Some of the information presented in this report was provided by the Arizona media relations department:
Nik McClaughry‘s hit up the middle of the infield delivered a walk-off, extra-innings 17-16 victory for Arizona over Washington on Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.
McClaughry’s game winner capped a wild night that included six lead changes and two ties over the course of 10 innings. The Arizona offense finished the game with 17 runs on 16 hits, 12 walks, and two batters hit by a pitch.
The Wildcats (33-13, 17-8 Pac-12) were down 16-13 entering the bottom of the 10th after surrendering the tying run in the top of the ninth.
Center fielder Donta’ Williams started the 10th-inning rally with a leadoff walk. A batter later, Mac Bingham singled on a sharp ground ball to third base. Williams and Bingham advanced to scoring position on a Washington error.
After a strikeout, Tyler Casagrande was down 0-2 in the count before lacing a two-run single into left center, cutting the deficit to 16-15.
Daniel Susac followed just three pitches later with a game-tying opposite-field RBI double to right center, scoring Casagrande all the way from first.
Nik called game! 🥳#BearDown | @NikMcclaughry pic.twitter.com/CHhSs2hCJ4
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 15, 2021
An intentional walk to Kobe Kato and a four-pitch free pass drawn by Jacob Blas loaded the bases.
McClaughry then fell behind 1-2 in the count before his first walk-off hit in his Arizona career.
Arizona’s 17 victories in the Pac-12 are the most under head coach Jay Johnson, who is now 196-109 in his sixth year at Arizona.
Top Arizona batters:
SS Nik McClaughry: 3-for-6, 2B, RBI, BB, walk-off hit
C Daniel Susac: 3-for-7, 2 R, 2 2B, 3B, 4 RBI
DH Jacob Berry: 3-for-7, R, HR, 2 RBI
2B Kobe Kato: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 BB
LF Mac Bingham: 3-for-7, 3 R, 2 RBI
RF Tyler Casagrande: 1-for-1, R, 2 RBI
CF Donta’ Williams: 3-for-4, 4 R, 2B, 3 BB
RF Ryan Holgate: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
Click here for the box score.
The series resumes Saturday at 6 p.m. with a battle of left-handers, Arizona’s Garrett Irvin (4-1, 3.90 ERA) against Washington’s Tyson Guerrero (1-2, 2.70).
Pac-12 Baseball Standings
As of Arizona's game on April 14| Team | Rec | Pct. | GB | Ovr | Pct. | Stk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 11-5 | .688 | -- | 24-10 | .706 | W2 |
| Oregon State | 10-5 | .667 | 0.5 | 24-7 | .774 | W4 |
| UCLA | 8-4 | .667 | 1.0 | 23-9 | .719 | W1 |
| Stanford | 9-6 | .600 | 1.5 | 18-10 | .643 | W4 |
| Oregon | 7-5 | .583 | 2 | 21-11 | .656 | W2 |
| California | 7-8 | .467 | 3.5 | 16-16 | .500 | W3 |
| Arizona State | 5-7 | .593 | 4 | 15-19 | .441 | W1 |
| Washington | 6-9 | .400 | 4.5 | 18-14-1 | .561 | W1 |
| Utah | 5-8 | .385 | 4.5 | 16-31 | .340 | L1 |
| USC | 4-8 | .333 | 5 | 18-12 | .600 | W1 |
| Washington State | 4-11 | .267 | 6.5 | 12-19 | .387 | L1 |
Saturday’s schedule
- Washington at Arizona, 6 p.m.
- UCLA at UC Santa Barbara, 2 p.m.
- Washington State at USC, 2 p.m.
- Oregon at Utah, 3 p.m.
- Stanford at Cal, 3 p.m.
- Oregon State at ASU, 6:30 p.m.
Friday’s scores
- Arizona 17, Washington 16 (10)
- Oregon 7, Utah 3
- USC 8, Washington State 6
- Stanford 9, Cal 2
- ASU 9, Oregon State 6
- UC Santa Barbara 10, UCLA 4
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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