EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Easton Breyfogle homered after Tommy Splaine’s RBI triple in a three-run second inning and Owen Kramkowski made it stand up as No. 2 seed Arizona hung on for a 3-2 victory over third-seeded Cal Poly in the opener of the Eugene Regional on Friday.
Arizona (40-18) advances to play the winner of the nightcap between No. 1 seed Oregon and No. 4 seed Utah Valley in a Saturday matchup. Cal Poly (41-18) will play an elimination game against the loser earlier Saturday.
The Wildcats’ rally came with two outs and the bases empty against Mustangs starter Griffin Naess (7-3). Andrew Cain — who batted seventh in the order — walked on a 3-2 pitch and Splain tripled to right-center field. Breyfogle followed with a two-run homer to right-center for a 3-0 lead.
Kramkowski (9-5) allowed one run on eight hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts. Tony Pluta pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save.
Dylan Kordic had an RBI single off Kramkowski in the sixth for Cal Poly’s first run. Cam Hoiland homered to left off Wildcats reliever Garrett Hicks in the eighth.
Arizona has advanced to the College World Series 18 times. The Wildcats have won four of them — most recently in 2012. They have been runners-up four times — most recently in 2016.
Cal Poly has made four NCAA Tournament appearances and never advanced past the regional round.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
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