With a six-run lead over New Mexico in the bottom of the eighth, Arizona third baseman Brad Glenn came to the plate. Four errant pitches later the junior walked, much to the dismay of the remaining fans in attendance.
For the first time in five at-bats, Glenn would not reach base on a hit, missing a bid at what would have been the UA baseball team’s first 5-for-5 performance of the season.
“”Things happen in baseball,”” Glenn said of being walked. “”I think it was the only walk (the Lobos) allowed all day, but I’m not disappointed at all. I’ll take my 4-for-4.””
While Glenn continued his streak of hot hitting – raising his current average to .282 – hits abounded for the Wildcats (27-11, 6-6 Pacific 10 Conference) who smacked New Mexico (27-16) pitching around for 18 total hits en route to a 10-4 win to complete the four-game season sweep of the Lobos and extend their winning streak to 12 games.
Arizona’s bats caught fire in yesterday afternoon’s contest as eight different players recorded hits while six reached base
multiple times.
New Mexico starting pitcher Will Kerr (2-3) lasted only 2 1/3 innings after allowing five runs on eight hits.
The Wildcats chased Kerr out of the game in the third inning when six batters hit their way on base with four of Arizona’s hits coming in extra bases. Arizona batted through the order in the inning, tallying four runs to snatch the early 4-3 lead.
“”If we swing consistently, it’s going to relax a lot of things in our program and that’s what we saw today,”” said UA head coach Andy Lopez. “”We had a lot of loose strokes, lots of balls in the gap. It’s good to see that.””
Aiding Glenn in his 4-for-4, three-RBI performance, first baseman C.J. Ziegler – hitting one spot ahead of Glenn in the lineup – found his way on base three times with two doubles including a sixth-inning bomb off the left-field wall, scoring his lone RBI on the day.
“”We’re all feeling good right now,”” Ziegler said. “”Everybody is looking comfortable at the plate and coming through. Brad’s definitely getting hot at the right time. Everybody’s getting hot.””
The strong offensive performances were necessary as starting pitcher Grayson Adams’ day did not get off to a good start.
The right-hander surrendered a pair of triples in the opening frame, along with a walk, landing himself in an early 2-0 hole.
The following inning the Lobos pounced on Adams again, extending their lead to 3-0 on a pair of doubles.
After allowing one more run in the fourth by the way of a solo shot to left field from New Mexico’s Drew McDonald, Adams’ day came to a premature end after allowing four runs on five hits with only two strikeouts.
From this point on, however, Arizona’s bullpen held the Lobos scoreless while allowing only two hits in the final five innings. Right-hander Corey Burns (2-0) earned the win, his second of the season, while closer Jason Stoffel (2-1) entered in the ninth to close the book on the Lobos for the second day in a row.
“”We know midweek games are going to be up and down for the pitchers,”” Ziegler said. “”So as an offense we know we need to come up swinging. But overall, our pitchers are doing their job and keeping us in the game.””
