Arizona played the Pac-12’s last-place team this weekend, Washington, at Hi Corbett Field, so the prevailing thought was the Wildcats could not slip with a loss against the Huskies.
A sweep was a must because it was expected and the Wildcats followed through with an 11-2 win Sunday.
Arizona (35-13, 19-8 Pac-12) remained neck-and-neck with Oregon atop the conference standings with the win. The Ducks (33-11, 17-7) swept Utah on the road to increase their winning streak to six games.
The Ducks’ 17-7 conference record (.708) is a few percentage points better than Arizona’s 19-8 mark (.704). Due to uneven records because of COVID-19 protocol, the champion will be determined by percentage points.
Arizona hit four home runs Sunday and received efficient bullpen work to secure the win and the sweep of the Huskies, who have lost nine straight games.
Branden Boissiere (fifth home run), Ryan Holgate (career-high eighth), Jacob Berry (team-leading 13th), and Tony Bullard (first) all cleared the fence for Arizona.
The Wildcats’ offense produced 11 hits with three players having multi-hit performances. Berry and Boissiere both drove in three runs to fuel the Wildcats’ 22nd game scoring in double digits.
11-2 Cats! 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/DYZBggHK1N
— Jay Johnson (@UACoachJ) May 16, 2021
The Wildcats’ bullpen of Gil Luna, Dawson Netz, and Quinn Flanagan combined to allow just one unearned run on three hits while striking out five. Luna (1-0) earned the win after working a career-high four innings with just two hits, no runs, and three strikeouts.
Arizona’s top batters:
3B Tony Bullard: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
1B Branden Boissiere: 1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI
DH Jacob Berry: 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI
CF Donta’ Williams: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB
RF Ryan Holgate: 2-for-4, R, HR, RBI
Click here to access the box score.
Arizona’s 24 home wins this year tie the most by the Wildcats under Jay Johnson. The Wildcats finished 24-7 in 2017. They still have a home game against New Mexico State on Tuesday and a home series with Dixie State from May 27-29 after their three games at Oregon State next weekend.
Johnson now has 198 wins at Arizona in his sixth season.
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 |
Monday’s game
Cal at Stanford, 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
- Oregon State at Portland, 5 p.m.
- USC at Fresno State, 5 p.m.
- Utah at BYU, 5 p.m.
- Gonzaga at Oregon, 6 p.m.
- Nevada at UCLA, 6 p.m.
- New Mexico State at Arizona, 6 p.m.
Friday’s games
- Arizona at Oregon State, 6 p.m.
- Arizona State at USC, 6 p.m.
- California at UCLA, 6 p.m.
- Stanford at Oregon, 6 p.m.
- Utah at Washington, 6 p.m.
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