No. 14 Arizona Wildcats struggle in home opener, fall to Grand Canyon 19-3

It was a night of debuts and disappointment at Hi Corbett Field.

Chip Hale coach his first official home game as the leader of Arizona baseball. Freshman left-hander Eric Orloff made his first career start.

More than 2,700 fans endured chilly conditions to watch it all unfold. They only saw glimpses of the team that swept through the State Farm College Baseball Showdown over the weekend.

No. 14 Arizona started slowly against Grand Canyon in the home opener Tuesday night and never found its form. The Lopes crushed the Wildcats 19-3, ending Arizona’s 18-game winning streak in home openers. The UA begins a four-game series against Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Arizona wasn’t sharp in any facet. After committing only one error in their season-opening tournament in Arlington, Texas, the Wildcats were guilty of six miscues Tuesday. After scoring 35 runs in three games, Arizona managed only three. A series of mostly inexperienced pitchers also struggled.

“They just beat our butt,” Hale said. “They played really well. They're a good team. They're well-coached. And we just didn't do anything (well). Pitching, hitting, fielding – we just didn't do it tonight. They pretty much took us out of the game early.”

Orloff, a left-hander from Northbrook, Illinois, pitched better than his final line suggests. Orloff allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings. But only one of those runs was earned. The five hits Orloff yielded included two infield singles and a blooper.

Arizona’s defense let Orloff down in the second inning. Orloff twice had runners picked off first. But both times, first baseman Noah Turley threw errantly trying to retire those runners at second.

Grand Canyon (2-2) ended up scoring three runs in the inning. All were unearned.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s offense couldn’t get anything going against GCU starter Connor Markl. The left-hander kept the Wildcats off balance with off-speed pitches, especially his changeup. Markl allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out eight in five innings.

Arizona’s lone run off Markl came on a GCU error. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Tanner O’Tremba struck out on a breaking ball in the dirt. Lopes catcher Tyler Wilson threw wide to first base, pulling Elijah Buries off the bag and allowing Nik McClaughry to score.

Another UA error led to another unearned run for GCU in the sixth. It also set the stage for Wilson’s grand slam off reliever Chris Barraza. The home run off the Terry Francona Hitting Center made it 11-1 and sent many fans to the exits.

Two of the first four errors were made by Tyler Casagrande and Garen Caulfield. Both are adjusting to new positions – second and third base, respectively. Hale had to shuffle the lineup because of an injury to regular third baseman Tony Bullard, who missed Tuesday’s game to attend his father’s funeral.

Turley, who mostly played DH at Yavapai College, also is a relative newcomer to his position. He had half of Arizona’s six errors.

“Just a bad game for him,” Hale said. “That's all. Everybody has a bad game. It’s life.”

Arizona got away with that defensive alignment over the weekend; Caulfield committed the Wildcats’ only error in three games. Tuesday was a different story.

Inside pitch

• Catcher Daniel Susac had three of Arizona’s five hits. O’Tremba had the Wildcats’ only two RBIs.

• Arizona last lost a home opener in 2003 — a 6-3 setback against BYU.

• Five of the seven pitchers the Wildcats used were making their collegiate debuts. They were: Orloff, Splaine and left-handers Javyn Pimental, Drew Calloway (Sabino High School) and Reed Schaefer.

• Arizona’s six errors were its most since committing six vs. Michigan State on March 5, 2019. The Wildcats lost that game 9-5.

• GCU’s 19 runs were the most by a UA opponent at Hi Corbett since Utah scored 21 on March 15, 2019.

• The crowd gave Hale a warm round of applause as he was introduced while delivering the lineup card at the plate.