The Arizona baseball team played in its final fall ball exhibition game against Central Arizona College at Hi Corbett Field on Saturday, Oct. 21. With this 14-5 win over the Vaqueros, the Wildcats ended play winning all three games.
Except for a run made by Arizona in the first inning, it was smooth sailing until the fourth. That’s when Central Arizona took advantage and got 2 runs on the board, totaling three hits and making the score 2-1 in the fourth inning. Arizona additionally committed its first error during this time. Infielder Andrew Cain was able to even up the score 2-2 during the fifth inning, earning Arizona’s second run of the game. This left both teams with an error apiece.
During the sixth inning, pitcher Bryce McKnight challenged Central Arizona, as he struck out a few of their batters. The Vaqueros weren’t able to score until later in the game. At the start of the seventh inning, outfielder Easton Breyfogle gave Arizona a lead, as he got the Wildcats’ third run and put them ahead 3-2. This was the start of many scores that Arizona made during this time, as the offense was looking very promising after they found an answer for Central Arizona’s defense.
The lead jumped as the seventh inning continued with players like Brandon Rogers, Brendan Summerhill and Tommy Splaine all being contributing factors to lock the win in for Arizona. Cain continued to impress when he scored a home run, topping off the inning with an 11-2 Arizona lead. 9 runs were scored by the Wildcats in the seventh inning alone.
As the course of the game finished, Central Arizona tried to fight back as right-handed pitcher Theo Millas scored a home run, but it would be their last point of the game, resulting in a total of 5 runs for the Vaqueros. In the bottom half of the eighth inning, Arizona scored its final 3 runs of the game thanks to Adonys Guzman and Garen Caulfield, but the Wildcats also committed their second error. Arizona protected its home field with 14 runs and 12 hits.
In the end, it was a dominant performance for the Wildcats. Arizona seems to be ready for the upcoming 2024 season.
What’s next:
The 2024 baseball schedule is released, as Arizona opens with a three-game home series at Hi Corbett Field against Northeastern University on Feb. 16, 2024. The Wilcats will play host to 26 home games at Hi Corbett Field.
Highlights in the schedule include the matches between nine teams that were part of the 2023 NCAA Tournament including the University of Oregon (March 22-24, 2024) which Arizona fell to in the Pac-12 championship game, last year. This is Arizona’s third season under head coach Chip Hale as the Wildcats will try to make a bigger impact this season.
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