One of them was hit by Arizona third baseman Bobby Dalbec, who leads the team in homeruns with four now on the season.
“I had a good feeling about it,” Dalbec said. “But lately, the wind has been keeping balls in the park. So I was lucky to get enough power into it to get it out.”
The other one was Utah’s Max Schuman, No.5 hole slugger, who posted 3 RBIs in the Utes’ 7-4 win over the Wildcats.
“I thought Utah did very well, and we did not play clean baseball tonight,” Arizona head coach Andy Lopez said. “We had a bad pitching sequence on the homerun, and we were sloppy in the field.”
In Saturday’s contest, two hits and two sacrifices resulted in the first runs of the night, manufactured by Utah, giving them an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second.
After a scoreless bottom half by Arizona, the Utes threatened again in the next frame by loading the bases. A Schuman bloop single to right field increased Utah’s lead to 3-0. Wildcats starter Robby Medel then induced an inning-ending double play to stop the bleeding.
The Wildcats got on the board in the bottom of the third, capped by a RBI single to left field by Kevin Newman.
Up 3-1 in the fifth frame, Utah widened the gap with a thundering RBI line drive to left field by Dallas Carroll. Centerfielder Wyler Smith hit a lofty floater that fell just inside the right field line for a triple. The three-base knock set the table for a Schuman, who hit a towering two-run homer to right. The designated hitter went 3-for-4 on the night.
In the bottom of the fifth, Dalbec had a homerun of his own, launching a solo shot to left field to close the margin, 6-2.
In the seventh, Utes cleanup hitter Smith singled through the left side of the infield for his first RBI of the evening, making the Dalbec homer go for nod and putting the score at 7-2. With the bases loaded, Arizona turned its third double play of the game — a foulout and tagout on third — to end the frame.
Following the seventh inning stretch, Sawyer Gieseke breathed some life back into Arizona’s offense with a RBI double, a hit that appeared to be a flyout off the bat. Instead, the ball fell inside the left field line.
“I thought it was a foul ball off the bat,” Gieseke said. “But I got lucky, and it dropped in.”
In the same frame, Wildcat designated hitter Michael Hoard drew an 8-pitch walk. With runners at the corners, Arizona couldn’t cash in any further, as Utah enjoyed a 7-3 lead through the seventh.
Arizona opened the eighth with back-to-back singles and managed to plate a run. But two clutch strikeouts by right-handed reliever Nolan Stouder kept the game at 7-4.
Down to Arizona’s final three outs, Gieseke led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. Zach Gibbons squirted out an infield single with two outs, but Justin Behnke struck out swinging to end the game.
At the plate, the Wildcats left 14 runners on base. Utah didn’t have a single three-and-out inning, but Arizona could not capitalize on its opportunities.
“Their starter had good tempo,” Dalbec said. “He was mixing it up a lot, and Utah was making some good plays. This was also our worst hitting game this season. We’re usually better than that.”
The Wildcats were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Arizona (16-5) heads to Stanford for a weekend series in California on Friday. Gametime is slated for 7.p.m. PST
