Arizona baseball was on fire once again Tuesday night against Grand Canyon University on both sides of the ball, which resulted in a 13-2 victory and the team's 10th straight victory.
TJ Nichols (4-3) was credited with the win after not seeing the mound since late April.
Head coach Jay Johnson was impressed with the freshman's performance of no runs, one hit and four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work.
Relief pitchers Randy Abshier and Gil Luna came in late to close out the final 2 2/3 innings giving up one run and two hits while striking out six batters. That performance by the bullpen came on the heels of freshman left-hander Riley Cooper's first career start.
He pitched two innings before turning the ball over to Nichols who earned his fourth win of the season.
The defense got on and off field quickly not giving the Lopes much time to score and instead ensuring their team could get opportunities on offense.
"It helps a ton to be on the bump with a lead, we have the best offense in the nation by far," said Nichols. "You can pitch more aggressive to guys and I have more confidence when we have a lead."
All around the entire starting lineup had an impressive night accounting for 13 hits and five walks in Tuesday's win.
Freshman infielder Jacob Berry shined once again going three for four while also almost hitting a ball out of the park and stacking up two RBIs. His triple in the seven-run fifth inning was one of two extra base hits for the Wildcats in the game.
He currently is leading the conference in batting average along with having the most RBIs in the Pac-12.
"He is just extremely mature and extremely smart," said outfield sophomore Mac Bingham. "I've never seen someone at this level or this age make little adjustments in the box on the fly and at bat. What he's been able to do this year is insane and awesome to see."
Another standout player for the Wildcats who started momentum early, sophomore infielder Kobe Kato, was consistent on keeping his eye on the ball and making good contact in the win over GCU.
Kato had a double in the first inning which led to two RBIs bringing in Ryan Holgate and Mac Bingham allowing Arizona to get a 3-0 lead early in the game. He later had his first triple of the season, which was just the second one since his freshman year.
Junior outfielder Donta’ Williams and freshman catcher Daniel Susac both went deep in the win with two-run home runs. Williams sent a pitch over the fence in right center in the second inning to give UA a 5-1 lead before Susac helped blow open the game in the fifth with his two-run shot deep to left center.
This is the first time in Arizona history that two true freshmen, Susac and Berry, have had double digit home runs with both players sitting at 11 apiece.
Tuesday's win marks the second time this season that the Wildcats have won 10 straight games in a row.
"We knew we had this in us, both on the offensive side and pitching side its was just a matter of time," said Bingham. "We've definitely been a close team all year but as the seasons gone on we've got to know each other more and more and I think that's what you're starting to see. We're a big family and have a lot of trust in each other."
The Wildcats will be on the road this weekend for one of the last times this season against Stanford. This three game series will start Friday May 7th at 6:05 p.m. at Sunken Diamond stadium.
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