OMAHA, Neb. — Arizona baseball lost another game in the eighth inning at the College World Series, while Louisville made sure its comeback bid didn’t fall short for a second straight game.
The Cardinals rallied for six runs in that inning to post an 8-3 win in front of 23,647 at Schwab Field. The loss ends the season for the 44-21 Wildcats, the first team eliminated at the CWS.
“I congratulate Arizona on a great year,” Cardinals coach Dan McDonnell said. “I know it hurts. It’s tough on them, but really one bad inning. They deserved to be here.”
Wildcats coach Chip Hale said it was a difficult way to finish the season. On Friday, Arizona lost its CWS opener to Coastal Carolina, which scored three runs in the eighth for a 7-4 win.
“Obviously, it’s not the way you want it to end,” he said. “We played as hard as we could. We just didn’t play fundamentally sound baseball today.”
In Friday night’s opening round, the Cardinals scored twice in the top of the ninth inning to tie Oregon State. The Beavers scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to win 4-3, dropping Louisville into the losers bracket.
Arizona’s Tony Pluta (37) embraces undergraduate assistant Bradon Zastrow after falling to Louisville in game five of the Men’s College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Sunday, June 15, 2025.
The Cardinals (41-23) had closed to 3-2 on Sunday with a run in the seventh and then went ahead the next inning, which started with an infield error. Eddie King Jr. followed with a single, which chased reliever Garrett Hicks and brought on closer Tony Pluta.
Tague Davis singled off Pluta, named the Stopper of the Year last week as the nation’s top relief pitcher. That loaded the bases for Zion Rose, who delivered a two-run single to put Louisville on top.
After a fielder’s choice, No. 9 batter Kamau Neighbors belted an RBI single to right. It was his fourth hit of the game.
A second error in the inning and a squeeze bunt by Alex Alicea extended the Cardinals’ lead. A bad-hop single, a stolen base and an RBI single by Matt Klein, the ninth batter in the inning, made the score 8-3.
“He definitely was not as sharp as he has been,” Hale said of Pluta. “I know those are some bloop hits and all that, but he gets a lot more swing and miss than that.”
The Wildcats had gone to work immediately against freshman starter Ethan Eberle, scoring twice in the first inning. Adonys Guzman and Garen Caulfield had RBI singles as Arizona had three hits and took advantage of two hit batsmen.
Louisville’s Alex Alicea (0) steals second base below Arizona’s Mason White (24) during the third inning in game five of the Men’s College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Sunday, June 15, 2025.
Louisville got one run back in the second on a run-scoring grounder by Rose.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 3-1 in the third when Guzman lined his ninth home run into the left-field stands.
Louisville threatened in the bottom of the inning but left fielder Easton Breyfogle made a diving catch in the alley with two runners on base for the third out.
The Cardinals had two on in the fifth but Arizona freshman Smith Bailey, making his ninth start of the season, got a strikeout and two fly outs to retire the side.
Louisville closed within a run in the seventh when Garret Pike led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lucas Moore. Hicks got out of the inning by inducing Matt Klein to ground out with the tying runner on second.
The eighth inning then decided the game and sent Arizona home as the Wildcats fell short of a fifth championship in their 19th CWS trip.
“It was a great group that really fought,” Hale said. “We’ve said it many times that we felt this team could be in Omaha, so I’m not surprised we got here.”
The coach had one final statement at his postgame press conference.
“It’s so hard to get here,” he said. “There’s seven teams left now, and I wish them all luck.”
