Tucson, Ariz. – Bobby Dalbec hit two home runs at the plate and earned the save on the mound to help propel Arizona to an 11-8 win over New Mexico State on Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The junior went 3 for 4 at the plate with four RBI, four runs scored and a walk. He then entered the game in the ninth inning to retire the final three batters to earn his fifth save of the season. Junior Austin Schnabel, who started the second game in a row after also going Sunday against Sacramento State, earned the win, pitching three scoreless innings. He exited after 44 pitches.
Dalbec didn't waste any time getting involved in Tuesday's win. After J.J. Matijevic plated Ryan Aguilar with an RBI single in the first inning, Dalbec came up with two runners on and one out. The junior got a fastball in and turned on it for a three-run home run to left-centerfield to make it 4-0 right out of the gate.
After Schnabel put up another zero in the second, the Wildcats added another run. Justin Behnke and Jared Oliva led off the inning with back-to-back bunt singles. After a sacrifice bunt from Cody Ramer, Aguilar hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Behnke and make it 5-0.
Schnabel then worked out of a first and third jam in the third to keep it a five-run lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cats added two more runs. Matijevic led off the inning with a walk and was moved over on a single from Dalbec. After a sacrifice from Cesar Salazar and a strikeout, Behnke connected for a triple to score Matijevic and Dalbec to make it 7-0.
Neither team scored in the fourth, but the Aggies got on the board in the fifth once Schnabel was out of the game, scoring three runs in the frame. But with the score 7-3, Dalbec led off the fifth inning and hit a home run that traveled over the centerfield wall. It made the score 8-3 and gave Dalbec his second multi-home run game of his career and the 20th homer at Arizona. It was the junior's third homer this season, with all of them coming in the past three games.
The Aggies (10-9) plated a run in the top of the seventh, but again Arizona had an answer and scored three. Dalbec led off the inning with a walk and got to third on a single from Salazar. Shortstop Louis Boyd then drove in Dalbec with an RBI groundout. After Behnke walked, Oliva was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
After New Mexico State got a strikeout, Aguilar plated Salazar and Behnke to make it 11-4. The Aggies scored three in the eighth to make it 11-7. Daniel Johnson then collected his fourth hit of the game – a home run to right field – to make it 11-8 in the ninth. Dalbec then came on to replace Robby Medel and retired the only three batters he faced to earn the 12th save of his career.
Behnke also notched a multi-hit game in the win, going 2 for 2 with a pair of RBI and two walks. Aguilar had three RBI in the win and Matijevic scored twice.
The Wildcats completed their nine-game homestand with an 8-1 mark and have won seven straight games. Arizona will now turn its attention to Pac-12 play on Friday when it travels to Washington for a three-game set. Junior left-hander JC Cloney will start the series opener opposite the Huskies' Noah Bremmer.
First pitch is set for 5 p.m., MST.
