought in Davis and right fielder Tanner O'Tremba, who doubled to reach base before Davis walked.
"He just left a fastball out over the plate," Bullard said about his hit. "With two strikes, I just tried to battle and I was able to put a good swing on it."
Arizona will now have a quick turnaround with an elimination matchup against the No. 4 seed in the Coral Gables Regional, Canisus. That game will begin at 8 a.m. MST.
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