TUCSON, Ariz. — Two home runs from
Aaron Walton, a lights-out bullpen effort, and a strong start from
Owen Kramkowski helped fuel the Arizona Wildcats (32-13, 14-8) 6-3 win over the TCU Horned Frogs (32-14, 14-8) on Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.
Walton swatted a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to get the Cats on the board and followed up with a two-run blast in the eighth that gave Arizona a pair of crucial insurance runs.
The game-wining hit for Arizona went to shortstop
Mason White, who came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth and delivered a two-run single to right field that plated two runs and put the Wildcats in front, 4-3.
Starting pitcher
Owen Kramkowski worked five innings in his first career Friday night start; he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven while not factoring into the decision.
He was relieved by a trio of right-handers out of the Arizona bullpen; the trio combined to hold TCU scoreless on just three hits.
Garrett Hicks was first out of the pen and worked two scoreless frames to earn the win and improve to 5-0.
Julian Tonghini worked a scoreless eighth and gave way to
Tony Pluta in the ninth, who slammed the door shut and earned his conference-leading 11th save of the year.
Arizona WildBATS
Bullpen Bullies
- RHP Garrett Hicks: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Win (5-0)
- RHP Julian Tonghini: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K
- RHP Tony Pluta: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, Save (11)
Numbers of the Night
- Friday night marked the second multi-HR game of Walton's career, and his first with the Wildcats.
- Pluta's save was his 11th of the year, the most in the Big 12 and tied for second most in a single season in program history.
Photo of the Night
Social Media Coverage
Next Up
Arizona plays for a series victory on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch betweenthe Wildcats and Horned Frogs on ESPN+ is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MST.
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