Arizona clinched its first series sweep of the season with a 14-4 run-rule win in eight innings over Fresno State on Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
After going 1-8 to start the season, Arizona has won the last five out of six and is getting closer to .500 with a 6-9 record.
The magic number is 14 for the Wildcats as that is how many hits and runs they had, both season highs.
Senior lefty Luc Fladda put an exclamation mark on a stellar weekend for Arizona’s weekend starters.
Fladda worked six innings, allowed seven hits, four runs and had six strikeouts. He faced 26 batters and threw 100 pitches, 70 of those were strikes. He earned his second win on the season.
“These days don’t come around very often to Hi Corbett,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said. “You very rarely see the wind blowing out here. It usually blows in. It’s hot, obviously it’s dry so a lot of his pitches are hard to throw in this weather.
“I’m not sure if we thought (Fladda would) start on Sundays for us. He is kind of won that position for us. He’s pitching great and I think the guys enjoy playing behind him.”
Junior left hand pitcher Maclain Roberts replaced Fladda to start the seventh.
In two innings, Roberts allowed two hits, no runs and struck out two. He faced nine batters and 26 of the 39 pitches he threw were strikes.
Fresno State struck first in the top of the opening frame. With runners on the corners, Fladda was called for a balk and Sky Collins was sent home due to the balk.
In the bottom of the frame, back-to-back doubles from Tony Lira and Andrew Cain and a single by Maddox Mihalakis put the Wildcats up 2-1.
Early in the season, Mihalakis struggled with his at-bats. He has been working on making adjustments to break out of his hitting slump.
“Like a lot of the years, kind of been trusting the process and not trying to switch up too much, and then kind of let my mental side take the best of me and kind of just stick with it and do the same thing every day,” Mihalakis said
“Definitely working with Toby (DeMello) has been very helpful as we’ve gone through the season so far.”
The adjustments have been effective as Mihalakis went 7 of 13 with eight RBIs in the Fresno State series.
The Bulldogs tied it at two in the third off of a Mickey Boyd double that scored Barclay Orvalle.
Arizona scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning including a single by Jackson Forbes that scored two and a triple by Carson McEntire that plated two more. The Wildcats held a 7-2 lead going into the fourth inning.
Fresno State added a run in the fourth but a Mihalakis single scored Nate Novitske in the bottom of the frame, stopping the Bulldogs from closing the gap.
An RBI double by Marcus Nolen in the sixth was the last time Fresno State scored as Roberts shut down the Bulldogs’ offense.
Arizona added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Novitske swung on a 3-1 count and blasted the ball 404 feet to right center for his first career homer.
SENT INTO ORBIT
First career home run for @NateNovitske is a no doubter! pic.twitter.com/jxw2eouC8G
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) March 8, 2026
With Lira on first, Cain smoked his first home run of the season, a two-run 401-foot shot that landed on the Terry Francona Hitting Center.
ANOTHER ONE
Andrew Cain blasts a two-run shot to right field! pic.twitter.com/EH9qZgpCet
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) March 8, 2026
With bases loaded in the eighth, Forbes was walked giving Lira the free pass home. A single by McEntire scored two more runs, bringing Arizona’s lead to 10 runs triggering the run rule, ending the game.
Stats Roundup
Lira went 4 for 4, walked once and scored three times.
Novitske went 3 for 5, scoring three times, hit his first career home run and notched one RBI.
Mihalakis had his third multiple hit game, going 2 for 5 with three RBIs.
Cain was 2 for 4, including his first home run of the season. He had three RBIs and scored three times.
McEntire led the team with four RBIs going 2 for 4, including a triple.
Forbes went 1 for 4, scoring once and had three RBIs.
Up Next
Arizona travels to Tempe for a midweek non-conference matchup with Arizona State (11-4) on Tuesday before heading to Utah (8-5) for a three-game series against the Utes.
Forbes is from Peoria and played at Mountain Ridge High School and has played with and against multiple guys that are now on the ASU roster. He said, “We’re good buddies, but not on Tuesday.”
Game Extra
Junior outfielder Easton Breyfogle had season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. The shoulder was dislocated during a collision in the outfield in Arizona’s first game against UConn on Feb. 19.
Forbes’ younger brother Joe Forbes, a catcher, is a true freshman with Arizona.
“We’ve been on the same team since we were, I don’t know, 3-feet tall,” Jackson Forbes said. “Thats been my dude, that’s been my favorite teammate at all times.”
The two are a year and two weeks apart in age.
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