First back-to-back shutouts since 2011
During its winless trip to Texas last weekend, Arizona allowed 31 runs including five in the final inning of a 13-1 loss. That was also the last time the Wildcats let an opponent score.
The UA beat San Diego 11-0 in seven innings on Friday night at Hi Corbett Field, its second consecutive mercy-rule victory. Both have been via shutout, marking the first time since 2011 it has held back-to-back opponents off the scoreboard.
Arizona cranked out 17 hits against the Toreros, with all nine batters getting at least one. Senior Aaron Walton led the way with three hits including his first home run as a Wildcat, driving in three runs and reaching base all five times, while Easton Breyfogle was 2 for 2 with a homer and three RBI along with two walks.
“That’s what we can do, that’s what we’ve been saying from the beginning,” said Walton, a transfer from Samford. “I think that’s just a glimpse of what we can do and what we can accomplish this season.”
Arizona scored in all but one inning, putting the mercy rule into play with a 6-run bottom of the sixth that saw 12 batters come to the plate. That frame began with Breyfogle crushing a 432-foot solo homer to right center, the second HR of his career with both coming against San Diego.
Breyfogle also drove in runs via a bases loaded walk in the first and a sacrifice fly in the 4th. The sophomore is hitting .417 and has an OPS of 1.412 after hitting .252 in 40 games as a freshman.
“I think the game has just slowed down a lot for me,” Breyfogle said.
Arizona had seven baserunners the first two innings against San Diego right-hander Cal Scolari, knocking him out after three. UA coach Chip Hale said the game plan was to get Scolari, who struck out nine in five innings in his first start, to run up the pitch count.
Arizona’s starter, righty Collin McKinney, also only went three innings. He allowed two hits with a walk and a strikeout on 49 pitches but his fastball velocity was down, prompting the move to Casey Hintz in the fourth. Hintz would go the rest of the way to get the victory.
Before leaving, though, McKinney escaped a bases-loaded, no out jam in the top of the third and had to wait out a lengthy replay review in the process. He got a called third strike and then induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
“He battled tail off,” Hale said of McKinney, who has allowed one run in 6.1 innings this season. “He really regrouped. And to get out of that with no runs, I was figuring maybe one, maybe two here, we’ll be good, especially after last weekend, where we had so many big innings against us, I was worried about that. At this level, all that energy you expel to get out of that, that’s one of the reasons we went to Casey.”
Arizona turned three inning-ending double plays to help keep San Diego off the scoreboard. Combined with Tuesday’s 10-0 win over New Mexico it was the first time the Wildcats had posted consecutive shutouts since beating Wright State 13-0 and Seton Hall 6-0 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
The second game of the series is 2 p.m. MT Saturday, with sophomore righty Owen Kramkowski going for Arizona.