Shortstop Louis Boyd’s sooner-than-expected return from injury gave the Arizona Wildcats’ defense an obvious boost.
But his offensive contributions shouldn’t be underestimated.
The senior is a pesky bottom-of-the-order batter who excels at dropping bunts, drawing walks and finding ways to turn over the lineup.
Boyd sparked No. 13 Arizona’s offense Saturday night without putting his bat on the ball. Two Boyd walks led to a pair of multi-run innings as the UA rallied to defeat USC 5-1 in front of an announced crowd of 3,768 at Hi Corbett Field.
“I didn’t realize how much we were missing him until he came back,” Arizona coach Jay Johnson said. “The defense thing, it’s glaring. We went from not being able to turn double plays to we’re turning them very effortlessly and easily.
People are also reading…
“And then the offensive component, it’s probably underrated, undervalued.”
Boyd made his third straight start after missing a month because of an elbow injury suffered Feb. 26 against McNeese State. Boyd must wear a large black brace on his left (non-throwing) arm in order to play, but there’s nothing he’d rather be doing.
“It was killing me to be on the sidelines,” Boyd said. “That’s the worst feeling in the world, when you think you can help the team out. Being able to come back sooner than later was really awesome for me. It feels great to be part of the team again.”
Boyd tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. For pitchers, that’s a season-ending injury that typically requires Tommy John surgery. But since it’s Boyd’s non-throwing arm, he was able to return. The original estimate was six weeks; he made it back in about four.
“Obviously, I’m not going to throw with my left hand any time soon,” Boyd said.
He left that up to redshirt freshman Randy Labaut, who pitched a career-high six innings to earn his first victory as a Wildcat. Labaut and reliever Cody Deason combined on a one-hitter. Their recent improvement has provided a huge boost to a team searching for stability in its pitching staff.
Labaut has a 2.30 ERA in three Pac-12 appearances, including two starts. He has yielded 10 hits in 15º innings.
Deason surrendered six earned runs in his first appearance of the season. He has allowed only two in eight outings since. He did not allow a hit in three scoreless innings Saturday.
“That’s transforming our team right now,” Johnson said. “I’m not totally surprised. That’s what we want all our players to do.”
Labaut started somewhat shakily, walking the first batter of the game and surrendering an RBI triple to Lars Nootbaar. Labaut escaped the first inning with no further damage, and that seemed to settle him down.
“That was huge, leaving the guy at third,” Labaut said. “Then getting the two guys in took a lot of the pressure off my shoulders.”
Labaut was referring to Arizona’s first two runs, which arrived in the bottom of the third. Boyd walked with one out. He eventually scored on Jared Oliva’s single. A wild pitch brought Alfonso Rivas home, making it 2-1.
Boyd’s patience paid off again in the fifth. Oliva again singled to drive him in and boost the lead to 3-1. JJ Matijevic then smashed USC starter CJ Stubbs’ next pitch for a two-run homer to right-center.
The win gave Arizona its second Pac-12 series victory in three tries. The 13th-ranked Wildcats improved to 19-7, 4-4 in conference. They are 15-0 at home and have won three straight since being swept last weekend at Oregon State.
USC fell to 15-10, 4-4. The Trojans had won 5 of 7 before visiting Tucson. The three-game series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Inside pitch
- Oliva had two of Arizona’s four hits. He is hitting .363 and leads the team with 35 RBIs.“For my money, he’s one of the best players in college baseball right now,” Johnson said.
- Rivas’ first-inning walk gave him 18 for the season, matching his total from last year.
- The Wildcats are 38-7 under Johnson at home.
- Rio Gomez is scheduled to start for Arizona on Sunday. The Wildcats also could use Cameron Ming for extended innings. He has not pitched this week.
