The Arizona baseball team’s second trip to Texas went a lot better than the first.
The Wildcats headed home after going 3-1 in Houston, with the lone loss coming Sunday against No. 3-ranked Tennessee, the defending national champion.
That 5-1 setback on the final day of the Astros Foundation College Classic at Daikin Park snapped Arizona’s seven-game winning streak. The Wildcats opened the season by losing three straight in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, including a pair of blowouts.
Arizona (7-4) began its stay in Houston with an 11-8 win over Rice on Wednesday. The UA followed that with 3-2 comeback victory over No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday. Arizona then hung on to edge No. 18 Mississippi State 6-5 on Saturday.
Tennessee went 3-0 in the Astros Foundation College Classic, defeating No. 16 Oklahoma State, Rice and the UA. The Volunteers are 11-0 and will be ranked no worse than second when the next set of rankings comes out Monday.
Arizona led 1-0 Sunday entering the fourth inning thanks to an RBI triple by Easton Breyfogle. Tennessee then hit back-to-back solo home runs against UA freshman Smith Bailey, ending a string of 12 consecutive scoreless innings to start his college career.
Arizona right-hander Smith Bailey delivers a pitch during the UA’s 5-1 loss to Tennessee in the Astros Foundation College Classic on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at Daikin Park in Houston.
The Vols tacked on two more runs in the seventh against Raul Garayzar and one in the ninth against Jack Berg. Tennessee limited Arizona to six hits. Five UT pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts.
Junior catcher Adonys Guzman had two hits for the Wildcats and scored their only run.
Arizona’s best chance to break through came in the sixth inning, when Guzman singled to left field with runners on first and second. But Garen Caulfield was thrown out at the plate to end the threat.
Arizona next hosts Pepperdine in a four-game series Thursday-Sunday at Hi Corbett Field.
