March 5, 2011
Arizona 6, Utah Valley 3 (Box Score)
TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 17 Arizona baseball team received strong pitching performances by starter Kyle Simon and reliever Nick Cunningham as the Wildcats defeated visiting Utah Valley, 6-3, on Saturday night at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.
Simon improved to 3-0 on the season as he pitched into the eighth inning in his third straight weekend start. The 6-foot-5 righty allowed just three runs and struck out six with one walk on the evening.
Cunningham, who had not pitched yet as a sophomore due to a nagging injury after leading the club with 35 appearances in 2010, earned his first save of the season. He recorded the final five outs of the game, including a perfect ninth inning and a game-ending strikeout of Alex Exon.
Arizona (8-2) found itself in a battle with the Wolverines all the way into the eighth inning. Utah Valley (3-6) scored a run in the top of the inning to turn the Wildcats' 4-2 lead into a one-run ballgame.
But the Wildcats responded with three key insurance runs in the home half of the eighth. Josh Garcia reached with a one-out single and was replaced with pinch runner Bobby Rinard, who stole second base.
Meanwhile, freshman Johnny Field battled Wolverine reliever Preston Olson to a full count and reached via a walk on the 10th pitch of the at bat. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, before Rinard was cut down at the plate on a fielder's choice groundout by Seth Mejias-Brean.
That left runners at the corners with two down for Alex Mejia. The sophomore shortstop chased a two-strike pitch low and away in the dirt that skipped to the backstop. Mejia reached first safely on the play and Field raced home to score, while Mejias-Brean moved all the way around to third.
Bryce Ortega, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored, drove in Mejias-Brean with a two-out single, giving the Wildcats a comfortable three-run lead at 6-3.
In the third inning, Jett Bandy broke open a scoreless game with a two-run double down the left field line to drive home Cole Frenzel and Joey Rickard.
The Wolverines answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth off Simon. Chris Benson singled to lead off and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Austin Heaps drove in Benson with a double and Goose Kallunki followed with a run-scoring single to plate Heaps.
Arizona reclaimed a two-run lead in the fifth inning following three consecutive singles. Mejia sparked the rally with a single through the left side, while Ortega and Rickard followed with bunt singles to load the bases.
A sacrifice fly by Frenzel allowed Mejia to score easily. Bandy followed with a fielder's choice groundout to collect his third RBI of the game as Ortega was knocked in.
Utah Valley starter Jason Campbell was charged with the loss after allowing four runs in 5.2 innings pitched. He walked four Wildcats and struck out two on the night.
The two teams will conclude the three-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.
