Konner Wade threw a complete-game three-hitter Saturday as eighth-ranked Arizona upended second-ranked Stanford 4-2 in front of 3,506 fans at Hi Corbett Field. It was the Wildcats' second straight win over the Pac-12 preseason favorites.
Wade (4-0) carried a 1-0 lead and a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The right-hander had retired 17 of 18 batters, including 11 in a row, before he surrendered his first hit of the game on a comebacker off the bat of Lonnie Kauppila that Wade was unable to corral after it deflected off his foot.
Jake Stewart followed with a double down the left-field line that put two runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Tyler Gaffney put one run on the board, and a second scored on an error as the Cardinal took a 2-1 lead.
It was the 14th consecutive games in which the Wildcats trailed, but they wasted no time in regaining the lead.
Bobby Brown, who delivered the game-winning hit Friday night, pulled a double down the left-field line to open the bottom of the sixth. Trent Gilbert then laid down a bunt that Stanford hurler Brett Mooneyham threw away down the first-base line, allowing Brown to score the tying run. Gilbert scored the go-ahead run later in the inning when Joey Rickard reached on an error.
The 3-2 lead proved to be enough for Wade, who took matters into his own hands the rest of the way. Wade struck out five over the next two innings, including the side in order in the top of the eighth.
In the home half of the eighth, the Wildcats added a key insurance run. Brandon Dixon reached on a one-out single and moved to third when Rickard doubled off reliever David Schmidt. After the Cardinal intentionally walked Johnny Field to load the bases, Schmidt hit Alex Mejia to force in a run.
Robert Refsnyder grounded into an inning-ending double play to end a potential big inning, a theme for UA. The Wildcats left 12 runners on base in the game and were a combined 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Wade finished things off with a perfect ninth inning, inducing a pair of flyouts and a tapper back to the mound to seal the victory.
The complete game was the first of Wade's career. He allowed the three sixth-inning base hits, walked just one and hit a batter to go along with seven strikeouts.
Mooneyham (5-1) took the loss for Stanford, his first of the season. The left-hander went 7 1/3 innings, allowed nine hits, walked four and struck out seven.
The Cardinal (16-5, 2-3 Pac-12) did not put a runner in scoring position in the first five innings. They threatened to take a lead in the seventh when a walk and a two-out error put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but Wade struck out Stewart to end the inning.
The Wildcats, who put at least one base runner on in all eight innings they came to bat, were staked to a 1-0 lead thanks to the first of three Stanford errors. Mejia’s two-out doubled was followed by a double down the left-field line by Robert Refsnyder. Gafney was unable to come up with the ball cleanly, which allowed Mejia to come around to score.
Arizona (20-7, 6-2) improved its weekend record to 7-0 on the season.
