Hussman shuts down Baylor

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat UA junior (15) Darrell Hussman pitches against Baylor yesterday at Frank Sancet Field. Hussman struck out nine batters in seven innings in the 8-1 win.

It was time for a pitcher to stop the offensive onslaught.

It was time for Darrell Hussman to show why he's the 32nd ranked prospect by Baseball America.

The Arizona junior right hander did just that, striking out nine batters in seven innings to lead the No. 24 ranked Wildcats (9-0) to victory yesterday over No. 13 Baylor (0-1) by the score of 8-1.

"I was placing the ball," Hussman said. "That was the key."

UA head coach Jerry Stitt said Hussman did a good job keeping Baylor's hitters "off-balance.

"He pitched very well," Stitt said. "It wouldn't matter who he pitched against today, he still would have pitched well."

Hussman showed no fear when facing the Bears' offense, limiting them to one run on a sac-fly by center fielder Jon Topolski.

"I used my fastball quite a bit," Hussman said. "My arm felt better than last time."

In Hussman's last start he struck out 12 New Mexico Lobos, but did not get the decision.

"I'm glad to get my first win," he said. "I had a great defense behind me. That helped a lot."

Arizona's potent offense, which has now scored 123 runs in nine games, torched the No. 10 ranked prospect in the country, Baylor starter Kip Wells.

Wells surrendered eight runs on eight hits, with the first blow coming off the bat of red-hot UA left fielder Jason Hendricks.

For the fifth straight game, Hendricks went deep, smashing the first pitch Wells threw him in the bottom of the second over the center field fence.

"He's got unbelievable power," Stitt said of Hendricks, who now has five home runs on the season as opposed to only four in his previous three years on the team.

After Baylor tied the game on Topolski's sac-fly in the top of the fifth, the Wildcats struck back with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the inning.

Hendricks led off the inning with a double, and after catcher Greg Clark singled and designated hitter Russ Brown walked, second baseman Erik Mattern stepped to the plate with his eight-game hitting streak on the line.

Mattern made it nine by slicing a double down the right field line, scoring Hendricks and Clark.

Shortstop Keoni DeRenne then smacked another double down the right field line, scoring Brown and Mattern. First baseman Kenny Corley drove in DeRenne on a sac-fly to give UA a 6-1 lead it would never relinquish.

Clark crushed Wells' last pitch of the game in the bottom of the sixth, tying him with Hendricks for the team lead in home runs with five.

"All of 'em are big," Clark said of his home run. "No reason to get too excited, though. We still have two more games to go."

Hussman returned to the mound in the top of the seventh and faced only five batters, walking two and striking out the other three.

"That last inning I was struggling," Hussman said. "I was tired. I got lucky."

Clark said Hussman "was on today.

"He got away with throwing the ball hard," Clark said.

Arizona and Baylor will play again today at 3 p.m. and tomorrow at 1 p.m. The Wildcats are off to their best start since the 1987 team also went 9-0.