WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA outfielder Brian Anderson rounds the bases during Arizona's series victory over Washington this weekend. The Wildcats took 2 of 3 from UW, but fell yesterday, 12-11, to Sacramento State.

Bullpen gives up four runs in ninth, Arizona loses at home to Sacramento State

Before the first pitch, the Arizona baseball team's afternoon home tilt yesterday against Sacramento State had all the makings of a boring game ÷ a Monday matchup against the unranked and unheralded Hornets, sandwiched between two conference series.

Twenty-three runs, 27 hits, seven errors and almost four hours later, it ended in a disappointing 12-11 Arizona loss after the Wildcat bullpen blew a three-run lead in the ninth. It was the fifth time this season the UA bullpen has lost a game in the final frame.

"It was a tough loss," head coach Andy Lopez said. "We battled back, then they battled back. We played a really sloppy game."

The box score agreed with Lopez: The Wildcats alone committed six errors, had seven passed balls, threw eight wild pitches and allowed two unearned runs.

Arizona (26-13, 5-4 Pacific 10 Conference) pulled away from the Hornets (21-16) after six-plus innings of close play on a three-run blast off the bat of Moises Duran that landed high in the trees past the left-center field fence. The junior's eighth homer of the year pushed his RBI total to four that day.

But the torture session wouldn't end, and the day dragged on into twilight.

The Wildcat bullpen held the three-run lead through two scoreless innings, one each by Chris Frey and Wes Zlotoff. Senior Brian Pemble got the call to close out the game three days after he picked up his first loss of the year to Washington on a botched pick-off attempt to first base.

Yesterday's outing would prove no better for Pemble (2-2), who allowed a single, a walk and a double before giving up a three-run shot to Bret LeVier that put the Hornets ahead for good.

All three Wildcat batters popped out in the bottom half of the ninth.

Lopez made the call to the bullpen six times in the game after starter Joe Little (4-2) made his second shaky start in as many days, allowing five earned runs on six hits and walking three in three innings of work. Little didn't make it out of the first inning in Sunday's win against Washington.

Duran did a little bit of everything to keep the Wildcats in the game, contributing a single, a walk, two runs scored and two stolen bases to the aforementioned three-run homer. The Tucson native played three positions in the game ÷ second base, shortstop and third base ÷ but committed a pair of errors.

Junior Brian Anderson, who hit a pair of doubles in the game for three RBIs, summed up the Wildcats' wacky evening best.

"It's tough to lose a game like that," he said. "But you can't expect to win a ballgame when you play that poorly. It's just really frustrating. I was embarrassed to be out there."

Arizona will try to right the ship Thursday in the opener of a three-game road series against Washington State in Pullman. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.