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Here are my top five takeaways from another heartbreaking Wildcats defeat vs. the Chanticleers in Omaha, Nebraska:

1. Blooper and bunt

How cruel is baseball?

After being the beneficiary of some breaks in the Super Regional finale Sunday at North Carolina, Arizona couldn鈥檛 catch one in two pivotal situations Friday.

Let鈥檚 start with the bottom of the eighth inning. Garrett Hicks had done a magnificent job out of the bullpen, retiring four consecutive batters 鈥� the first two with a runner on third base in the bottom of the seventh. He had an 0-2 count on No. 9 hitter Wells Sykes and threw a nasty slider down, away and out of the strike zone.

Sykes reached down and blooped the ball down the right field line. It landed on the chalk in front of Brendan Summerhill for a double 鈥� a hit both impressive and ridiculous.

鈥淕reat pitch, almost on the ground,鈥� UA coach Chip Hale said. 鈥淕uy dunks it into right for a double.鈥�

Hale then decided, correctly, to intentionally walk Coastal leadoff hitter Caden Bodine with first base open. Hicks had limited right-handed batters to a .222 average, per ESPN; lefties were at .318. It made more sense to face the right-handed-hitting Sebastian Alexander, who鈥檇 been 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, than the left-handed-hitting Bodine.

Hicks fell behind 2-0, then surrendered a single to center field. Hale and pitching coach Kevin Vance agreed it was time to bring in Tony Pluta, who earlier in the day had been named the NCBWA Stopper of the Year.

Pluta uncharacteristically fell behind Blake Barthol 3-1 before yielding a two-RBI double. Pluta is human after all.

The 7-4 deficit proved too much to overcome. An earlier 2-0 hole wasn鈥檛. How Coastal took the lead was equally bewildering.

The Chanticleers put runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the second. Coastal鈥檚 Ty Dooley attempted a sacrifice bunt but popped it up down the third base line.

The player who had the best chance to catch it was UA pitcher Owen Kramkowski. A good, tall athlete, Kramkowski made a diving attempt. The ball went in and out of his glove for a single. Instead of first and second with one out, the Chanticleers had the bases loaded with no outs. Sykes鈥� two-RBI single made it 2-0.

Would the bunt have spun foul if no Wildcat had touched it? Probably. Should Kramkowski have gone after it? Absolutely.

Sometimes the baseball gods look favorably on the other guys.

2. Classic Kram

Coming into the CWS, I identified two main keys for Arizona to have success. The first was for Kramkowski to bounce back after a rough outing at UNC, match his Coastal counterpart and give the Wildcats a chance to stay in the winners鈥� bracket.

He pitched well enough for the Cats to win.

Kramkowski allowed three runs in five innings. It was, in many ways, a classic Kramkowski outing.

The Walden Grove High School product scattered nine hits 鈥� all singles. He walked only one batter. He struck out seven, mostly thanks to a biting slider.

If this is the last we see of Kramkowski this season, he can look back on his sophomore campaign with pride. He went from barely used freshman to budding ace. He proved time and again that he can handle difficult situations. He should only get better with more experience and another offseason in the weight room.

Assuming everyone sticks around 鈥� including Vance 鈥� Arizona enters next season with a possible rotation of Kramkowski, Smith Bailey and Mason Russell. That鈥檚 an enticing prospect.

Bailey presumably will start Sunday vs. Louisville or Oregon State. He鈥檒l be on normal rest and has been superb down the stretch.

3. Struggling Summerhill

My other key for the Wildcats was to get Summerhill going again. That didn鈥檛 happen Friday.

The talented junior led off the game with a line-drive single to left-center. Good start.

In his second at-bat, in the third inning, Summerhill expanded his strike zone 鈥� which isn鈥檛 something he often does. With Tommy Splaine on third base and two outs, Summerhill swung at two inside sliders. He popped the second one to second base.

Summerhill struck out looking in the seventh on a backdoor slider that was probably a ball but was well-framed by Bodine (). Summerhill ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Summerhill just hasn鈥檛 looked like himself since coming back from a hamstring injury in early May. Hale said recently that Summerhill is at about 90%. I鈥檇 bet it鈥檚 worse than that.

The hitting issues just might be a matter of timing, which is a fickle thing. But Summerhill rarely has turned on the ball in recent games. He doesn鈥檛 seem to have the power he had earlier in the season. The broken hand he suffered in late March could be a contributing factor, as well.

I鈥檓 not suggesting that Arizona should bench him Sunday; he鈥檚 way too dangerous a threat at the plate, even if it鈥檚 just drawing walks and getting on base in front of Aaron Walton and Mason White. But I鈥檇 strongly consider moving Summerhill to DH because he isn鈥檛 moving well to the ball in the outfield.

Summerhill probably couldn鈥檛 have reached either of the balls that landed on the foul line. But he just doesn鈥檛 have an explosive first step and isn鈥檛 attacking fly balls aggressively. Additionally, if he were removed from the outfield, Summerhill could focus on the area where Arizona needs him the most 鈥� offense.

4. Greatness of Guzman

Before the CWS began, Coastal coach Kevin Schnall cited the top three batters in Arizona鈥檚 order 鈥� Summerhill, Walton and White 鈥� as a team strength. It鈥檚 a common refrain.

No one ever gives credit to cleanup hitter Adonys Guzman, and that鈥檚 a mistake.

Guzman went 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored Friday. It was his fourth multi-hit game of the postseason.

The hits came in all shapes and sizes. Guzman lined a single to center in the second. He followed White鈥檚 opposite-field homer in the fourth with an opposite-field double to right.

As the ball bounded away from Coastal right fielder Blagen Pado, it probably should have been a triple, even for the slow-footed Guzman. No matter; he ended up scoring on a double by the next batter, Maddox Mihalakis.

Guzman鈥檚 next hit was important 鈥� and hilarious. After Walton and White were hit by pitches to open the top of the sixth, Hale called upon Guzman to bunt. He had two sacrifice bunts in his career. He got the ball down beautifully 鈥� and placed it so well that it scooted past pitcher Cameron Flukey for a single.

That was the last thing you鈥檇 ever expect to see from Arizona鈥檚 slowest position player.

Guzman has transformed himself into a good hitter. His receiving skills alone were valuable enough to draw serious consideration in next month鈥檚 MLB Draft. Now it feels like a lock.

5. Daunting task

One of the reasons it was so important for Kramkowski to pitch well was to avoid falling into the losers鈥� bracket.

Despite his solid performance, Arizona couldn鈥檛 dodge its fate.

I鈥檓 not sure the Wildcats are equipped for what would be required to survive it.

If they鈥檙e able to win Sunday, the Cats will have to win three games in three days 鈥� Tuesday through Thursday 鈥� to advance to the championship series. Do they have enough pitching to do that?

The way the games are spaced out, Arizona could bring back Kramkowski on Wednesday 鈥� if the Wildcats are fortunate enough to get that far. They presumably would start Raul Garayzar on Tuesday. Since he joined the weekend rotation in mid-May, the senior from Rio Rico High has had two good outings 鈥� and two that weren鈥檛 so good.

A bracket-deciding game Thursday could be handled by the bullpen 鈥� but the relief corps won鈥檛 exactly be at its freshest pitching a third game in as many days.

It鈥檚 all doable. But it鈥檚 also dicey.

At the very least, I expect Arizona to go down swinging Sunday. The last time the Wildcats were in this position, in 2021, they couldn鈥檛 overcome the deflation of a CWS-opening loss and got clubbed by Stanford, 14-5.

No way that happens on Hale鈥檚 watch.