Walden Grove alum Owen Kramkowski struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings, Tony Lira tied a career high with four hits, Mathis Meurant drove in two runs with two hits, and TJ Adams scored the game-winning run on a Maddox Mihalakis sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth in Arizona’s 4-3 victory over TCU at Forth Worth, Texas, on Friday night.
The Wildcats (12-21, 4-9) finished with 11 hits and four walks, while TCU (21-13, 7-6) had eight hits and one walk.
Kramkowski allowed only three runs on seven hits, while striking out nine and not issuing a walk.
Maclain Roberts and Garrett Hicks followed with dominant performances in relief. Roberts threw 1 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and striking out three. He earned the victory.
Hicks shut the door in the ninth, striking out three batters, as Arizona finished with 15 strikeouts.
Lira set the tone offensively, recording four hits in a game for the second time this season.
Mathis Meurant continued his recent stretch of stellar play, going 2 for 4 with two RBI. Nate Novitske added two hits and a walk to reach base three times, and Mihalakis went 1 for 4 with two RBIs, including the game-winning sacrifice fly. Beau Sylvester went 1-for-5 with a double and a run, and Carson McEntire was 1 for 4 with a double and a run.
Arizona struck first in the second inning when Sylvester opened the frame with a leadoff double. Two batters later, he advanced to third on a groundout. Meurant stepped up to bat with two outs and went down 0-2; however, he ripped a single down the third base line to plate Sylvester and give Arizona the lead.
TCU responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating a run to even the contest.
In the bottom of the third, Kramkowski settled in and shut down the TCU offense, retiring 11 consecutive batters from the third to the seventh innings.
The Wildcats tacked on a second run in the fourth, as McEntire roped a two-out double to left field. Meurant came up to bat next and delivered again, launching a double to the wall in right field, as Arizona retook the lead.
Arizona added another run in the fifth to extend its lead. Caleb Danzeisen led off with a walk, and Lira followed with a single back up the middle to advance Danzeisen to third. Two batters later, Mihalakis came through with a single to right field, scoring Danzeisen and pushing Arizona’s lead up to 3-1.
TCU managed to score two runs in the seventh to tie the game; but, Roberts entered with two outs and two runners on and struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning and limit the damage.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Danzeisen walked to open the ninth. Lira then delivered a single for his fourth hit of the night, putting two runners on with no outs. Following a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, Mihalakis swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a perfect sacrifice fly to deep left field, as Danzeisen scored easily to give Arizona a 4-3 lead.
Hicks entered the game in the ninth and struck out the first two batters he faced. After surrendering a double, he struck out the next batter to seal the win and earn the save.
Due to inclement weather in the area, Arizona and TCU will now play a doubleheader on Saturday. Game 1 is set to begin at noon, Tucson time, with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
Arizona will attempt to match its longest winning streak of the season — three games — in the first game of the doubleheader.
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