TUCSON, Ariz. — Chase Silseth worked the longest start of his career, the offense erupted for seven runs in the fourth, and the Arizona Wildcats (25-11, 10-6) took their series opener against the USC Trojans (18-14, 6-7) on Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.

Silseth (6-1) earned the win and improved to 6-0 at home this year after tossing 8.0 innings and allowing just four earned runs on eight hits. He throw 115 pitches and struck out four along the way, relying heavily on arguably Arizona's best defensive performance of the year to nearly go the distance.

Right-hander Quinn Flanagan relieved Silseth in the ninth and worked a scoreless, hitless frame to earn his fourth save of the year.

Catcher Daniel Susac sparked a seven-run bottom of the fourth inning with his eighth home run of the year, a two-run shot off the top of the scoreboard that gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. RBI singles from Donta Williams and Branden Boissiere, a two-run triple from Mac Bingham, and a run-scoring groundout polished off the big inning and gave Arizona a 7-1 lead they would never relinquish. 

Arizona WildBATS

• CF Donta Williams: 4-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI
• C Daniel Susac: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
• LF Mac Bingham: 2-for-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI
• 2B Kobe Kato: 2-for-3, R, BB
• SS Jacob Blas: 2-for-4, R

Bullpen Bullies

• RHP Quinn Flanagan: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, Save (4)

Numbers of the Night

• Between the fifth and eighth innings, Silseth locked into a groove and retired 12 consecutive Trojan batters.

Photo of the Night

Tweet of the Night

Gonna go ahead and call this the most athletic first pitch in Hi Corbett history ?? #BearDown pic.twitter.com/rw0v5YfGhb

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) April 24, 2021

Up Next

The Wildcats look for their fifth straight Pac-12 series win when they take on the Trojans on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is again slated for 6:00 p.m. MST.