Arizona Wildcats’ dominance at home continues with drubbing of New Mexico State

Hi Corbett Field isn’t supposed to be a hitter’s park. The dimensions are diabolical — 366 feet down the left-field line, 410 to left-center, 405 to right-center.

It’s where home runs in almost any other stadium go to die.

Yet for whatever reason — the sightlines, the sunsets, the proximity of the Terry Francona Hitting Center — the 2018 Arizona Wildcats are a vastly better offensive team at home than on the road.

It bore true again Tuesday night. Arizona defeated New Mexico State 14-0 in front of an announced crowd of 2,802. The win snapped the Wildcats’ three-game losing streak. They are 9-0 at Hi Corbett, 2-9 elsewhere.

It’s not hard to decipher the difference. Entering Tuesday, Arizona had a .344 batting average at home compared to .190 in neutral and away games.

The Wildcats have scored at least four runs in every game at Hi Corbett. They were averaging 8.8 runs at home before scoring a season-high 14 on Tuesday.

Arizona has scored more than three runs only twice away from Tucson — in its two non-home wins. The Wildcats’ average output in neutral and away games: 2.7 runs.

That average went down over the weekend, when Arizona got swept at Washington in the first Pac-12 series of the season. The Wildcats scored only three runs in three games, including a pair of one-run walk-offs — their fourth and fifth walk-off losses of 2018.

Those defeats dropped Arizona to 1-7 in one-run games. They also helped explain an inexplicable stat: The Wildcats were just one game above .500 before Tuesday despite a plus-44 run differential.

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That figure swelled thanks largely to a five-run fourth inning. It began with walks by Cesar Salazar and Blake Paugh. It was highlighted by Cal Stevenson’s two-RBI, standup triple to right-center. It ended with Arizona leading 6-0.

The Wildcats added four runs apiece in the sixth and seventh. The biggest blow: Salazar’s bases-clearing, three-RBI double down the left-field line in the sixth. The junior has hit safely in all 18 games in which he has played.

The offense, which finished with 15 hits, complemented the efficient pitching of right-hander Juan Aguilera. The senior from Sierra Vista Buena High School, making his first UA start, pitched six scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits, walked only one and struck out a career-high six batters. Aguilera threw 46 of 64 pitches for strikes and retired the leadoff batter in five of six innings.

Aguilera had made six appearances before Tuesday, all out of the bullpen. He lowered his season ERA to 0.68.

The Wildcats put together the type of all-around effort they need to replicate no matter the location or opponent. Arizona hosts Washington State in its first league home series of the season Friday-Sunday. Like the Wildcats, the Cougars are 0-3 in conference play.

Arizona has a lot of catching up to do to be a factor in the Pac-12 race and a contender for their third straight NCAA Tournament berth. The Wildcats ranked 111th in RPI entering Tuesday.

Inside pitch

• Arizona is 11-0 in games in which it scores four or more runs, 0-9 when it scores three or fewer.
• Stevenson added a second triple in the sixth inning. The senior has a nine-game hitting streak. He changed his walk-up song Tuesday, going with the theme from “The Office.”
• Alfonso Rivas III’s RBI triple in the third inning gave him a team-high 12 two-out RBIs.
• The Wildcats are sporting stickers on the backs of their batting helmets, a la Ohio State football. The stickers — white circles with a Block A in the middle – are awarded for quality at-bats.
• First pitch of the WSU series is slated for 6 p.m. Friday.