Owen Kramkowski was dominant in six innings and Garret Hicks and Tony Pluta held BYU to one run in three innings of relief as Arizona earned a 4-1 win in the Big XII Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday morning. Arizona advances to the Big XIII semifinals versus the winner of Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Kramkowski pitched six innings, allowing four hits and one walk with eight strikeouts while holding BYU scoreless to improve to 8-5. It was one of Kramkowski's two most dominant performances this season. Kramkowski pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk with five strikeouts versus Oklahoma State on April 12.
Arizona surged in front in the bottom of the first inning when Mason White hit a home run off the right field foul pole and Adonys Guzman followed with a HR off the left field foul pole to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Maddox Mihalakis singled home White in the fifth inning to extend the Arizona lead to 3-0.
Ryder Robinson had an RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to get BYU within 3-1. Dom Rodriguez answered for Arizona in the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit double to score Mihalakis and put the Wildcats back up by three runs at 4-1.
Hicks allowed one run on one hit with a walk and one strikeout in one inning. Pluta relieved Hicks in the top of the eighth inning with no outs and runners on first and third. Robinson was the first batter Pluta faced and allowed the run-scoring single that was charged to Hicks.
Pluta pitched two innings allowing one hit and had one strikeout to earn his 12th save. Pluta is one save away from the Arizona program record. In his last 10 appearances, Pluta has not been charged with a run. Easton Breyfogle, Mihalakis and White each had two hits for Arizona.
Arizona will play the winner of Cincinnati and West Virginia in the Big XII Tournament semifinal on Friday at 2 PM Mountain Standard Time at Globe Life Field on ESPN+. Cincinnati and West Virginia is the game after Arizona and BYU on Thursday.