The Arizona baseball team is starting to come around.
After a miserable 1-8 start, the Wildcats have won two games in a row. The second of those came Sunday against UC Irvine in the final game of the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic — an efficient 7-1 victory that featured extra-base power and a superb performance by starting pitcher Luc Fladda.
Arizona's Luc Fladda delivers a pitch against UC Irvine on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic in Las Vegas. Fladda threw seven shutout innings and struck out nine batters in the Wildcats' 7-1 victory.
Fladda’s outing followed a gem by Smith Bailey on Saturday in Arizona’s 5-1 victory over Vanderbilt.
The Wildcats head into Tuesday night’s game against Grand Canyon with their first winning streak of the season. They have won three of their past five games after dropping their first six.
Fladda, a fifth-year senior who transferred from Tulane last summer, baffled UC Irvine despite never touching 90 mph on the radar gun. The left-hander yielded four hits and struck out a career-high-tying nine batters in seven shutout innings. He did not surrender a walk.
Arizona provided plenty of run support, scoring a solo run in the first inning, three in the second and three more in the fifth. Tournament MVP Nate Novitske went 3 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. Novitske, a redshirt freshman, had nine hits in 14 at-bats over three games to raise his season batting average to .419.
Arizona's Nate Novitske follows through on a swing during the Wildcats' 5-1 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic in Las Vegas. Novitske was named tournament MVP after going 9 for 14 in three games.
Freshman right fielder Caleb Danzeisen went 2 for 4 with a triple, three runs scored and an RBI. Senior DH Dom Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Sophomore center fielder Carson McEntire went 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Arizona had a season-high six extra-base hits.
Bailey delivered his second quality start in three appearances on Saturday, limiting Vanderbilt to one run on three hits in six innings. Bailey struck out six and walked two.
Down 1-0 entering the top of the sixth, Arizona plated four runs. The Wildcats added another in the seventh on catcher Roman Meyers’ solo home run to left-center.
Novitske again played a significant role, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs.
Patrick Morris, Evan Brandt and Garrett Hicks combined for three innings of scoreless relief behind Bailey.
Arizona opened the tournament with a 7-2 loss to Oregon that featured another three-hit performance by Novitske and 2⅔ shutout innings out of the bullpen by Maclain Roberts.
Arizona, Oregon and UCI went 2-1 in the tournament, while Vanderbilt went 0-3. The Ducks won the tourney championship via a run-differential tiebreaker.
Inside pitch
– Danzeisen was named to the all-tournament team after going 3 for 11 with three walks, a triple, three runs scored and an RBI. He also made two strong defensive plays Sunday.
– Veteran second baseman Tyler Bickers did not play in Las Vegas because of a shoulder injury.
– Junior left fielder Andrew Cain was a late scratch from Sunday’s lineup.
