TUCSON, Ariz. – Robby Medel shined in his collegiate pitching debut and received plenty of run support as the University of Arizona baseball team defeated Eastern Michigan, 16-3, to clinch the series on Saturday evening at Hi Corbett Field.
A redshirt freshman transfer from TCU, Medel (W, 1-0) allowed only one run on five hits over 7.2 innings. The right-hander, who struck out four with no walks, cruised to five perfect frames and at one point retired 11 Eagles in a row.
Preseason All-America candidates Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman paced a 21-hit offensive barrage from the top of the order. The two combined for eight hits, six runs and four runs batted in.
The middle infield tandem sparked the Wildcats early with leadoff singles to open the bottom of the first and stake Medel to a 2-0 lead after one.
In the second inning, No. 9 hitter Justin Behnke tripled and Kingery followed with an opposite field two-run home run to right field. Kingery, who finished 5-for-6, later tripled and finished a double short of the cycle.
Arizona (2-0) broke open a 4-1 game with four runs in the fifth, a single run in the sixth, six runs in the seventh and a final run in the eighth.
Eastern Michigan (0-2) plated a run in the third inning off Medel and struck twice in the ninth for a pair of runs against reliever Mathew Troupe.
Charlie (L, 0-1) suffered the loss for the Eagles. The righty lasted 4.2 innings, but was charged with six earned runs on 10 hits and a walk before giving way to four releivers.
The Wildcats accounted for nine extra base hits in the contest, including three doubles, four triples and a pair of homers.
Bobby Dalbec tripled off the center field wall in the fifth inning and made sure to clear everything beyond the 392-marker with a solo shot to lead off the eighth inning.
Other offensive standouts included Behnke, who had his first three-hit game as a Wildcat, including a triple. Mid-game substitution Jared Oliva, who made his collegiate debut Friday, came off the bench to deliver a pair of hits, including a triple of his own, along with three runs batted in.
Arizona was solid defensively with several slick plays that helped Medel cruise much of the game. The most trouble the rookie ran into was in the sixth, when three consecutive two-out singles posed a threat, but Behnke fired a strike from centerfield to catcher Riley Moore to turn away the Eagles.
After EMU scored twice in the ninth, left-hander Rio Gomez inherited a ninth-inning jam with the bases loaded and only one out. The junior college transfer induced a game-ending line-drive double play which was handled easily by Newman at short, and the game was final.
Arizona will try for the series sweep Sunday at noon at Hi Corbett Field.
GAME NOTES: Arizona homered twice Saturday, something it had not done in a single game since March 13, 2013. Last season, UA hit eight home runs all season, with Scott Kingery and Bobby Dalbec accounting for three of those … In that 2013 season, the Wildcats had multi-homer games on back-to-back days against Butler (also March 12) for the only two multi-homer games the program has had at Hi Corbett Field … All three of Dalbec’s career home runs have come at Hi Corbett Field … The Wildcats are slugging .720 through two games, including four doubles, seven triples and a pair of homers … With five hits, Kingery, who collected his 100th career hit on Friday, eclipsed his previous career best of three … A total of 11 players picked up a hit on Saturday, while eight scored a run and seven drove in a run … The 21 base hits are the most for the club since rapping out 22 against Alabama State on April 28, 2013.
