Tyler Crawford pitched marvelously out of the bullpen and No. 11 Arizona pounded out 15 hits en route to a 12-6 victory over No. 10 Oregon to even the best-of-three series Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. The victory moved the Wildcats within a half-game of the league-leading Ducks in the Pac-12 standings.
Arizona (30-14, 13-7 Pac-12) fell behind 3-0 in the top of the second inning but then erupted for six runs in the home half of the inning to take its first lead of the series. Oregon (33-14, 15-8 Pac-12) answered with two runs in the third and eventually chased UA starter Konner Wade from the game in the fifth inning, but Crawford came on in relief and shut down the Ducks the rest of the way.
After Kyle Garlick tripled to lead off the fifth against Wade, Crawford induced three consecutive groundouts to end the inning. The first of those, Ryan Hambright’s grounder to second base, brought in Garlick to cut UA’s lead to 8-6.
From there, Crawford would pitch into the ninth inning, earning his first career victory after throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings. He allowed just four runners to reach base and did not allow a base hit to the first 15 batters, a streak that ended with one out in the ninth, when consecutive singles ended his evening. UA closer Stephen Manthei entered with two on and recorded the final two outs to preserve the 12-6 win.
The Wildcats roughed up Oregon starter Jake Reed in the bottom of the second. Trailing by three, Robert Refsnyder led off the inning with a double, then moved to third on an infield single by Seth Mejias-Brean. A walk to Bobby Brown loaded the bases for Riley Moore. The freshman catcher fell behind 0-2 but fought back, fouling fouled off five consecutive pitches, as the count went full. On the 11th pitch of the at-bat, Moore delivered a two-run single to put the Wildcats on the board.
With Moore on first and Brown on second, Brandon Dixon attempted to put down a bunt in front of the mound, and Reed’s diving attempt to catch it came up short. Catcher Connor Hoffman hurried to corral the ball, but his late throw to first was wild and allowed Brown to score the tying run. With runners on second and third, Trent Gilbert’s grounder scored Moore and moved Dixon to third base. Joey Rickard followed with a run-scoring single and was later driven in on a single by Johnny Field, giving the Wildcats a 6-3 advantage.
The Ducks made it a one-run game with two runs in the third before the Wildcats tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth. Gilbert opened the frame with a single and Rickard walked, and both runners moved up a base on a passed ball. An RBI groundout by Field and an infield RBI single by Mejia re-extended UA’s lead to three runs at 8-5.
Wade was forced from the game in the top of the fifth after the leadoff triple. He was charged with six earned runs on nine hits while tallying four strikeouts and a walk.
Arizona collected its first two-out RBI of the series in the bottom of the fifth. With two down and Brown on third, Gilbert slapped a single through the left side to give the Wildcats a 9-6 advantage.
Reed exited the game after Gilbert’s hit. The right-hander, who suffered the loss and dropped to 5-3 on the season, was charged with nine runs, eight earned, on 10 hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.
The Wildcats scratched across another run in the sixth to take a 10-6 lead, then added two insurance runs in the eighth. Field opened the inning with his first home run of the year, a solo shot to left field, and Dixon later drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in another and make it 12-6.
Arizona, which was just 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position in the opener, was much more timely with its hits Saturday. The Wildcats finished 7 of 12 in Saturday's contest and had two two-out RBIs, while Oregon was just 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
The series finale is set for noon Sunday at Hi Corbett Field, with the winner exiting the weekend alone in first place in the Pac-12 standings.
