March 12, 2011

Arizona 12, Northern Colorado 4 (Box Score)

TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 14 Arizona baseball team rapped out 20 hits and received a complete game effort on the mound from Kyle Simon as the Wildcats cruised to a convincing 12-4 victory over visiting Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium

Simon improved to 4-0 on the season as he allowed four runs - three earned - on six hits. He struck out five, walked none and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, when he also lost his shutout bid.

Arizona (12-3) scored a run in all eight innings it went to the plate in the game, and five Wildcats collected three or more hits in the game.

Joey Rickard extended his season-long hitting streak to 15 games with a 4-for-6 day at the plate that raised his average to .530 on the season. He scored two runs and drove in three to pace the scoring out of the leadoff spot.

Robert Refsnyder (3-for-3), Johnny Field (3-for-5), Seth Mejias-Brean (4-for-5) and Bryce Ortega (3-for-3) also turned in three-plus hit days at the plate. Josh Garcia, who was a modest 1-for-2 at the plate, collected a pair of sacrifice flies early in the game and was one of three players (Rickard and Ortega) to have three runs batted in on the day.

Simon cruised through the first five hittings, throwing 39 pitches and allowed just one base runner to reach. That runner, Jarod Berggren, reached when Simon dropped a popout near the first base line with one out in the second. Berggren was picked off by Simon to end the inning to allow the right-hander to ultimate face the minimum number of hitters when he was through five innings.

Northern Colorado (0-6) scored an unearned run in the top of the sixth after the no-hit bid was broken up with two singles. The run scored as Mejias-Brean's throw to first pulled Frenzel off the bag.

The Bears tacked on three more runs in the seventh after a pair of doubles touched up Simon's line. But the junior bounced back to pitch scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to close the game.

Arizona scored single runs in the first, third fifth, sicth and seventh innings, while it broke through for two runs in the second, three in the fourth and two in the eighth to toal 12 runs. Wildcat hitters faced five UNC pitchers in the game.

The series will conclude on Sunday with the finale set for noon (MST) at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.