Brendan Summerhill’s return highlights Arizona baseball’s win over UT Arlington

The script writers really outdid themselves for Brendan Summerhill’s return.

Out for a month with a fractured right hand, Summerhill wasted no time making his presence felt in Arizona’s 9-3 win over UT Arlington on Wednesday. The junior smacked the first pitch he saw to right for a solo home run, part of a near-perfect night at the plate.

“You really can’t make that up,” said Summerhill, who was 2 for 3 with a homer, a double, two RBI, two walks and a stolen base in five plate appearances. “I got in there, honestly, and I took a deep breath. Just wow, it feels really great to be back, super comfortable. And I got what I was looking for off that guy. Swung. I think I got pretty lucky. But that’s the name of the game, right?”

Arizona (29-11) improved to 20-3 at home and 19-5 with Summerhill in the lineup. He had missed the last 16 games since injuring his hand in the finale at West Virginia on March 23.

“It was great to see Summerhill back in the lineup,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “I think he felt good. He wanted to run, he was good to go. Wanted to slide.”

The starting right fielder the first 23 games of the season, Summerhill was the designated hitter on Wednesday and likely will be in that role this weekend at Texas Tech. He said his throwing is a “work in progress” and that at this point everything is about pain tolerance.

Arizona had eight extra-base hits, second-most in a game this season, with Adonys Guzman and Tommy Splaine also homering. Guzman’s blast came three batters after Summerhill in a 5-run first and he added an RBI double to drive in three, while Splaine, Maddox Mihalakis and Gunner Geile also had two hits and Geile drove in two from the No. 9 spot.

The Wildcats used five pitchers, three of which hadn’t seen much action this season. Sophomore Bryce McKnight got the win by throwing two scoreless innings of relief, lowering his ERA from 18.00 to 6.00, while senior Eric Orloff struck out two in a 1-2-3 9^th for his 81^st career appearance, tied for 7th-most in school history.

The Wildcats play three in Lubbock beginning Friday before returning home for four starting with a Tuesday visit from New Mexico State.