Feb. 6, 2004

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz.- Powered by a Moises Duran two-out solo home run in the bottom of the 11th, the Arizona baseball team overcame a slew of "first game of the season" kinks to rally for a 6-5 win over UC Riverside on Kindall Field at Sancet Stadium on Friday. The victory handed UCR (1-4) its fourth loss of the young season, while the Wildcats won on opening day for the ninth time in 10 years.

Duran's walk-off homer to right-center, the second of his career, highlighted an afternoon that saw the Wildcats twice rally from deficits to win the game.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth with freshman Jason Donald on first and one out, pinch hitter Pat Reilly blooped a ball down the right field line off of Highlander reliever Haley Winter. The redshirt sophomore stretched the hit into double, drawing a throw from right fielder Aaron Grant. With the throw going into second Donald raced around the bases to tie the score at five runs apiece and force the game into extra innings.

Duran's blast in the second extra frame ended the game and made a winner out of freshman reliever Mark Melancon (1-0). The right-hander, who entered the game with two on and one out in the top of the ninth, worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings without giving up a hit while striking out four. UCR's Jose Shaw (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up the Duran homer.

"I never got down on these guys," coach Andy Lopez said. "We're going to be aggressive on the base paths early in the season and that will lead to some breakdowns. However, that aggressiveness served us well in the ninth with Pat (Reilly) legging out that double and drawing the throw that allowed (Jason) Donald to score."

The Wildcats rallied early in the game from a 3-0 deficit in the third on back-to-back singles by freshmen Bill Rhinehart and Donald, a RBI triple by junior John Hardy and a run scoring ground out off the bat of Brad Boyer.

Donald, making his Arizona debut, led all players in the game with a 3 for 5, two run and two RBI day at the plate.

Arizona starter Koley Kolberg pitched well despite a pair of fielding miscues behind him. The junior right-hander gave up four runs, only one earned, over 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.

"I was pleased with the effort on the mound tonight," Lopez said. "Our guys battled through some tough situations and limited the damage. (Mark) Melancon was very impressive for a freshman making his first career appearance and (Koley) Kolberg did everything I could ask of a Friday starter."

Along with the two fielding errors, the Wildcats also saw three players get on to lead off an inning only to be picked off base

Notes: Arizona's last walk-off home run came almost two years to the date of Friday's blast ... Duran hit a two-out solo home run against San Diego State in a 1-0 win on February 7, 2002 ... Junior Jeff Van Houten saw his 11-game hitting streak from last season come to an end with a 0 for 5 day at the plate on Friday.