TUCSON, Ariz. -- A spectacular start from left-hander Garrett Irvin, a strong bullpen performance, and seven runs from the offense pushed the Arizona Wildcats (9-4) to a 7-1 victory over the Houston Cougars (4-8) on Friday night at Hi Corbett.

The Cats grabbed a series-opening win largely on the back of Irvin's performance. The junior southpaw logged 6.2 innings, allowed just one unearned run on five hits, and struck out seven with no walks on 116 pitches. Irvin earned the win and is now a perfect 4-0 on the year.

Arizona's bullpen was equally impressive, as freshmen Blake Peyton and Hunter Cope held the Coogs hitless over the remainder of the contest.

Scoring in unconventional ways throughout the night, the Wildcats offense picked up seven runs on seven hits and 10 walks and providing more than enough for a Friday night victory that improved Arizona's record to 6-2 at home.

Arizona WildBATS

• SS Jacob Blas: 3-for-4, 2 R
• 2B Matthew Dyer: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
• CF Donta Williams: 0-for-2, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
• LF Mac Bingham: 0-for-1, 1 RBI, 3 BB

Bullpen Bullies

• LHP Blake Peyton: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
• RHP Hunter Cope: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
  • College debut

Number of the Night

• With a pair of pickoffs from Garrett Irvin, the Wildcats now have 11 on the season. Arizona notched just nine pickoffs across 56 games last year.

Photo of the Night

Tweet of the Night

Matthew, that baseball had a family... Here's the stats on the @Dyer_5 homer ??#MLBTrainingGround | #BearDown pic.twitter.com/tu5wXlSJoO

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) March 7, 2020

Up Next

Game two between Arizona and Houston is set for Friday, March 7 with a first pitch at 4:00 p.m. MST.
 

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Tickets

All season ticket options, single-game tickets, and group options for the Wildcats 2020 baseball season are available now and can be purchased by visiting ArizonaWildcats.com/BSB or by calling 520-621-CATS.