TUCSON, Ariz. — With the help of another dominant offensive performance, the Arizona Wildcats (26-11, 11-6) topped the USC Trojans (18-15, 6-8) and secured their fifth-straight Pac-12 series victory on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The Cats offense hammered out 17 base knocks, including seven doubles and two home runs, and drew three free bases while vaulting into the double digits for the 16th time this season.
Donta Williams,
Branden Boissiere, and
Kobe Kato all picked up three hits, while
Nik McClaughry, Boissiere, and
Jacob Berry all drove in multiple runs.
Arizona battled all night with USC, clawing back from a one-run deficit in the sixth and plating four runs in the bottom of the seventh to break open a tie game. The final blow was a solo home run from
Daniel Susac, a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh that put Arizona out in front for good.
Starting pitcher
Garrett Irvin did not factor into the decision, but gave the Wildcats 6.2 innings of quality work — the southpaw allowed five runs on eight hits while striking out four in his second-longest outing of the year.
The bullpen covered the remaining 2.1 innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Right-hander
Chandler Murphy (5-0), who entered in relief of Irvin and stranded runners on the corners with a three-pitch strikeout, earned his fifth win. Murphy's brief outing was critical, keeping the game even at 5-5.
Arizona WildBATS
- 3B Nik McClaughry: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI
- 1B Branden Boissiere: 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI
- DH Jacob Berry: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
- CF Donta Williams: 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI
- C Daniel Susac: 1-for-5, R, HR, RBI
- 2B Kobe Kato: 3-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B
Bullpen Bullies
Number of the Night
- True freshmen Berry and Susac both hit home runs on Saturday night, and have combined to swat 19 dingers through the first 37 games of the year.
Photo of the Night
Tweet of the Night
Up Next
The Wildcats play for a sweep of the Trojans on Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. MST.
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