May 28, 2011
Arizona 6, Washington 5 (Box Score)
TUCSON, Ariz. - The visiting Washington Huskies rallied with four runs in the top of the ninth inning to erase a 5-1 deficit, but senior Bobby Rinard capped off Senior Night with a walk-off RBI single to left centerfield to give the Arizona baseball team a thrilling 6-5 victory on Saturday evening at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium.
The hot-hitting Rinard, who hit his first career home run in UA's 9-0 romp on Friday night, came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second. Rinard, who has hit .462 over the last 11 games - all starts - delivered the game-ending hit as his liner to left center fell out of the reach of centerfielder Will Sparks and rolled to the base of the wall.
The hit drove in Bobby Brown, who sparked the rally with a one-out, pinch-hit single. Brown moved to second base on a groundout, which prompted the Huskies to intentionally walk Jett Bandy, who had two doubles earlier in the game.
Arizona (35-19, 14-12 Pac-10) secured a series victory and a winning conference record with the ninth-inning win. The Wildcats' 35 regular season wins are their most since 2008, a season that ended one game short of the College World Series.
Washington (17-36, 6-20 Pac-10) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but otherwise struggled offensively against Arizona starter Kyle Simon, who finished one out shy of his fifth complete game of the season.
Simon ran into trouble with two outs in the top of the ninth. With a runner on, Simon hit a pair of Huskies to load the bases, before giving up a single to pinch-hitter Eric Peterson. Simon's night was over after 8.2 innings.
Matt Chaffee entered with the bases loaded, but gave up a pair of base hits that drove in three more runs to tie the game 5-5. An inning-ending groundout stranded two runners on base to send the game tied into the home half of the ninth.
Simon did not factor into the decision. He was charged with all five runs allowed in the game as he scattered five hits, issued one walk, hit two batters and struck out three.
Chaffee improved to 6-3 on the season as he picked up the win out of the bullpen despite surrendering a potential save.
The Wildcats' bats were quiet over the first several innings until Robert Refsnyder hit a one-out double in the bottom of the fourth inning. One out later, Alex Mejia drove in Refsnyder to tie the game 1-1.
Arizona took its first lead with two runs in the sixth thanks to a pair of fortuitous bounces. With two outs and Rinard on second base, Mejia lifted a fly ball down the right field line that ricocheted off the glove of Sparks, who started in right field, and rolled into foul territory. Rinard scored easily and Mejia scampered in with a triple.
The next batter, Seth Mejias-Brean, hit a high-chopper that was just out of the reach of third baseman Jacob Lamb, who had the ball barely glance off the tip of his glove and down the left field line. Mejias-Brean scooted into second with a double and Mejia crossed home to give UA a 3-1 edge.
In the eighth inning, Arizona added a pair of insurance runs that proved to be critical given the ninth-inning rally by Washington. Bandy led off with his second double of the game and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Rinard. Mejia followed with his third hit and third RBI of the game.
Mejias-Brean bunted Mejia to second, before Joey Rickard delivered a clutch two-out single to centerfield to drive in Mejias-Brean and give the Wildcats a four-run cushion.
The Huskies' rally in the ninth erased a potential loss for starter Austin Voth, who had allowed just two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. Instead, reliever Adam Cimber, who took the mound in the ninth inning, suffered the loss and dropped to 4-5 on the season.
Both teams were strong with runners in scoring position. Arizona was 6-for-14 in the contest, while Washington was 4-for-8. Both sides tallied five two-out RBI in the game.
Prior to the game, Arizona honored its four seniors on the club - Josh Garcia, Jacob Meskin, Bryce Ortega and Rinard.
The two teams will conclude their regular seasons on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for noon (MST) at Kindall Field/Sancet Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on 1290 AM in Tucson.
