Baseball sweeps Toros

Ryan A. Mihalyi Arizona Daily Wildcat UA outfielder Keith Regina slides back to first in yesterday's 12-2 Arizona win over Cal State-Dominguez Hills.

The Wildcats (7-5) whipped the Toros (3-2), 12-2 at Sancet Field, with all the pieces coming together for Arizona. All nine starters collected at least one hit, the four Wildcat pitchers had strong outings and the defense played errorless ball.

"We played pretty well today," UA head coach Jerry Stitt said. "We pitched well and got the balls over for strikes."

Junior right-handed starter David Quick (1-0) earned the win for the Wildcats, going four innings with just four hits, a run and five strikes while walking only two batters.

"Quick was a little tentative at first, but then he started pumping them," Stitt said. "He did pretty good."

The win, however, did not come without some losses. In the sixth inning, junior center fielder Diego Rico fouled a pitch off of his right shin and was forced to leave the game. Two batters later, senior designated hitter Jeff Gjerde was forced to leave mi d-way through his at-bat because of a nerve pain in his hand. It is not sure if they will travel today for the three game series against Texas A&M starting on Friday.

Before leaving the game Rico was 2-for-3 with a run, RBI and a triple. Gjerde was 2 for 4 with a run, RBI and a double.

Junior shortstop Jake Thrower, who entered the game with an 11 at-bat hitting streak, grounded out to the shortstop in his first at-bat, ending the streak. He finished the day going 1-for-3 with a run and RBI.

Freshman center fielder Keith Regina, who has been batting in the leadoff spot, has continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and two runs.

In the fourth inning junior right fielder Colin Porter hit a two-run home run, his second of the year. In the sixth, junior first baseman Kenny Corley hit his team-leading third home run, a two-run shot.

"We hit the ball pretty well," Stitt said. "We ran ourselves out of some innings today, but we have to test the waters and see what we are doing."

Although the Rico and Gjerde injuries are not season-ending, senior Tyler Haddix is lost for the year. He will undergo surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. Haddix will be red-shirted.

There is some good news for the Wildcats. Junior second baseman Erik Mattern, who started the season with a mild case of mono, has been cleared to play. He will not start Friday, but might pinch hit later in the game.

The Wildcats will face their toughest road test of the year this weekend when they play the No.7-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (5-2) in a three-game series. Arizona will send sophomore right-hander Darrell Hussman (2-1) to the mound for the series opener.