The road already has tested Chip Hale’s rebuilt Arizona Wildcats, and it’s about to challenge them some more.
Arizona had to crawl out of a deep hole to avoid a sweep at San Diego last weekend. The Wildcats now face the first of four ranked teams on a swing through Texas. They visit No. 5 TCU on Wednesday before squaring off against three more Top 25 squads in the Frisco College Baseball Classic.
Arizona (4-3) would be riding a three-game skid into Fort Worth if not for a mammoth comeback Sunday. After dropping the first two games of the series against the Toreros, the Wildcats fell behind 6-0 in the first inning. They rallied to win 10-9, with Casey Hintz striking out the final USD batter with the bases loaded.
Hale learned a lot about his team over the course of the weekend. More than half the UA lineup consists of newcomers and/or players in elevated roles. Many of the pitchers are new as well.
When the Wildcats went down 6-0, Hale urged them to keep battling.
Arizona’s Garen Caulfield is hitting .500 through seven games of the 2024 season and has struck out only three times in 26 at-bats.
“Just play all nine innings,” he said. “That’s kind of our mantra. I’ve always believed in that. Up 10, down 10, you play the same. You just play hard, and hopefully, good things will happen.
“The one thing that makes you proud as a head coach, and I think our coaching staff felt the same way, the energy on the bench was really, really good all weekend. Whether they hit a grand slam to take the lead, whether we were on a roll, the sound in the dugout was incredible. The guys were rooting for each other, they were pulling for each other, encouraging, doing anything they could to help. To be able to come back after the 6-0 deficit was a huge step forward for us.”
Arizona had 14 hits, including four by second baseman Garen Caulfield, and got home runs from Mason White, Brendan Summerhill and freshman Andrew Cain — the Ironwood Ridge High School product’s first career clout. The Wildcats struck out only six times — a significant improvement from the previous two games, when they fanned 19 times in each contest. They hadn’t struck out that many times in a game since the 2022 NCAA regional opener vs. Ole Miss (20).
“Obviously, when you’re striking out that much, you are chasing a little bit and you gotta question your two-strike approach a bit,” Hale said. “We talk about that. We got a little better on Saturday; we still struck out too much. And we got a lot better on Sunday. Hence, we win the game.”
Arizona wouldn’t have won without stellar bullpen work from veterans Cam Walty and Eric Orloff. Walty entered in the first inning after starter Anthony “Tonko” Susac recorded only one out. Walty was charged with just one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings. Orloff then threw two scoreless frames.
The ninth inning was a bit of an adventure. Matthew Martinez, Trevor Long and Hintz each recorded an out. But Martinez struggled with his command, and Hintz allowed a hit and a walk before the game-ending strikeout.
The bullpen remains a work in progress as the Texas swing gets underway. UA relievers allowed six runs in the final two innings of a 10-8 loss in the opener at USD. They were charged with four from the sixth inning on in Game 2, a 6-4 setback.
It’s been a learning experience for all parties, and it will continue to be one across a stretch of 11 straight games away from Hi Corbett Field.
“With the young position players, definitely, you find out a little bit about them. And some of the bullpen arms,” Hale said. “So yeah, it was an interesting weekend.”
Lawn, not forgotten
The TCU coaching staff includes Dave Lawn, who spent the previous eight seasons at Arizona.
Lawn played a critical role in the transition from Jay Johnson to Hale, who kept Lawn aboard and reinstalled him as pitching coach. Hale decided to go in a different direction after the staff struggled the past two seasons.
“He loved being a Wildcat. It was the hardest thing I’ve done,” Hale said. “I’ve had to let go of coaches when I was a major-league manager. (This) was much harder to do. And he was just so professional about everything.
Dave Lawn (49, right) spent eight years with Arizona as an assistant coach before Chip Hale decided to go in another direction last offseason. Lawn is now with TCU, which hosts the Wildcats on Wednesday.
“When we first got here, just keeping the players that were in the program, he was a huge asset to me, keeping our recruits that we could keep. He’s a tireless worker. There was not a harder worker out there.
“I still consider him a good friend of mine. We still text and wish each other luck. So it’ll be fun to see him on Wednesday.”
Big 12 Now (and later)
The Arizona-TCU game will stream on “Big 12 Now” under the ESPN+ umbrella.
Big 12 Now is the streaming hub for the conference that Arizona will be joining later this year. Its upcoming schedule features dozens of live sporting events, including baseball, softball and basketball games, as well as the Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championship.
ESPN+ is available to anyone who has ESPN as part of their cable or satellite subscription. It is expected that ESPN+ programming will be included in ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer offering, as well as the new ESPN/Fox/Warner Brothers sports streaming bundle.
Arizona’s games in the Frisco Classic will be streamed on D1Baseball.com.
Inside pitch
Arizona’s probable starter against TCU is right-hander Raul Garayzar (Rio Rico HS). Hale said it’s also possible Susac will get some work after throwing only 34 pitches Sunday.
Caulfield is hitting .500 and has struck out only three times in 26 at-bats. He moved up from the No. 5 to the No. 2 spot in the lineup Sunday.
Freshman center fielder Easton Breyfogle has hit safely in his first seven collegiate contests. He’s batting .321, and five of his nine hits have gone for extra bases.
No. 9 hitter Richie Morales has a .444 on-base percentage and is Arizona’s only everyday starter with as many walks as strikeouts (four apiece).
