Game 1: Arizona 10, California 8 (Box Score)
Game 2: California 17, Arizona 7 (Box Score)
TUCSON, Ariz. - No. 22 Arizona split a doubleheader against No. 13 California on Sunday afternoon at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium, capturing a series victory with a 10-8 decision in the first game before dropping the second game by a score of 17-7.
Arizona (22-11, 4-5 Pac-10) claimed its first Pac-10 Conference series victory of the year in the first game as it grabbed a 7-2 lead and hung on for a narrow 10-8 victory. Matt Chaffee picked up a hard-earned save out of the bullpen, getting two bases-loaded strikeouts to end the eighth inning before picking up two more strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 10-8 lead.
Josh Garcia went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and a home run, and Robert Refsnyder collected four runs batted on three hits, including a homer, in the first game of the day.
The Wildcats roughed up California starter Justin Jones for seven runs in 4.1 innings pitched in the morning game that started at 10:30 a.m. (MST/PDT). Jones dropped to 4-2 on the season.
Kyle Simon improved to 6-2 on the season going seven-plus innings in the start in game one. He struck out four and scattered 14 hits, many of the infield variety.
California (20-9, 6-3 Pac-10) threatened to tie or take the lead in the eighth inning of the first game as it scratched across four runs in the top of the frame off Simon (three runs) and reliever Nick Cunningham (one run). Chaffee was able to shut the door as he struck out two Golden Bears with the bases loaded to end the inning.
In the second game, the Golden Bears posted four big innings to thwart the Wildcats' bid for a series sweep. California was staked to a 4-0 lead in the second, and then after Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, exploded for five runs in the fifth. For good measure, the Golden Bears scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning to extend a 9-7 lead to a comfortable 15-7 margin.
Neither starter was very effective in the second game. Tyler Hale suffered the loss for the Wildcats after allowing seven runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Dixon Anderson did not factor into a decision for the Golden Bears after pitching 3.2 innings with four runs an eight hits allowed.
Kevin Miller picked up the win in relief for California with 4.0 innings of relief. He allowed three runs on five hits in the second game that started at 1:47 p.m.
The teams combined for 42 runs scored and 65 base hits on the afternoon. A total of 19 players scored runs on the day for the two teams, while 16 had at least one RBI. There were 16 total extra base hits in the two contests.
Top offensive performers on the day included Refsnyder's 6-for-8 combined effort that produced six runs batted in and three runs scored. For California, Tony Renda went 7-for-11 on the day with three runs and four RBI.
The first game lasted two hours and 48 minutes and was followed by a 29-minute intermission, while the finale took three hours and 12 minutes. The six hours of actual baseball on the afternoon concluded at 4:59 p.m.
Arizona will take a well-deserved day off on Monday, before taking to the practice field Tuesday and Wednesday. The Wildcats will then travel on Thursday in advance of a three-game series at No. 24 UCLA scheduled for April 15-17 in Los Angeles.
