TUCSON, Ariz. — Four unanswered runs, capped with two in the bottom of the eighth, secured a 4-3 victory and a sixth consecutive Pac-12 series win for the Arizona Wildcats (29-11, 14-6) on Saturday night. They will now play for a series sweep of the visiting Utah Utes (10-25, 5-15) on Sunday morning.

Utah kicked off the scoring with a run in the opening frame and capitalized on two errors to add a pair in the second, giving the visitors an early 3-0 lead.

The Wildcats quickly found an answer in the bottom of the third, plating two runs on a Jacob Berry sac fly and an RBI single from Ryan Holgate to cut the Utes lead to 3-2. 

Both teams were held off the scoreboard over the next four innings, exchanging the occasional baserunner but failing to capitalize.

Arizona's breakthrough came in the bottom of the eighth. Branden Boissiere and Mac Bingham both singled to open the inning and kickstart a rally. Two batters later, Boissiere was driven in by Holgate to tie the game at 3-3. The winning run scored in unconventional fashion, with Bingham sprinting home from third as Utah failed to turn what would have been an inning-ending double play.

Right-hander Chandler Murphy relieved Arizona starter Garrett Irvin in the fourth inning. He proceeded to twirl 4.1 innings of three-hit, shutout ball to keep the Wildcats offense within striking distance. He struck out four and issued zero walks.

Southpaw Riley Cooper (2-0) followed Murphy and logged the final out of the eighth, stranding a runner on first and putting himself in line for the win.

Arizona closer Vince Vannelle worked a perfect 1-2-3 ninth with a pair of strikeouts to slam the door on Utah and send the Wildcats to their eighth straight victory.

Arizona WildBATS

• RF Ryan Holgate: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
• LF Mac Bingham: 2-for-4, 2 R
• 1B Branden Boissiere: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB

Bullpen Bullies

• RHP Chandler Murphy: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
• LHP Riley Cooper: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, Win (2-0)
• RHP Vince Vannelle: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Save (7)

Number of the Night

• Through 40 games, the Wildcats are 29-11. As of Saturday night, their 29 wins are the most in the Pac-12.

Photo of the Night

Tweet of the Night

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." -Jackie Robinson pic.twitter.com/TTGBYH4MWq

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 1, 2021

Up Next

Arizona goes for their second straight Pac-12 weekend sweep on Sunday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. MST.