By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona baseball team split a doubleheader with Cal Ä winning the first game 7-3 and dropping the second 10-5 Ä in the first two of a three-game Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division series Saturday at Evans Diamond in Berkeley, Calif.
The final game was played late yesterday afternoon.
Throughout the season, the Wildcats (16-24-1 overall, 4-12 in the Six-Pac) have had one pitcher rise up at a time and carry the team. Lately their man has been Zach Pringle.
Pringle pitched a complete game, scattering six hits and striking out seven in Arizona's 7-3 victory in the first game of the doubleheader. With the victory, Pringle upped his record to 2-1 for the year. Cal starter Keith Evans took the loss to fall to 5-4.
Senior Menno Wickey paced the Wildcats at the plate by going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Another contributing factor in the Arizona victory fell under the error column on the scoreboard.
For just the second time this season, the Wildcats played errorless baseball while the Bears (18-16, 10-5) committed four.
Ryan Frace made his return to the mound in the
twilight game but lasted just 4 1/3 innings while taking the loss and falling to 3-6 on the year.
Frace started shaky, giving up three runs in the first two innings, but the Wildcats jumped on Cal pitcher Ryan Drese for five runs in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, however, the Bears lit Frace up for five runs of their own before reliever Ben White could stop the bleeding.
Drese settled down after the fifth inning and went the distance to earn the victory and improve his record to 4-4.
The Wildcats will return home this week to face Grand Canyon University tomorrow night at 7 at Sancet Field.