Arizona Baseball Opens Pac-12 Play with Series Win over UCLA

Already a month into the season, Arizona Baseball keeps rolling, opening conference play with a series win over their Pac-12  foe, UCLA.

Gliding through the month of March, the Arizona Baseball team keeps on trucking. They took two of three Pac-12 wins away from UCLA this past weekend after sweeping Hartford at home (3-1) and dropping a game to Cal State Fullerton. Game three was on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, just after the LA Marathon had completed, jamming up traffic for anyone trying to get to the game. The Cats would take the Bruins to extra innings.

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Arizona opened their series against the Bruins Saturday, following a weather delay on Friday, as the fog rolled into Westwood. The Wildcats jumped off to a hot start in the first game of the doubleheader, tacking on 19 runs on 22 hits.

Senior starter J.C. Cloney took the mound in game one, tossing five solid innings. Cloney surrendered just one run on five hits before senior reliever Luke Soroko and junior Robby Medel would shut the door on the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Wildcats’ offense would primarily be led by sluggers J.J. Matijevic, Mitchell Morimoto, and Nick Quintana. The trio would combine for 11 of Arizona’s hits, driving in seven runs, and scoring nine runs.

Arizona would go on to win in convincing fashion, 19-4.

In game two of the doubleheader, the bats would start out quiet for the Wildcats. Sophomore Michael Flynn would take the mound for Arizona, surrendering all three of UCLA’s runs in the first inning and a third of work, before being pulled.

Freshman Randy Labaut and junior Cameron Ming would come on as our relief pitchers, shutting down UCLA’s offense and helping Arizona remain in striking distance.

Still trailing 3-0 heading into the sixth, the Wildcats’ bats came alive, as junior outfielder Jared Oliva would eventually tie the game after a single to opposite field, scoring Matijevic from second.

Needing a little late-game heroics yet again, Arizona would load the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth, before the eventual winning run was scored thanks to an error committed by the Bruins.

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Ming would pitch the ninth inning, absolutely shutting the door on the Bruins, sealing the late victory, and securing the series win.

On Sunday, the Wildcats would get off to a great start taking an early 4-1 lead through the first four innings. Cesar Salazar smacked one out of the park, but first it was freshman sensation Nick Quintana, who would also have a massive home run down the left-field line in the eighth inning, pushing the Wildcats’ lead to 5-3. Arizona would lead 6-3 after Salazar’s solo shot.

However, the Bruins would have an answer for every Wildcat offensive surge.

Needing clutch pitching in the bottom of the ninth inning, Ming would struggle a bit, unable to shut down the opportunistic Bruins despite striking out two players. UCLA would tie the game 7-7, sending it to extra innings.

UCLA would score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth that would secure the win for the Bruins, preventing the sweep.

However, the game would end with a bit of controversy: The batter blocked Arizona catcher Cesar Salazar from the runner for the possibility to tag the runner out at the plate. No call was made. It was the third controversial call of the game. The other two were at first where the umpire got an earful from the 100 or more Wildcats fans in the stands.

Despite Arizona scoring seven runs on 12 hits, it was the pitching that struggled to get it done. Even with the loss, Arizona still stands at an impressive 15-4 (2-1) record on the season.

Now ranked anywhere from 6th to 13th place in the nation, the Wildcats will return to action on Tuesday, when they take on New Mexico State at Hi-Corbett Field in Tucson.

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Overall great weekend for Arizona Baseball. Disregard the records, every game is important, especially on the road. The Wildcats took care of business and will have more work to do this week. Bear Down, Arizona!