DENG-KAI CHEN/The Daily Californian Richard Mercado, and the rest of the Arizona baseball team picked up two much-needed wins this weekend as they played Cal in Berkeley, Calif. With the wins Arizona improved its record to 23-19-1, 7-8 in the Pac-10 Conference, to keep its postseason hopes alive.

Wildcats jump to 4th in Pac-10 with 8-3 win

The Arizona baseball team kept its postseason hopes alive with a much-needed win yesterday, when it beat Cal 8-3 to win a three-game weekend series in Berkeley, Calif.

With the win, Arizona (23-19-1, 7-8 Pacific 10 Conference) moved into a tie for fourth place in the Pac-10 with nine league games remaining.

"We're getting closer and closer to the end, and every game holds its own importance," head coach Andy Lopez said.

Sophomore John Meloan, who was suffering from a stomach virus the night before and was unsure whether he'd be able to pitch, picked up the win for the Wildcats yesterday. He went 6 1/3 innings, holding the Golden Bears (24-27, 8-13) to two earned runs on five hits.

Meloan got some help from the Wildcats' relief pitching.

Senior Scott Burns worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning with Arizona clinging to a 4-3 lead. Burns earned his second save of the weekend and the season.

"In many ways, Scott Burns was the biggest factor of the weekend," Lopez said. "He's just another example of a guy who's been here four years and finally gets an opportunity, and makes the most out of it."

The Wildcat offense scored four more runs in the game's final two innings, highlighted by sophomore first baseman Jordan Brown's second homer of the weekend.

Freshman designated hitter Bill Rhinehart added his own two-run blast in the fourth to give Arizona a 3-1 advantage. Rhinehart finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Sophomore catcher Nick Hundley added two RBIs in yesterday's win.

"This game was just a great example of young guys stepping up and coming through," Lopez said.

Yesterday's win could prove vital to the Wildcats' playoff chances after they lost Saturday's contest to the Bears.

Cal used a barrage of home runs Saturday to defeat Arizona 10-8. Five of Cal's 11 hits were dingers.

The Wildcats built a 2-0 lead off junior catcher Richard Mercado's third homer of the year. But Cal came roaring back, scoring eight unanswered runs in the game's next three innings to build an 8-2 lead before Arizona closed the gap.

The Wildcats scored three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, highlighted by a two-run shot from Brown. Arizona closed within a run of the Bears at 9-8 but got no closer.

Junior Kevin Guyette (5-5) picked up the loss for the Wildcats, giving up six runs in 2 2/3 innings of work.

The Wildcats broke a season-high three-game losing streak Friday with a 5-3 win over Cal. Arizona used a four-run fourth and got seven strikeouts from junior Koley Kolberg to win the series opener.

Kolberg worked 6 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs in his team-leading seventh win of the year.

Burns threw the game's final 2 2/3 innings to earn his first career save. He struck out two without giving up a hit to close the door on the Bears.

Brown and junior John Hardy paced the Wildcat offense with two RBIs apiece. Over the last 15 games, Hardy is hitting .451 to lead the Arizona attack.

The Wildcats return to California next weekend to take on UCLA in a series that will not count toward conference play. Arizona and the Bruins met once this year, with UCLA winning the Pac-10 series 2-1.