March 4, 2011
TUCSON, Arizona -- No. 17 Arizona took the opening of a three-game series from Utah Valley, 6-5, on Friday night in Tucson.
The Wolverines (3-5) got a three-hit day from sophomore Kai Hatch and used a three-run sixth to tie it in the final innings but fell short in the upset bid.
"We played a lot better today than we had in the past two weeks but we've still got some things to clean up," said head coach Eric Madsen. "We had some opportunities and didn't back down. In that sense I was pleased with the presence we had at the park tonight."
Utah Valley jumped on the board early when Willie Pratt led off the game with a triple and then came in to score on a Jason Zundel single.
Arizona (7-2) answered a run in the bottom of the first, two more in the second and one in the third to take a 4-1 lead.
The run in the first inning came with two outs on a double by Robert Refsnyder, ending Utah Valley starter Blake Krahenbuhl's scoreless streak to start the season at 13.2 innings.
UVU took advantage of some breaks to get back into the game. Austin Heaps singled to center but moved all the way to third when the ball skipped by the centerfielder. Then, with two outs, Hatch lined a single into right-center to give Utah Valley its second run.
The Wildcats got that run back in the bottom of the fourth when Refsnyder again delivered with two outs, singling to right to score Bryce Ortega.
The Wolverines tied it with three unearned runs in the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out in the inning, a throwing error by the pitcher trying to get the lead runner at the plate got away, allowing two runs to score. Hatch later came in to score the tying run on a passed ball with two outs in the inning.
Arizona scored what turned out to be the winning run in the seventh when Refsnyder continued his hot night with a double to right before scoring on a base hit by Josh Garcia.
Kurt Heyer struck out 10 in five innings but did not factor into the decision for Arizona. Konner Wade threw one inning and picked up the win while Bryce Bandilla struck out three in 1.2 innings to get the save. The Wildcat pitching staff combined to strike out 16 Wolverine hitters on Friday.
The series continues on Saturday at 6 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for 12 p.m. MT.
