JACOB KONST/Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior outfielder Jeff Van Houten goes to hit a pitch in the fifth inning against UCLA last night. The Wildcats blew a ninth inning lead to lose 9-7.

Junior first baseman Jordan Brown, who went 4-for-5 and collected six RBIs and his first two homeruns of the year last night, said there was no way he'd be able to sleep.

Too bad for the Arizona baseball team that it's not because of his stellar night at the plate.

After coming back from a four-run deficit early in the game, Arizona blew a ninth-inning lead to lose 9-7 to UCLA in the first of a three-game series last night at Sancet Field.

"It doesn't feel that great," Brown said. "If we hold them in the bottom of the ninth, it feels fabulous, I'm sure.

"Any loss feels bad. I don't care how any individual plays."

Trailing 6-5 entering the ninth, the Bruins scored four runs on four hits to overtake the Wildcats 9-6. Freshman Mark Melancon (5-2) picked up the loss and the Wildcats' first blown save of the year.

"(UCLA) put a pretty good inning together," said head coach Andy Lopez.

In the ninth, Melancon gave up a leadoff single to Bruin second baseman Mike Svetlic, who moved to second on a wild pitch. He then gave up the game-tying single to rightfielder Matt Thayer.

The Bruins put two more runners on before the Wildcats' regular closer, junior Derek Rodriguez, entered the game. The first batter Rodriguez faced, third baseman Preston Griffin, reached on an error by senior second baseman Moises Duran.

Lopez said he stayed with Melancon in the ninth because of the way he worked in the eighth, along with the lack of pitching depth.

UCLA first baseman Wes Whisler provided the go-ahead RBIs, scoring two on a single to right. The Bruins added one more insurance run in the inning.

"They got the big hit when they needed it, and we played a little sloppy," Lopez said.

The Wildcats added one run in the ninth on Brown's sixth RBI of the game and sent the tying run to the plate ÷ but Duran flied out to center to end the game.

Brown hit his second home run in the seventh inning to give Arizona its first lead of the game at 6-5. It was the first multi-homer game for a Wildcat this year.

The team fell behind four runs in the game's first three innings, but woke up in the fourth. The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when junior catcher Richard Mercado extended his seven-game hit streak with a double. Mercado was driven home on Brown's first homer, a two-run blast over the right field wall.

"We started real slow but came on real strong, which was a good sign," Lopez said.

Brown collected his third RBI when he singled home junior right fielder Jeff Van Houten to close the gap to 4-3.

The Wildcats finally knotted the score at 4-4 in the sixth with an RBI single to right by junior second baseman John Hardy to plate Duran. That run chased UCLA starter Bryan Beck from the game after 5 2/3 innings of work.

Wildcat starting pitcher Koley Kolberg (4-2) lasted 6 2/3 innings. The junior gave up five runs on eleven hits.

The Wildcats play the Bruins again tonight at 7 and tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Sancet Field. Junior Kevin Guyette (4-3) will get the start against UCLA's Casey Janssen.

"They're young guys and they bounce back quick," Lopez said. "It was a tough loss, but you've got to get back and play."