Adrian Gaitan/Stanford Daily Stanford pitcher John Hudgins delivers to a Wildcat hitter during Arizona's 11-6 win yesterday. With the win, the Wildcats became the first team since 1999 to take a series from the Cardinal at home.

The Arizona baseball team pulled to within one game of the Pacific-10 Conference lead after a historic road series victory over No. 4 Stanford with an 11-6 victory yesterday.

The 2-1 series win was Arizona's (30-16, 9-6 Pac-10) first against the Cardinal in a decade and marked the first time since the 1999 season that Stanford (28-13, 10-5) lost a series at home in the Sunken Diamond.

The Wildcat offense exploded for six unanswered runs in the last four innings to ice the rubber match of the series yesterday. Junior Moises Duran knocked in John Hardy with a sixth-inning double to break a 6-6 tie, and freshman Derek Decater returned the favor by driving in Hardy with a two-out single to push UA ahead by two.

That was all the Arizona bullpen needed, although the Wildcats would plate four more runs. UA relievers pitched 6.1 innings of one-run ball to secure the victory just one day after blowing yet another late-game lead.

Freshman Kevin Guyette (3-3) earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief after he spelled starter Joe Little in the third inning. Sophomores Derek Rodriguez and Mark Worrell each pitched a pair of scoreless innings down the stretch.

Sophomore shortstop John Hardy anchored the offense, batting a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, including his second homerun, which came in the eighth inning.

Decater drove in three RBIs on 3-for-4 hitting.

Arizona was one inning away from a victory that, in retrospect, would have completed the series sweep on Saturday before the bullpen squandered a 9-6 eighth-inning lead.

Wes Zlotoff and Brian Pemble, the team's only seniors, surrendered four combined runs in the pivotal eighth frame and the Cardinal shut down the Wildcat offense for the come-from-behind 10-9 win. Pemble (2-3) suffered the loss.

Junior outfielder Brian Anderson, who called the series the most important he's played in a Wildcat uniform, torched the Stanford pitching staff for four hits and five RBIs, including one of baseball's rarest plays öö an inside-the-park grand slam.

Anderson had a similarly heroic performance in Friday's opener, a 4-3 UA win, when he hit the game-winning home run in the top of the eighth to push the Wildcats ahead for good.

Junior staff ace Richie Gardner (7-1) turned in a gutsy 8.1-inning performance to earn his seventh win of the season. He gave up seven hits and three earned runs while striking out seven. Freshman John Meloan notched his second save by retiring the last two batters.

Duran also hit his 10th homer in the game, a two-run shot.

Arizona travels to Sacramento State for an 11 a.m. game today in a bid to exact revenge on the non-conference foe, which shocked the Wildcats with a 12-11 come-from-behind win earlier this month.

The California Golden Bears come to Tucson for a weekend series beginning Friday.