Wildcat Athletics Back-to-Back Ninth-Inning Homers Lead Grand Canyon to 8-7 Victory

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3.21.2000
Back-to-Back Ninth-Inning Homers Lead Grand Canyon to 8-7 Victory

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz.Junior first baseman Kyle Fouts and junior right fielder Erik Johnson hit back-to-back homers off Arizona's Tony Milo in the ninth inning, giving Division II Grand Canyon an 8-7, come from behind victory in Tucson Tuesday afternoon.

The Antelopes' 11th win in 12 games improves their record to 23-8. The Cats' third straight loss drops them to 16-16.

Arizona held leads of 4-0 and 6-3 and took a 7-5 advantage into the ninth. But after senior third baseman Ronnie Holtorf reached base on an error, Fouts took Milo deep to center field for a game-tying two-run homer. Johnson followed with a shot to nearly the identical spot. Sophomore right-hander J.J. Rafferty (5-0) picked up the victory with 1.1 innings of hitless relief. Milo dropped to 2-5.

Rob Shabansky had his best outing yet for the Cats in his return from Tommy John surgery. The senior left-hander pitched four shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. In all, Arizona pitchers struck out 16 Antelope batters. Sophomore designated hitter Ben Diggins led the Cats at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two walks and driving in two runs.

Arizona returns to action Friday when it travels to Palo Alto for a three-game series with top-ranked Stanford. The first game is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST.

Grand Canyon       000     021     023     -       8       12      3
Arizona            101     210     110     -       7       10      4
Nenaber, Kelly (4), Cook (5), Raymond (6), Rafferty (8) and Center;
Shabansky, Pemble (5), Schulz (6), Crawford (7), Milo (8), Duncan (9) and
Meyer. W-Rafferty (5-0); L-Milo (2-5). HrsGCU: Rock (1), Fouts (6),
Johnson (5).