Arizona Shuts Out Ball State on Opening Night, 3-0
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TUCSON, Ariz. -- Led by a dominant pitching performance, the Arizona Wildcats (1-0) blanked the visiting Ball State Cardinals (0-1) on a 3-0 final score on Opening Night.
The story of the night was Arizona's pitching, which led the squad to their third Opening Night shutout under sixth-year head coach Jay Johnson. The Wildcats arms fanned 14 batters and allowed just five hits and issued only three walks. Arizona's pitchers notched 10+ strikeouts for the 12th time in 16 games under associate head coach Nate Yeskie.
Sophomore right-hander Chase Silseth earned the Opening Night start for the Wildcats and tossed a gem in his debut. The transfer from the College of Southern Nevada struck out seven and allowed three hits over 5.2 innings to earn his first win in an Arizona uniform.
Sophomore outfielder Ryan Holgate smacked a two-run double to the wall in right-center in the bottom of the first inning to give the Wildcats all the offense they needed to win.
Arizona WildBATS
- DH Ryan Holgate: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
- CF Donta' Williams: 0-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB
- 2B Kobe Kato: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB
- LF Mac Bingham: 2-for-3
Bullpen Bullies
- RHP Preston Price: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K
- RHP Vince Vannelle: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K, Save
Number of the Night
- Friday's 3-0 victory was Arizona's 13th-straight Opening Night victory. The Wildcats have not lost on Opening Night since 2008.
Photo of the Night
Tweet of the Night
Final line for @Chase_Silseth in his Arizona debut: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K ???? #BearDown pic.twitter.com/9JqwHU3BNM
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) February 20, 2021
Up Next
Arizona and Ball State face off in game two of their four-game series tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 20 with a first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MST.