After dropping the opener of the three-game series, No. 17-ranked Arizona (4-1) came back swinging for a 9-1 victory over Long Beach State (2-4) at Blair Field on Saturday.
Wildcats starter Kyle Simon (2-0) pitched eight strong innings, allowing just five hits and one run on 99 pitches.
“[Simon] threw pretty good,” Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley said. “[Arizona] did a good job … we didn’t make a lot of adjustments.”
The Wildcats’ small-ball strategy opened the scoring floodgates.
A base hit and back-to-back bunts loaded the bases for Arizona in the third inning. Dirtbags starter Matt Johnson then hit the Wildcats’ Cole Frenzel with a pitch to bring in the first run.
Johnson (0-1), who also allowed a run-scoring sacrifice fly, dug himself out of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. He allowed five runs over 4 1/3 innings.
Rain began to fall in the fifth inning, and with it came a rain of runs for the Wildcats. Arizona added six runs in the fifth, including a two-run home run by Josh Garcia.
The following inning, Robert Refsnyder opened with a solo homer.
“It was a tough loss … our first butt whooping,” Buckley said.
A three-base error by Arizona in the eighth inning placed Dirtbags shortstop Kirk Singer in scoring position. With one out, third baseman Matt Duffy grounded out but batted in Singer for his team-leading sixth RBI and the LBSU’s only run for the night.
Long Beach State and Arizona will meet again Sunday at Blair Field for the rubber game of the series. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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