The Arizona baseball team beat University of San Diego 11-0 on Friday night in a mercy-rule, seven-inning game, the first of a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field.
The game ended in the top of the seventh when relief pitcher Casey Hintz retired San Diego’s Jack Gurevitch to put the run-rule into effect.
“The guys just kept stringing hits together,” said Arizona coach Chip Hale. “A number of guys did a really good job of battling and hitting the ball hard.”
Every Wildcat batter had at least one hit, with seven of the nine having multiple hits.
Samford transfer Aaron Walton had his breakout game as a Wildcat, reaching bases in all five plate appearances that included a home run.
“I think that’s just a glimpse of what we can do,” said Walton, an outfielder. “From the beginning one through nine, we’re a stacked lineup and we even have guys that didn’t even play tonight that can do the same exact thing.”
Sophomore Collin McKinney started for Arizona, throwing three scoreless innings while lowering his ERA to 1.23.
“He battled his tail off. I thought he did a wonderful job of getting out of that third (inning),” Hale said.
McKinney found himself in trouble in the top of the third inning with the bases loaded and no outs. He was able to navigate after getting a strikeout and a double play.
From there, Hintz went the rest of the way, throwing four shutout innings to be the winning pitcher.
Arizona pitching registered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2011.
Arizona (2-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when outfielder Easton Breyfogle recorded an RBI walk off of San Diego starter Cal Scolari.
It was a career day for Breyfogle, a sophomore who also unloaded a 432-foot home run in the sixth inning.
“I think the game has just slowed down a lot for me,” Breyfogle said.
Breyfogle’s hot start to the season continued. He is now batting .500.
The bottom of the order was able to help string together rallies throughout the game as both third baseman Mathis Meurant and catcher Adonys Guzman hit RBI singles in the third and fifth innings, respectively.
Shortstop Mason White, a Salpointe grad, and second baseman Garen Caulfield recorded RBIs during a six-run sixth inning that put the game out of reach.
The series resumes Saturday at 2 p.m. with right-hander Owen Kramkowski, a Walden Grove alum, pitching for the Wildcats.
Sophomore righty Logan Reddemann, the reigning WCC Freshman of the Year and a 2024 NCBWA Freshman Second Team All-American and 2024 All-WCC First Team selection, is set to take the mound for San Diego.
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