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The Wildcats are back to .500 in conference play! After sweeping Utah and Cal, Arizona is now 6-6 in PAC-12 play this year. Let's take a look at the key players in the Cal series:
Three Up:
1. Konner Wade: Wade went 8 2/3 IP, coming just one out shy of his first complete game of the year. It's a little shocking he doesn't have one yet this year considering he had 6 CGs last year. On Friday, the righty did not give up a run until the 9th inning, and was then lifted for Augey Bill. Konner gave up just 6 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3.
2. Tyger Talley: Konner Wade may have gotten one win, but Talley recorded the other two wins for Arizona on the weekend. After James Farris did not make it 5 innings for the second week in a row, Talley came in with a 6-2 lead, and recorded the win. Sunday, the freshman came in with the score tied at 2. He went 1 1/3 scoreless, while the offense scored a run in the bottom of the 6th to give him win number two on the weekend. Talley is now 4-0 on the year, with a 1.93 ERA. Talley's working through an issue with his ribs. Head coach Andy Lopez talked about the injury before the series "It's kind of a strange one because he'll be doing fine....he would be doing completely well if he didn't have to throw a baseball, but it's kind of what he does. We're just going to take him a day at a time. Nothing major, nothing serious, but for a pitcher it's kind of a little bit of a snafu."
3. Zach Gibbons: Gibbons hit cleanup for the first time of his career on Friday, and stayed there for the remainder of the weekend. The freshman left fielder went 5-for-10, drove in 3 runs, and scored 3 times. "Gibbons is slowly getting into the win stage" said Andy Lopez.
Three Down:
1. Riley Moore: He is struggling hard right now. The catcher went 1-for-10 on the weekend, bringing his season batting average down to .248. Along with that average, he's grounded into six DPs this year, by far the most on the team. The next highest on the team is three. He's also given up the most stolen bases in the PAC-12 this year.
2. Trent Gilbert's ankle: The second baseman injured his ankle/foot area on Saturday. He did DH on Sunday, going 2-for-5 with 2 Ks, but the Wildcats need him healthy and in the field.
3. James Farris: The Junior right-hander has been struggling with health the last two weeks, and didn't make it out of the fifth inning for the second straight week. Luckily the bullpen has been able to pick him up both times, but with mid-week games coming up against Arizona State next Tuesday and again two weeks after that, the Wildcats need their weekend starters, especially Wade and Farris, to go deep into ball games.