By
Brian Penso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona baseball team concluded its 18-game home stand by taking two out of three games from Utah this past weekend at Sancet Field.
In yesterday's 5-4 victory in the series' third and decisive game, Arizona scored three runs in the seventh inning to overcome a 4-2 deficit.
UA's offense, stagnant most of the game, came alive after first-base coach Victor Solis was ejected for arguing with the first base umpire.
Solis was tossed after Wildcat junior shortstop Brad Hassey was picked off at first.
"That fired the team up," head coach Jerry Stitt said. "He had the right to argue, and it served as a catalyst that got the guys going."
Offensively, senior first baseman Ernie Durazo once again was the leader of the Wildcat attack.
He extended his career-high hitting streak to 24 and drove in the first run of the Wildcats' seventh-inning rally with a single to center. The senior's hit scored third baseman Erik Torres, who had doubled into the left-field corner with one out in the inning.
"That was a huge hit for Ernie," Stitt said. "It started things for us."
After junior right fielder Shelley Duncan was hit by a pitch, second baseman Matt Abram singled home Durazo, tying the game at four.
Arizona took the lead when junior Kenny Huff hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Duncan.
The victory marked one of just a few come-from-behind victories Arizona has had this season.
Stitt said it's important for his young team to know that they are capable of rallying from a deficit on a regular basis.
"Our guys don't mind being down, because we have confidence in our bats," Stitt said. "We know that the game is never over - I'm just real pleased with our comeback."
Hassey, son of former Wildcat Ron Hassey, said the pick-off caught him off guard.
"It should of never happened, but it got us going," Hassey said. "It woke up our bench and everyone was up and talking. It definitely got us going."
The Wildcats (13-8) were led by its young pitching staff, who had great success against the Utes (8-8).
Freshman pitcher Anthony Sulser led the way with 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball yesterday. His consistency in the final three innings of yesterday's game allowed the Wildcats to complete the late-inning comeback.
"He is a strike-throwing machine," Stitt said. "He has five different pitches he throws for strikes, and he just did a real good job for us this weekend."
The series marked the first time all season that UA had to rely more on its pitching than its hitting.
Duncan said he was pleased to see the success of the Wildcat pitching staff.
"Pitching was outstanding, and our offense was poor, but that happens," Duncan said.
"You can't swing well every game. If our pitching works with our bats, we're unbeatable. It doesn't happen all the time - hopefully, when one is off, the other can make up for it."
