The Arizona baseball team hosted USC for a three-game series starting on Friday, May 19. The Wildcats outscored the Trojans 19-7 during the first two games of the series before dropping the final game. Arizona now holds a record of 30-23 (12-18 in Pac-12 play).

Game 1: Friday, May 19, at 1 p.m. 

After a rainy Thursday night, the first game was moved to Friday afternoon, setting up a doubleheader for the opening games of the final series of the regular season.

The Trojans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning after launching a solo home run. However, their lead was short-lived, as Nik McClaughry hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to tie the game at 1-1. 

The Wildcats took their first lead of the game in the fourth inning following a 3-run homer by Tony Bullard – his ninth of the season – giving the Wildcats a 4-1 lead. In the following inning, the Wildcats scored 4 more runs to increase their lead to 7 runs. The inning was highlighted by a 2-run homer by Kiko Romero – his 16th of the season – and a solo shot by Emilio Corona – his ninth of the season. 

The runs kept coming for the Wildcats, as Chase Davis launched a solo home run in the sixth inning – his 18th of the season – as the Wildcats were leading the Trojans 9-1 through six innings of the play. 

The Trojans scored 2 runs in the seventh to cut their deficit to 7 runs before Arizona quickly countered by scoring 4 more runs in the bottom half of the inning. 

The Wildcats cruised to a 13-4 victory to take the first game of the series and game one of the Friday doubleheader.

Game 2: Friday, May 19, at 6 p.m. 

The Wildcats were poised to sweep the Friday doubleheader, as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth inning. However, the Trojans countered in the sixth inning by scoring 3 runs to cut their deficit to 1. 

Wildcat starting pitcher Bradon Zastrow cruised through the first five innings and kept the Trojans off the scoreboard. However, he was removed from the ball game after running into some trouble in the sixth. His final statline was 5.0 IP, four hits, 2 runs and a strikeout. However, he picked up his fifth win of the season, giving him a 5-5 record on the season.  

The Wildcats scored 2 runs in the sixth inning following solo home runs by both Corona and Bullard, each their 10th of the season and second of the day.

The Wildcats were able to complete the sweep of Friday’s doubleheader with their 6-3 win. Friday night’s win also helped the Wildcats punch their ticket to the Pac-12 Tournament, which will be played in Scottsdale, Arizona, from Tuesday, May 23, to Friday, May 27. 

Game 3: Saturday, May 20, at 6 p.m. 

The Wildcats fell behind early during the final game of the series. The Trojans held a 4-0 lead by the bottom of the second inning. However, the Wildcats scored 3 runs to cut the Trojan lead to 4-3 through three innings of play.

Unfortunately, the Trojans pulled away in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring 7 runs and building an 11-3 lead. 

Yet, the Wildcats once again attempted to cut into the deficit as they scored 3 runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning to cut their deficit to 5. The fifth inning was highlighted by a trio of home runs by Mac Bingham – his 10th of the season– Davis – his 19th of the season – and Romero – his 17th of the season. 

Davis collected the 37th home run of his career, which ranks third all-time in Arizona program history. Additionally, Romero’s solo home run gave him his 8oth RBI of the season, which leads the Pac-12 conference and ranks fifth in the nation.

The Trojans ultimately defeated the Wildcats 14-6 to take the final game. However, the Wildcats took the series 2-1, giving them lots of momentum as they enter the Pac-12 Tournament. 

Looking ahead

The Wildcats will face ASU on Tuesday, May 23, at 10 a.m., before facing off against Oregon State University on Wednesday, May 24, at 10 a.m.