No. 23 Arizona’s 14-game home winning streak came to an end Friday night at the hands of the Baylor Bears. The Wildcats’ pitchers couldn’t contain the Baylor bats as all nine Bears starters contributed either a run or an RBI on the way to an 8-5 win in Hi Corbett Field.
“We didn’t do anything right — we didn’t pitch well, we didn’t swing the bats like we can,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said. “It’s just, you know, this is where we’re at, we are definitely leaking oil and they played very well. You know, It’s just unfortunate that we played this way in front of a nice big crowd tonight, just unfortunate.
“This has been a long time coming. We just have not, have not been on our game, even in West Virginia. We battled and these guys have guts and guile, but you know, we have to play the game the right way and we’re just not doing it right now.”
Arizona Infielder Garen Caulfield also commented about the team’s lack of focus.
“It just starts with the first pitch,” he said. “We came out kind of flat and Chip was upset with us cuz our energy on the bench has been pretty uh, pretty down the last couple games here at Hi Corbett, so we are looking to turn that around, too.”
Arizona (19-6, 5-2 Big 12) and Baylor (18-7, 3-4) have faced each other 11 times before this weekend’s three-game series. The last time the two teams played each other was in 2010 in the Fort Worth Regional.
Baylor transfer Collin McKinney started on the mound for Arizona. Playing against his former team, the righty struggled and was relieved by Casey Hintz in the second inning after walking four and giving up two runs.
Hintz allowed five runs in four innings and was dinged for his first loss of the season.
Mason White got it started for the Wildcats in the bottom of the first inning smacking a triple to right center.
Adonys Guzman‘s single to left field brought White across the plate giving Arizona a 1-0 lead.
White’s triple was the 17th triple of the season for the Wildcats.
In the bottom of the third inning, with the sun setting, Hi Corbett chaos arrived … twice.
TJ Adams hit a high fly ball to left field. Baylor center fielder Ty Johnson and left fielder Wesley Jordon tracked the ball but they lost it in the dark and the ball dropped to the left of both players, giving Adams a double.
Then, a little more chaos courtesy of a Caulfield double down the left field line that dropped fair in the middle of three Baylor players, scoring White to tie the game at 2.
Caulfield has hit safely in 14 consecutive games.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple up there and win pitches,” Caulfield said.
Easton Breyfogle hit a single to left center that brought Maddox Mihalakis home in the fourth inning and Guzman singled home White in the fifth for his second RBI single of the game.
The Wildcats’ final run came from a Mihalakis single in the seventh that plated White.
“We hit the ball hard on the ground, low and hard we’re good,” Hale said. “Those high fly balls aren’t going to work.”
Baylor’s first runs came in the second inning off of a Tyriq Kemp single to left field that plated two.
Baylor grabbed a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning when JJ Kennett hit a home run off the top of the left field wall, a lead the Bears would not relinquish.
Baylor would add a run in the fifth inning, two runs in the sixth and a final run in the ninth.
Arizona and Baylor will be back at Hi Corbett Saturday for the second game of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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