Arizona pitcher Nathan Bannister didn’t look like he’d thrown 96 pitches on Friday.
The Wildcats’ Monday starter went seven stellar innings on two days’ rest, giving up five hits and striking out five in leading Arizona to a 6-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette and forcing a winner-take-all game for the NCAA Lafayette regional title.
Bannister (11-2) was just short of 100 pitches in Friday’s tournament-opening 7-3 victory over Sam Houston State, but Arizona coach Jay Johnson tabbed him for Monday’s first start even before Sunday’s elimination-game win over SHSU was over.
“Last night he told me after the game ended,” said Bannister, who threw six shutout innings before the host Ragin’ Cajuns got a run in the seventh and a two-run homer from Joe Robbins in the eighth.
