Arizona scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 10-8 lead and held on in the final two innings to beat North Carolina in game two of the Chapel Hill Super Regional on Saturday. The Wildcats lost three leads on Saturday before the seventh-inning rally.
All nine Arizona batters had hits on Saturday. Arizona had to go through four pitchers, with closer Tony Pluta pitching the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts to secure the win. Arizona had a well-balanced offense with six players with multiple hits and/or an RBI.
Arizona scored in the bottom of the first inning on an Adonys Guzman sacrifice fly. A two-run home run by Sam Angelo in the top of the second inning gave North Carolina its first lead at 2-1. An Easton Breyfogle ground out in the bottom of the second tied the game at two and that's how the course of the game would continue.
North Carolina scored two more in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Arizona answered with two in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead and set up a dramatic seventh inning. Arizona used a combined five pitchers entering the seventh inning.
With two on and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Tyler Bass hit a three-run HR to put North Carolina ahead 7-6. After Casey Hintz allowed two singles following the Bass HR, Chip Hale brought in Arizona closer Tony Pluta.
Pluta threw a wild pitch, hit Kane Kepley and walked Jackson Van De Brake with the bases loaded to make it 8-6 UNC. Pluta finally struck out Luke Stevenson to get out of the top of the seventh inning. Andrew Cain walked and Easton Breyfogle singled with one out to bring up Branden Summerhill.
Summerhill doubled to score Cain and Breyfogle advanced to third. Arizona tied the game on a wild pitch. Aaron Walton struck out, followed by walks to Mason White and Adonys Guzman. Maddox Mihalakis singled to score White and Summerhill and put Arizona in front to stay at 10-8.
Pluta allowed a single and a walk in the eighth before stranding two runners and a single in the ninth before getting Stevenson to fly out to Breyfogle in left field to end the game. North Carolina will start Ryan Lynch (5-1, 2.98 ERA) versus Smith Bailey (3–3, 3.97 ERA) for Arizona on Sunday at 9:06 AM MST on ESPN2