The Arizona baseball team completed a sweep of San Diego in a three-game series with a 12-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
The victory is Arizona’s fourth straight after it started the season with three consecutive losses at the Shriner’s Children’s College Showdown at Arlington, Texas.
“I thought the guys battled,” said Arizona coach Chip Hale. “We were able to push the lead out and help ourselves out. I think we’ve got a long way to go.”
The game was tied at 6 in the eighth inning when Arizona rallied for six runs to take a commanding lead.
Arizona starter Smith Bailey tossed five innings, allowing no runs and striking out three. Bailey continued his great start to the season after pitching four scoreless innings in his last start against Louisville at Arlington.
“I try to play offense on the mound,” Bailey, a freshman, said. “I try to attack hitters with everything I got no matter the pitch. Throw it in the zone.”
Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as second baseman Garen Caulfield’s single drove home Aaron Walton.
Caulfield, a senior, has been on the team for all of Hale’s four seasons as head coach.
“Arlington didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I think we can take a lot of what we learn from there and make adversity our advantage and learn from our mistakes,” Caulfield said.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the second inning when Mathis Meurant hit his second home run in as many days, this one a three-run shot that traveled 395 feet.
“He’s got such a simple approach up there,” Caulfield said about Meurant.
“I think it’s nice to have him as a second leadoff hitter with (Brendan) Summerhill coming up,” Hale said.
San Diego rallied in the sixth inning for three unearned runs after Caulfield had an error at second base to start the inning.
The game became tied at 4 when San Diego’s Jack Gurevitch hit an RBI single off Arizona pitcher Garrett Hicks.
Arizona re-took the lead in the seventh when Summerhill grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with runners on first and third. Mason White then hit a RBI double to extend the lead to 6-4.
San Diego tied the game again off lefty Mason Russell with Nico Libed hitting a two-run triple.
Arizona then brought in righty Michael Hilker Jr., (1-1) who got the final out of the inning.
First baseman Andrew Cain, an Ironwood Ridge grad, hit the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the eighth with a single to drive in Maddox Mihalakis.
The lead was extended to 9-6 when Summerhill drove in two with a double and 10-6 when Walton plated Summerhill with a single. The inning was capped off with Caulfield hitting a two-run double for his third hit of the game.
Hilker Jr. got the final three outs of the game and was credited with the win.
The team will travel to Houston for one game against Rice on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+) before playing in the Astros Foundation College Classic next weekend at Daikin Park in Houston.
The Wildcats’ opponents will be No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday (6:05 p.m.), No. 18 Mississippi State on Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday (9:05 a.m.). The Arizona Web site lists Astros.com as where Arizona’s games will be streamed.
The Wildcats will return to Hi Corbett on March 6 for a four-game series with Pepperdine.
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