MESA, AZ – Completing the last day MLB Desert Invitational Arizona Baseball (3-1) used a late rally to beat UC San Diego by a 9-8 final.
Wrapping action on the fourth and final day of the MLB Desert Invitational, Arizona Baseball was back on the diamond to take on UC San Diego.
This time turning to Aiden May who got the start on the bump for the Wildcats, the sophomore right-hander did fair in his first collegiate outing!
Throwing just four innings, Aiden would finish his day surrendering three runs on six hits while striking out four batters.
He would eventually be relieved by Eric Orloff, George Arias, Jr., Casey Hintz, and Trevor Long, but together, the Wildcats’ bullpen struggled a bit, surrendering a combined four runs on six hits.
The Wildcats were fueled offensively in this one, combining for nine runs on 11 hits with Cameron LaLiberte and Mac Bingham leading the way as they went a combined 4-10 from the dish with six RBIs.
Although the Wildcats’ pitching wasn’t at its best, Arizona Baseball rallied late to come away with the 9-8 win!
UC San Diego would get the action going early in this one when a few well-timed hits made it 1-0 in favor of the Tritons in the second inning.
Leading 1-0, UCSD would add two more in the fourth, when more clutch hitting by the Tritons helped to extend their lead to 3-0.
Luckily, the Wildcats’ bats would stay quiet for long as Arizona added a run in the sixth inning when a double from Tony Bullard scored Nik McClaughry to make it 3-1.
In the ensuing inning, Arizona would add three more thanks to some timely hits, putting the Wildcats in front 4-3 as they headed into the bottom of the seventh.
Unfortunately, that lead would not last long as the Tritons tacked on two more runs to regain the lead at 5-4.
Arizona would continue to find its offensive rhythm in the eighth inning when Cameron turned on a 1-2 pitch that scored a runner to make it 5-5.
Needing another spark, Arizona came up big in the top of the ninth as the Wildcats plated four runs, thanks in large part to Mac’s three-run home run to make it 9-5 Cats!
The Wildcats’ bullpen would make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth as UCSD rallied for three runs, but luckily, Trevor came up big in the end as he picked up his second save of the season!
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Where does Arizona Baseball go from here?
With the win, Arizona improves to 3-1 on the year and will face West Virginia for a three-game series against the Volunteers in Tucson this weekend. First pitch for Friday is set for 6:00 P.M. MST!
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