16 out of 17 overall
Arizona has decided to just not lose in conference play.
The Wildcats (26-14, 14-5) extended their school record to 11 consecutive Pac-12 victories on Friday night, beating Washington 3-2 on the road.
Mason White’s RBI single in the top of the 8th drove home Garen Caulfield to break a 2-2 tie, then Kyler Heyne and Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac shut the door in the eighth and the ninth for the UA’s 16th win in 17 games overall.
Arizona managed only two hits and four baserunners in the first six innings against Washington starter Jared Engman before Adonys Guzman opened the top of the 7th with his first home run of the season. The Wildcats added another in the inning after Emilio Corona walked, stole second, moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
Corona reached base three times and had two steals, while Caulfield was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and freshman Andrew Cain had two hits and a walk.
Lefty Jackson Kent worked in and out of trouble over six scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and hitting a batter with four strikeouts but left in line for the win. That went away, though, when Washington (14-20-1, 6-13) tied it in the bottom of the 7th on a 2-run homer by Aiva Arquette against Casey Hintz.
Hintz walked three batters in 0.1 inning—after not issuing a walk since March 10 and only four all season—and came out with two on for Heyne. Heyne got a strikeout and a groundout to escape the 7th and then threw a scoreless 8th for the win.
Susac came on for the 9th and, after giving up a leadoff single struck out the next two and induced a game-ending groundout. It was the first career save for Susac, a junior who has been lights out since moving to the bullpen at the beginning of April.
In six appearances he’s struck out 13 while yielding two hits and a walk in six innings, dropping his ERA from 10.29 to 7.20.
Arizona and Washington continue their series Saturday at 2 p.m. PT, with righty Clark Candiotti (4-1, 3.34) on the mound. The Wildcats’ lead atop the Pac-12 is two games on Utah (27-13, 12-7) and 2.5 on Oregon State (32-9, 11-7).