TUCSON, Ariz. – Landon Faulkner pitched 4 1/3 perfect innings Wednesday night to lift the Arizona Wildcats to a tight 3-2 win over Grand Canyon in front of 2,516 fans at Hi Corbett Field.
 
Faulkner entered with two outs in the fifth inning and the Cats leading by one, and shut down the Antelopes the rest of the way. Faulkner came on with runners on the corners and two outs in the fifth and got third-place hitter Ian Evans to ground out and end the threat.
 
From there, Faulkner was untouchable. The junior from Kennesaw, Georgia, retired every batter he faced. He got a pair of strikeouts in the sixth and then another ground out to end the inning. In the seventh, he got a pair of ground outs and a fly ball to shallow center.
 
The righty continued his dominant ways in the eighth with a strikeout and two ground outs and then used a pop out, a ground out and a strikeout in the ninth to close it out. Faulkner earned his first career save and kept the Wildcats in front in a close, well-pitched game.
 
Seve Romo, who pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief of starter Cody Deason, earned the win for his first career victory. Romo allowed just one hit and struck out three, while allowing two unearned runs. Deason started and pitched two scoreless innings to set the tone.
 
The win improved Arizona to 17-7 on the season and a perfect 13-0 at Hi Corbett this season. The game also saw the return of senior shortstop Louis Boyd, who had been sidelined the previous four weeks with an injury. Boyd made a couple of stellar plays in the field and went 1 for 3 at the plate.
 
Neither team plated a run over the first three innings Wednesday, but Grand Canyon finally broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. Cleanup hitter Garrison Schwartz walked with one out and stole second. He moved to third on a throwing error and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Lopes a run without the benefit of a hit.
 
Arizona didn't waste any time responding, though. The Cats scored three in the bottom half of the inning to grab the lead. JJ Matijevic started the rally with a one-out double. Nick Quintana and Cal Stevenson followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases for freshman second baseman Shane Martinez.
 
Martinez coaxed a walk himself to score Matijevic and tie the game at one apiece. Martinez's walk brought up catcher Cesar Salazar with the bases still loaded and just one out. Salazar flared a single to left-centerfield to score Quintana and Stevenson and give the Cats a two-run lead at 3-1.
 
The Lopes scored another unearned run in the fifth off Romo, but he then gave way to Faulkner, who was on cruise control the rest of the way.
 
Offensively for the Cats, Matijevic went 2 for 4 with a run scored and his 15^th double of the season. Stevenson and Quintana each had a hit and a walk in the victory.
 
Arizona will return to action Friday night at home against USC. The two teams will play a three-game set with Friday's opener set for 7 p.m.