Friday, May 5
Tucson, Ariz.
7:00 PM
University of Arizona
29-15, 0
5
vs
4
Washington
24-18, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
Stevenson's Walk-Off Wins it for Arizona
05/05/2017 | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Cal Stevenson hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Arizona Wildcats to a thrilling 5-4 win over Washington at Hi Corbett Field on Friday night.
It marks Arizona's first walk-off home run since moving to Hi Corbett Field in 2012. It's the program's first since current New York Yankee Robert Refsnyder hit a walk-off home run on March 30, 2011 versus New Mexico at Kindall/Sancet Field.
The Cats trailed 4-3 heading to the ninth inning and needed a bit of magic to end a six-game conference losing streak. With a runner on first and no outs, Louis Boyd reached on a fielder's choice on a sharp ground ball up the middle. The Huskies got the first out of the inning at second base, getting Matt Fraizer, who walked to lead off the inning.
That set up Stevenson, who pelted the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field for a two-run homer to give the Wildcats the win. Arizona is now 29-15 overall and 10-12 in Pac-12 play. Washington dropped to 24-18 and 10-9 in league play.
"On-deck, I was getting a good look (at the pitcher) and what he was throwing," Stevenson said after the game. "So, I just wanted to go up there and look for a fastball that I could handle and drive to get Boyd in at least, and it was a fastball down the middle and I put my best swing on it."
The home run was Stevenson's fourth of the season. He finished 2 for 3 with two RBI, a run scored and two sacrifice bunts. His dramatic home run came in front of 5,154 fans, which is the second largest crowd of the season for the Wildcats.
Washington grabbed the early lead Friday, scoring a run in the second and third each off Arizona starter JC Cloney. The Cats tied the game up in the third inning when Jared Oliva singled up the middle on a two-strike pitch to score Kyle Lewis and Boyd.
That remained the score until the fifth inning, when the Cats grabbed a brief lead. With one out and two on, Alfonso Rivas singled to left field to score Boyd and put Arizona up 3-2. Washington came right back and scored two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Only one of the runs was earned after Stevenson was charged with a throwing error earlier in the inning.
Cloney exited after the sixth and 91 pitches. He gave up six hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out three. He didn't factor in the decision and stayed 7-0 on the season.
Michael Flynn came on to put zeroes on the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth. After getting an out in the ninth, Rio Gomez entered with one gone and a runner on second. He got a strikeout and a soft lineout to Lewis at second base to end the inning and set up Stevenson's heroics.
Gomez earned the win to improve to 5-5 on the season. Offensively, Boyd was 1 for 3 with three runs scored. Olive finished 1 for 2 with two RBI and a pair of walks.
Arizona will now go for the series win Saturday night at 7 p.m. Left-hander Cameron Ming will start for the Wildcats.
It marks Arizona's first walk-off home run since moving to Hi Corbett Field in 2012. It's the program's first since current New York Yankee Robert Refsnyder hit a walk-off home run on March 30, 2011 versus New Mexico at Kindall/Sancet Field.
The Cats trailed 4-3 heading to the ninth inning and needed a bit of magic to end a six-game conference losing streak. With a runner on first and no outs, Louis Boyd reached on a fielder's choice on a sharp ground ball up the middle. The Huskies got the first out of the inning at second base, getting Matt Fraizer, who walked to lead off the inning.
That set up Stevenson, who pelted the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field for a two-run homer to give the Wildcats the win. Arizona is now 29-15 overall and 10-12 in Pac-12 play. Washington dropped to 24-18 and 10-9 in league play.
"On-deck, I was getting a good look (at the pitcher) and what he was throwing," Stevenson said after the game. "So, I just wanted to go up there and look for a fastball that I could handle and drive to get Boyd in at least, and it was a fastball down the middle and I put my best swing on it."
WALK-OFF!!!!!!! Cal Stevenson hits a 2-run bomb to win it for the Cats!!! #BearDown https://t.co/Yv0ooj0SCG
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 6, 2017
The home run was Stevenson's fourth of the season. He finished 2 for 3 with two RBI, a run scored and two sacrifice bunts. His dramatic home run came in front of 5,154 fans, which is the second largest crowd of the season for the Wildcats.
Washington grabbed the early lead Friday, scoring a run in the second and third each off Arizona starter JC Cloney. The Cats tied the game up in the third inning when Jared Oliva singled up the middle on a two-strike pitch to score Kyle Lewis and Boyd.
That remained the score until the fifth inning, when the Cats grabbed a brief lead. With one out and two on, Alfonso Rivas singled to left field to score Boyd and put Arizona up 3-2. Washington came right back and scored two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Only one of the runs was earned after Stevenson was charged with a throwing error earlier in the inning.
Cloney exited after the sixth and 91 pitches. He gave up six hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out three. He didn't factor in the decision and stayed 7-0 on the season.
Michael Flynn came on to put zeroes on the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth. After getting an out in the ninth, Rio Gomez entered with one gone and a runner on second. He got a strikeout and a soft lineout to Lewis at second base to end the inning and set up Stevenson's heroics.
Gomez earned the win to improve to 5-5 on the season. Offensively, Boyd was 1 for 3 with three runs scored. Olive finished 1 for 2 with two RBI and a pair of walks.
Arizona will now go for the series win Saturday night at 7 p.m. Left-hander Cameron Ming will start for the Wildcats.
Players Mentioned
INF
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LHP
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RHP
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OF
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LHP
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INF
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LHP
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OF/LHP
/ BaseballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Gomez, Rio (5-5)
L: Nierenberg, Leo (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Naff, John 1
RBI: Jordan, Levi 1 ; Morgan, Joey 1
SH: London, Kyle 1 ; Graffanino, AJ 1
SF: Morgan, Joey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jordan, Levi 1 ; Meggs, Jack 1 ; Morgan, Joey 1 ; Naff, John 1
CS: Cushing, Josh 1
PO: Cushing, Josh 1
Batting:
HR: Stevenson, Cal 1
RBI: Stevenson, Cal 2 ; Oliva, Jared 2 ; Rivas III, Alfonso 1
SH: Stevenson, Cal 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Stevenson, Cal 1 ; Lewis, Kyle 1 ; Boyd, Louis 3
HBP: Boyd, Louis 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
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