March 28, 2004

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz.- A day after leaving nine runners in scoring position in a 10-2 loss to visiting Washington State, the Arizona baseball team bounced back to win 11-3 in the series clinching finale on Sunday.

The victory handed Arizona a two games to one series win and improved UA to 13-11-1 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-10. Washington State fell to 15-8 for the year and 1-2 in the conference with the loss.

The Wildcats rapped out 12 hits in the win, including three doubles and a triple, in support of UA starter Kevin Guyette (4-3) who picked up his team leading fourth win of the year. The redshirt sophomore gave up just three runs, two earned, in six innings of work. He struck out five and walked three.

Relievers Mark Melancon and Derek Rodriguez closed out the victory with a combined three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Sophomore Jordan Brown provided the driving force behind the offensive outburst, finishing 3 for 5 with a double, a triple, four RBI and a run scored. The outing concluded a productive weekend for the second-year Wildcat that saw him hit a team-high .462 (6 for 13), with three doubles, two triples, three runs scored and six RBI against the Cougars.

Freshman Jason Donald also got back on track, finishing 2 for 3 with a RBI and three runs scored on Sunday. The performance snapped an eight-game streak without a RBI or a run scored for the young shortstop.

WSU's Wayne Daman, Jr., (2-2) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked a pair and did not record a strikeout in his second loss of the season.

Trailing 1-0 and 2-1 after the first two WSU at bats, Arizona responded with a run in the bottom of the first to tie the game and took the lead for good with two runs in the home half of the second. The Wildcats extended their lead with a run in the third and two in the fourth for a 6-2 advantage.

After WSU cut the lead to 6-3 with a run in the sixth, Arizona put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the seventh on a pair of two-run hits by senior Moises Duran and Brown and a John Hardy sac-fly.

Arizona will head out to Corvallis, Ore., and Oregon State for its first conference road series of the season next weekend. First pitch for the series opener on Friday is scheduled for 6 pm MST. KNST 790 AM will broadcast the game live on the radio.