Arizona baseball opens Pac-12 play with high-scoring win at USC

The last leg of Arizona’s 3-week road swing has gotten off much better than the first two. And that it’s coming against Pac-12 competition makes it even better.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-0 lead en route to a 16-9 win at USC on Friday night in the conference opener for both teams.

It was the first time Arizona (6-6, 1-0) has won the opener of a Pac-12 road series in almost two years. Last season the UA was 2-13 on the road in league play.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the first on a 2-run home run by Emilio Corona, Arizona scored seven in the third. The first five Wildcats reached on singles and the scoring was capped by a 2-run Tommy Splaine homer.

Arizona scored three more in the fourth to lead 12-0, more than enough run support for Jackson Kent. But after Kent more or less coasted through the first three frames he allowed one in the fourth and two in the fifth before handing it over to the bullpen.

That’s when things got shaky for a bit.

Raul Garayzar allowed six consecutive USC batters to reach, with three runs scoring before he left with the bases loaded. Bradon Zastrow inherited that jam and got out of it with a pair of strikeouts but he also hit a man to get the Trojans (3-10, 0-1) within 12-7.

Arizona added two insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth, while Zastrow threw a clean seventh and Dawson Netz finished it out with a scoreless eighth before giving up two in the ninth.

Kent got the win, the left-hander improving to 2-0 while striking out a career-best nine. All told, UA pitchers recorded 16 strikeouts.

Corona, Splaine and Garen Caufield drove in three apiece, with Caufield going 4 for 5. Richie Morales reached base four times from the No. 9 spot as Arizona had 15 hits.

The Wildcats can go for their first Pac-12 road series win since early April 2022 on Saturday night. The 7 p.m. MT game will feature right-hander Clark Candiotti on the mound for the Wildcats