Diamondbacks' Perezchica enjoying daughter's moments in Women's College World Series

Diamondbacks third base coach Tony Perezchica is following his daughter Jasmine in the Women's College World Series, where she is playing for the Arizona Wildcats in Oklahoma City.

Arizona won an elimination game 3-1 over Oregon State Friday night, with Jasmine Perezchica sliding to make the catch in left field that ended the game. The Wildcats will face the loser of Saturday's Texas-Oklahoma game on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Jasmine is a sophomore outfielder for Arizona who went to high school in the Palm Springs area of Southern California.

Tony Perezchica caught the last half of the game on TV after the Diamondbacks won Friday night's game in Pittsburgh. He was also in Oklahoma City on Thursday, a Diamondbacks off day, to watch his daughter and the Wildcats play Oklahoma State in Arizona's opening WCWS game.

"You realize how big it is. But it's not til you go there that you really get the full impact of what it is," Perezchica said Saturday of the WCWS. "It's a great opportunity for these young ladies. Hopefully, they can play their hearts out and remember this the rest of their lives. They will, because it's something so special."

Perezchica made it down to Tucson to see his daughter play a few times during spring training earlier this season. When the Diamondbacks play and Perezchica can't see Wildcats games live or in person, he catches up on Jasmine's games via replay where he can find them.

"For me, it's fun as a parent to go down there and enjoy watching your daughter play. And as a parent, you're always nervous watching them play. You know, they're your little kids, even as they get older. They're still your little kids," Perezchica said. "But it's been tremendously exciting for me. Not only me, but my wife, Natalie, we both appreciate the opportunity that she's gotten. Great school, great coaches. And that's how you learn about life."

Strom on pitching

Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom was asked before Saturday's game about the team's starting pitching. He shared what he told manager Torey Lovullo.

Pitching, Strom said, is "kind of like the stock market, I'll have one or two guys riding high, and the other two drop down. And the next week they reverse. I just wish it was more of a bull market and everybody was climbing. But that's usually not the case, because you're dealing with human beings. And in the course of the season, there's a lot of ups and downs, and you just hope to minimize the downs and really ride the waves when they're going well."

The Diamondbacks' team earned run average was 4.23 before Saturday's game, ninth in the National League, and 4.07 as a starting staff, eighth in the league.

Strom said Diamondbacks pitcher Humberto Castellanos had an over-exerted arm that contributed to the elbow injury that landed him on the injured list. Strom and coaches noticed it and tried to address it, but Castellanos could not avoid injury.

"I'm just glad that it's not a TJ (Tommy John) type of injury that we're looking at, it's more of a muscular, " Strom said. "They told me that a little blood got into the muscle body. So hopefully he'll be back soon."

Short hops

*Strom said lefthander Tyler Gilbert will "probably" get the start for Arizona Tuesday in Cincinnati, taking the rotation spot vacated by Castellanos. Gilbert is currently on the taxi squad and is with the team on the road trip.

*The Diamondbacks' five home runs Friday night marked the most in a game at PNC Park in franchise history.

*OF Alek Thomas became the first Diamondback to homer twice in a game at PNC Park since Ketel Marte on April 24, 2019. The first Diamondback to homer twice at the Pittsburgh ballpark was Luis Gonzalez on Aug. 22, 1999.

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-backs third base coach watching his daughter at the WCWS