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KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona's Kevin Guyette delivers a pitch earlier this season at Sancet Stadium. Guyette threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout in the Wildcats' 11-0 win over UCLA Saturday in Los Angeles.
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By Michael Schwartz
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, April 4, 2005
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In its first conference road trip of the season, No. 10 Arizona battered UCLA on the way to its first conference road sweep since 1999.
Junior first baseman Jordan Brown's grand slam in the Wildcats' 8-4 win Friday, junior Kevin Guyette's one-hitter in Saturday's 11-0 shutout, and freshman Eric Berger's 5 2/3 hitless innings of relief in yesterday's 12-2 win led to the sweep at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.
Arizona (21-10, 5-1 Pacific 10 Conference) had not swept a Pac-10 road series since besting Washington State April 17-18, 1999, and had not swept any conference series since May 18-20, 2001, against Washington, both before head coach Andy Lopez led the team.
"It's just a good weekend to go out and win two games and a great weekend to get three of them in," said Lopez, whose team outscored UCLA 31-6. "During the weekend we did everything well, hitting, pitching and defense."
On the other side, the Bruins (7-17, 0-3) finished the series on a school record 13-game losing streak.
Berger (3-0) retired the first 12 batters he faced yesterday after relieving fellow freshman David Coulon, who led 5-2 with one out in the fourth with a runner on first.
Berger pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings, striking out six while allowing only one walk.
After giving up double-digit runs in three consecutive series finale defeats, the freshmen duo came through this week.
"That wasn't going to continue," Lopez said. "It was one of those things that happens over the course of a 56-game season."
Berger is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in 10 relief appearances and 0-0 with a 13.00 ERA in three starts.
Junior third baseman Brad Boyer hit a two-run home run in the sixth to give Arizona a 7-2 lead.
Brown's two-run, fourth inning double put the Wildcats up 5-1 in a contest they never trailed.
Brown, senior right fielder Jeff Van Houten and junior left fielder Trevor Crowe each collected three hits, while Brown and junior center fielder Chris Frey drove in three runs.
Before Saturday's performance, Guyette had been the tough-luck loser in the first two complete game performances of his career.
He left no doubt this weekend, throwing a one-hitter to help blow out the Bruins Saturday.
Guyette (5-2) allowed only a second-inning single to Tommy Lansdon while striking out 11 and walking just two and throwing a tidy 100 pitches.
Guyette pitched the second Arizona one-hitter of the season, after juniors John Meloan and Sean Jarrett combined on a one-hitter in the season opener Feb. 4 against New Mexico.
The gem was also Arizona's third shutout of the season, the first in a game not started by Meloan, and the first complete-game shutout since senior Sean Rierson did it against UC-Irvine Feb. 15, 2003.
Guyette has now struck out eight or more batters in seven of nine starts.
"He did a magnificent job," Lopez said. "Even the base hit was a weak ground ball."
Frey led the offensive onslaught, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
Leading 4-0 in the fifth, sophomore Jason Donald broke the game open with a three-run home run. He finished the contest 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs.
Boyer hit a two-run double in the second after junior catcher Nick Hundley gave Guyette a RBI double in the first.
The Wildcats started the series out in grand fashion when Brown's go-ahead grand slam proved to be the difference in Friday's 8-4 win.
Trailing 4-2 going into the seventh, the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out for Brown.
On the first pitch, Brown, the conference's RBI leader with 48, added to his total, and Arizona never looked back.
"It was a pretty close ballgame," Lopez said. "The grand slam turned the momentum in our favor."
The blast was the first in Brown's career and his sixth career home run against UCLA. It was the first grand slam for the Wildcats since Moises Duran hit one April 28, 2003, at Sacramento State.
Van Houten went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Meloan pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and four walks while throwing 111 pitches. The bullpen and offense came to his rescue to keep his 15-decision winning streak intact.
Jarrett (2-2) picked up the win while throwing a hitless 2 1/3 innings. Sophomore closer Mark Melancon picked up his fifth save after allowing one hit in two scoreless innings.