TUCSON, Ariz. - Andrew Cain delivered a two-run single, and two batters later Maddox Mihalakis followed with a two-run knock of his own as part of a seven-run seventh inning, lifting the University of Arizona baseball team to a resilient 7-4 comeback victory over #25 Arizona State on Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.
The Wildcats collected nine hits and drew five walks, while ASU recorded nine hits and drew three.
Collin McKinney earned the victory on the mound after tossing 2.1 stout innings of relief, and Garrett Hicks closed the door by retiring the side in the ninth to collect his third save of the season.
Beau Sylvester continued his exceptional weekend, going 2-for-3 with a walk to improve to 6-for-7 with a walk and hit-by-pitch in the series. Mihalakis went 2-4 and came through with his biggest hit of the season in the seventh to give Arizona a lead they would not relinquish. Cain went 1-3 with a walk and two RBI.
Smith Bailey started on the mound for Arizona and threw 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (two earned), while walking two and striking out five batters. McKinney put together his best outing of the season in a critical situation, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings while recording three strikeouts. Maclain Roberts entered in the eighth with one out and forced a double play, before Hicks came in to pitch the final inning and seal the deal.
ASU jumped out to an early lead, taking a 2-0 advantage in the first inning.
The Sun Devils tacked on another run in the fourth and fifth innings, extending their advantage up to 4-0, as the Wildcats offense continued to struggle.
Facing a four-run deficit, the Cats broke through in the bottom of the seventh, erupting for seven runs - their highest-scoring inning of the season.
Carson McEntire led off by roping a single to left and moved to second on a groundout. Nate Novitske then reached on an error, allowing McEntire to score and put Arizona on the board.
Caleb Danzeisen and Tony Lira followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Roman Meyers drew a third consecutive walk to push in another run. Cain then jumped on the second pitch he saw, lining a two-RBI single to center to tie the game.
After an intentional walk to Sylvester reloaded the bases, Mihalakis fell behind 0-2 before delivering a go-ahead, two-run single to right. Later in the inning, Mathis Meurant was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, and a balk brought home another run to cap the seven-run surge and give Arizona a 7-4 lead.
The Wildcats shut down ASU's offense over the final two innings to secure the comeback victory and force a decisive rubber match on Saturday at 6 p.m.
