With a national television audience on hand, the No. 9 Arizona baseball team busted out of its slump to win two out of three from No. 22 Southern California over the weekend.
The Wildcats (28-15, 12-3 Pacific 10 Conference) scored 13 runs in the third inning yesterday to win the rubber game 18-4 before a live audience on ESPN at Sancet Stadium.
Arizona beat the Trojans (27-15, 9-6) 7-2 Saturday on Fox Sports Net after being shut out 13-0 Friday on ESPNU.
The Wildcats matched their conference win total from last season and stayed a game ahead of No. 6 Oregon State in the Pac-10 standings despite the Beavers taking two of three against No. 17 ASU.
Arizona tied its season-high run total, set Feb. 18 at Texas-Pan American, behind a monster third inning yesterday.
Trailing 3-2, Arizona piled on 13 runs on 11 hits while sending 17 batters to the plate.
The Wildcats scored five more runs in the inning than they put up during their four-game losing streak that was snapped Saturday.
"Obviously, (it was) a real, real special inning," head coach Andy Lopez said. "Those come around about once every 20 years or so."
As a team, the Wildcats combined for six singles, two doubles, two triples, a home run and two walks in the frame.
Arizona shelled USC closer Paul Koss, who gave up seven runs on five hits without recording an out.
Junior left fielder Trevor Crowe homered twice and scored three runs along with juniors Brad Boyer and Nick Hundley.
Sophomore shortstop Jason Donald also hit a home run and drove in five runs.
Frey had three RBIs, as five players drove in multiple runs.
"Hitting is contagious, and that's what you saw out there today," Crowe said. "I think we just showed off our stroke and worked on our approach a little bit and made some adjustments. It felt like Arizona baseball. That's what Arizona baseball should be."
Pitching with an overwhelming lead, freshman Eric Berger (5-0) sparkled.
He entered the game in the third for freshman starter David Coulon and gave up just two hits in six shutout innings while striking out five.
"I said to him before the game, 'Show me something special,'" Crowe said. "After his performance today, I said to him, 'You did something special. You were outstanding.'"
The Wildcats rebounded from four games of poor play to beat USC 7-2 Saturday.
Junior Kevin Guyette (7-4) bounced back from two poor starts to hold the Trojans to two runs over 7 2/3 innings for the win.
Guyette had failed to get past the fifth inning in losing his past two starts.
"Guyette set the tone for us (with) an outstanding pitching performance (Saturday)," Lopez said. "We needed it badly. He set the tempo, we got some timely hitting and we played good baseball again. That's kind of refreshing after the last four."
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never trailed. Run-scoring singles by senior right fielder Jeff Van Houten and Hundley along with an RBI ground out by Frey plated the runs.
Leading 4-2, Arizona put the game away with a three-run seventh capped by a two-run home run by Hundley, his 10th of the season.
Van Houten busted out of a 2-for-20 slump starting in a 14-3 win April 19 over New Mexico with a 2-for-4 day in which he scored and drove in two runs.
The Trojans extended Arizona's season-high losing streak to four games in Friday's 13-0 blowout.
The Wildcats' conference-leading offense mustered only four hits, matching a season-low.
It marked the second time Arizona has been shut out, with the first coming in a 7-0 loss Feb. 20 at Texas-Pan American.
Ian Kennedy (8-1) showed why he's one of the top pitchers in the nation, allowing only three hits in eight innings while striking out 14. He did not allow any base runners past second all game.
"Their guy was outstanding," Lopez said. "That was a very, very impressive performance. He threw a couple breaking balls when he had to, but for the most part he just threw fastballs right by us. He was exceptional."
On the other side, junior John Meloan (7-1) suffered his first loss in nearly two years.
Meloan got shelled to the tune of eight runs and nine hits in six innings. He also walked five and struck out a season-low one batter after entering the game fourth in the conference with 90 strikeouts, having struck out 7 1/2 per game.
The outing ended a 17-game winning streak for Meloan, who had not lost a decision since May 4, 2003, against California.
"He didn't look very good (Friday)," Lopez said. "It was just a very un-John Meloan performance."