The Arizona Wildcats used two dominant performances on the mound and a ninth-inning rally to defeat the No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies 3-2 on Friday night at the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston.
Arizona (6-3) has won six consecutive games.
The victory is the first for the Wildcats over a top-ranked team since April 20, 2010 season, when Arizona beat Arizona State 4-2 on the road.
Arizona starting pitcher Collin McKinney (four innings pitched) and right-handed reliever Casey Hintz (five innings) combined on a five-hit, two-run gem in which they struck out 13 Aggie batters. Hintz earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the year following his remarkable relief effort.
Kept No. 1 in the land in check. That'll play pic.twitter.com/xTcJBRV8FY
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) March 1, 2025
Facing a 2-0 deficit, center fielder Aaron Walton got Arizona on the board with a solo home run in the sixth inning. His line-drive homer cleared the Crawford Boxes in left field at Daikin Park and brought Arizona within a run.
Arizona’s decisive rally came in the top of the ninth. Down to their final three outs, the Wildcats put together a two-run frame to grab the lead over the Aggies (5-3).
Designated hitter Maddox Mihalakis opened the ninth inning with a double off the wall in left field, moved to third on a one-out single from Tommy Splaine, and came across to tie the game on an infield single legged out by left fielder Easton Breyfogle.
Following a fielder’s choice that pushed Splaine to third base, right fielder Brendan Summerhill roped a line drive at the Texas A&M first baseman and sprinted out the go-ahead infield single.
Hintz remained in the game for the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth.
A routine fly ball to right and a fielding error that turned into a 9-5 putout at third base secured the first two outs before a single to right field put the tying runner on base.
Hintz proceeded to induce a swinging strikeout from Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette, one of the top prospects in the country, to slam the door shut and secure Arizona’s win.
Summerhill finished 3 for 5 with an RBI.
Hintz allowed three hits with seven strikeouts in his five innings.
Arizona faces another ranked SEC opponent, No. 18 Mississippi State, on Saturday afternoon at Daikin Park at 2:05 p.m., Tucson time.
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