Game 1: Washington 6, Arizona 3
The Arizona baseball team started Pac-12 Conference play on the wrong foot, falling to the Washington Huskies in Seattle.
The game was tied at 3-3 heading into the seventh inning, but the tie was broken when Washington’s Joey Morgan hit a three-run homer to left field, which wound up being the difference in the game.
JC Cloney started on the mound for Arizona and he fared well, pitching the first six innings and allowing only three runs. He was removed from the game after giving up a one-out single in the seventh. Austin Schnabel took over and walked the only batter he faced before being relieved by Cameron Ming.
With two on and one out, Ming struck out the first batter he faced, but Morgan was up next and drove the first pitch he saw over the wall to put Washington ahead for good.
The Wildcats had six hits in the game and catcher Cesar Salazar and Cody Ramer each had two hits apiece. Cody Ramer and Ryan Aguilar both had an RBI.
Game 2: Washington 8, Arizona 4
Despite Aguilar homering twice for the Wildcats, Washington was able to take the second game of the series.
Aguilar’s first homer, a solo shot in the top of the third, extended the Wildcats’ lead to 2-0, and he’d homer again in the fifth inning to put Arizona up 3-1.
But it was all Washington from there. The Huskies scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth off Nathan Bannister to make it a 6-3 game. Eventually, Washington tacked on two more runs. Bannister allowed 10 hits and seven runs in 5.2 innings.
The Wildcats scored a run in the ninth thanks to a leadoff triple by Jared Oliva and an RBI single by Ramer, but the damage ended there. Washington closed the game out.
Game 3: Arizona 17, Washington 7
After dropping the first two games, Arizona avoided the sweep in game three, routing the Huskies in a slugfest.
The Wildcats had 19 hits and Oliva went 3-4 with a homer and five RBIs. Salazar went 4-5 with 3 RBIs and Aguilar continued his impressive road trip, going 3-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Meanwhile, Bobby Dalbec, Zach Gibbons and Alfonso Rivasc each had multi-hit games. Dalbec hit his second homer of the season and pitched six innings in relief, allowing just two runs while compiling five strikeouts, crediting him with the win.
The Wildcats scored seven runs in the first inning, but Washington scored the next five runs in the game, making it a 7-5 contest heading in to the top of the fifth.
Arizona answered back as Oliva doubled to right center to bring Salazar home to make it 8-5. Oliva later homered in the top of the seventh, capping off a five-run inning and giving the Wildcats a 13-5 lead.
Salazar tacked on an RBI single in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Aguilar brought a run home via sac-fly and Dalbec launched a two-run homer to right center to give Arizona its 17th run of the game. This provided plenty of separation from the Huskies.
The Wildcats salvaged the series finale, but the Huskies still came away with the series victory. Arizona leaves Seattle with a 13-7 overall record and a 1-2 record in the Pac-12 Conference after the first weekend of conference play.
Arizona returns to action Tuesday to take on Utah Valley at 6 p.m. at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats will then host the UCLA Bruins for a three-game series on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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