Arizona baseball powers past Washington State to clinch fourth straight Pac-12 series

Considering how it began, there may not be a more important series win for the Arizona Wildcats this season.

The UA used four home runs, two from Jacob Berry and one each from Ryan Holgate and Donta’ Williams, to pace a 14-8 win at Washington State on Sunday afternoon in Pullman. The win clinched a fourth consecutive Pac-12 series for the Wildcats (23-11, 9-6), something that seemed very unlikely after Friday’s 21-2 loss at WSU, and marked the first time this season they’ve won the finale of a 3-game set in conference play.

The Wildcats scored in all but one innings, taking the lead for good in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded hit by pitch drawn by Tanner O’Tremba. They had 17 hits, seven for extra bases, with six Wildcats notching at least two apiece.

Berry hit a solo home run in the third and a 2-run shot in the ninth, going 3 for 6 with four runs scored. Williams, who also homered in Saturday’s 13-8 win, had two hits and three RBI, while Holgate was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI including a 2-run homer to tie the game at 5 in the fifth. Kobe Kato was 4 of 5 and Daniel Susac, who had two homers and seven RBI on Saturday, was, 3 for 6.

Chandler Murphy picked up the win with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out five for his second road relief victory in the past three weeks. He got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth by striking out the last two Cougars (17-14, 5-10) of the inning.

Arizona returns home for an 8-game homestand that begins with a Tuesday visit from New Mexico State at Hi Corbett Field before the Wildcats host USC next weekend.