Oklahoma City — 5th in this postseason, Arizona Wildcats (39-21, 8-16 Pac-12) faces another unseeded team when they enter the field in women’s College World Series on sunday. Texas (44-20-1, 12-6 Big 12) lost to Oklahoma 7-2 on Saturday, fell to the loser’s bracket and set up a match against Arizona.
Longhorns and Wildcats have several connections that create interesting stories. Until June 2018, Texas head coach Mike White was building a power plant in Oregon. When Texas called for a salary increase, the duck didn’t make the kind of offer needed to keep him in Eugene. White has left and many of his players have chased him to Austin, but he has a considerable history of coaching the Pac-12 team.
Few former Oregon players have gone to Texas now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a familiar face on the field.Former Arizona outfielder Bella Dayton She left later in the year than her coach did four years ago. A sophomore in a red shirt was waiting for her name to appear on the transfer portal this year. She decided to leave Wildcats in November 2021. She finally landed near her home in Wylie, Texas, and started her 53 games. This year’s long horn.
“I have a lot of respect for (Arizona). I was so close to them that I love to meet my old teammates,” Dayton said. “But I’m excited to be able to play with the team I’m in now. I know they’re turning their backs on everything we do. We’re excited to keep moving forward. I am. “
Dayton hit .271 with five home runs this year.One of those home runs helped send UCLA To the loser’s bracket when the Longhorns defeated Bruins 7-2 in the first WCWS game. Dayton also made a home run in Game 2 of the Seattle Regional, where the unseeded Longhorns sent Washington to a home run for the season.
She was an important transfer for Texas, but not the most important addition from the portal.It will be a senior pitcher in the 5th year Haley DorciniJoined the Longhorns from Fresno State University.
2021 Mountain waist The Pitcher of the Year put a heavy load on Texas this season, throwing 202 innings throughout the year. No one else in the Longhorns has pitched more than 86.1 innings. At the beginning of the season, Dolcini may join the Longhorns circle.
Dolcini is a strikeout pitcher who made a K against 212 batters this season. This averages 1.05 per inning.
That would have been a bigger concern for Wildcats early in the season.However, they showed that they could win a run against a high strikeout pitcher when faced. Oklahomaof Kelly Maxwell In the first game of WCWS.
Arizona also has a chance to score against Dolcini. Despite her strikeouts and 0.95 WHIP this season, she admits an earned run of 2.18 per 7 innings. She faces a team that makes an average of 6 runs per game.
Wildcats is hitting .261 as a postseason team. This is well above the batting average of .175 that Dolcini’s opponent hit her this season. Arizona batters also recorded 17 steps in seven games.
Perhaps most importantly, Wildcats are still finding a way to shoot the ball from the park, even if they haven’t played in Tucson’s desert climate. Arizona hit a total of 10 home runs in Colombia, Starkville and Oklahoma City.The only game they couldn’t hit at least one home run was a win Oregon On Friday night.
However, White kept Dolcini away from the match this postseason.Wildcats will probably face if he needs to make that choice again on Sunday Sophia Simpson.. Simpson’s ERA for this season is 3.63 and WHIP is 1.53.Other options for Longhorns Estelle Czech Those who sport 3.41 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.
Arizona pitchers have been unique since the beginning of the postseason. They no longer provide a reason for observers to say that Arizona can score, but can’t prevent opponents from scoring. That’s why Wildcats is playing the third game in Oklahoma City.
“A lot of work was spent on our relationship, both in the bullpen and outside the field.” Devin Nets Said about fellow starters Hana Bowen.. “This is something we need to tackle because we faced a lot of adversity while playing the conference. When we came here, we knew we were in good shape. It’s a lot of fun to know. Bow, I enjoyed playing with you. “
Her presence was always in Nets, even when Bowen wasn’t pitching early in the season. Bowen was the first person to believe she helped her when she was asked about how Nets handled the increased workload during the sophomore season.
After Arizona defeated Yale University on March 11, 2022, Netz said, “I’m having fun, working a lot with Bow, and learning from her, so I have to do a lot to her.” Told. ..
Wildcats aims to keep their name in Arizona’s books as the most unlikely achiever in the history of the program.They also enjoy the ride quality together Caitlin LoweTheir first year head coach.
“It’s a lot of fun playing for Kate,” Netz said. “I think it’s great because she knows that we all trust to do our job. I think that’s what she brings to the game … and For our team, it’s that quiet confidence that we can do it, that gentle confidence. It’s great just to know that she trusts us. “
Wildcats and Longhorns will play at 4pm MST on Sunday, June 5th. The game will air on ESPN2.
