Entering this weekend facing a huge test, Arizona Baseball responded in a big way, making a statement against Oregon State with their bats.
Oregon State’s baseball team came to Hi Corbett this weekend ranked number two in the nation. They were 39-9 and 18-6 in conference play, and one might guess that Arizona Baseball (33-17, 14-10) had their work cut out for them. So they got to work, doing what they do best, scoring runs.
In the first game, the Cats put nine on the scoreboard, which is usually enough to win the game. Unfortunately, they gave up 12 runs to the Beavers. The Oregon State win was fueled by a seven-run eighth inning highlighted by two homers.
The Wildcats responded with two homers of their own, one by Noah Turley in the eighth, and the other coming off the bat of Tanner O’Tremba in the ninth, but the rally fell short.
In game two, Garrett Irvin (5-3) pitched a gem for Arizona. He went seven innings striking out nine Beavers and allowing only one run on three hits. Daniel Susac and Noah Turley supplied two RBIs each and the Cats cruised to a 5-2 win.
So the series would come down to game three. Daniel Susac’s cousin, Anthony Susac started but soon found himself down 5-1 in the fourth. Despite having loaded the bases three times in the first four innings, the Cats’ only run came on a bases-loaded walk.
Then the bats came alive. Chase Davis and Mac Bingham each homered as the Wildcats scored three runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings en route to a 10-5 win. Ace closer Quinn Flanagan came in and shut the door on the Beavers in the ninth.
The Cats improved to 35-18 overall and 16-11 in the Pac-12, and are only one game behind third-place UCLA, a game and a half behind number two Stanford, and three games away from first place Oregon State.
The Wildcats travel to Eugene, Oregon next weekend to face the Ducks in their last series of the regular season. Go Cats!
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