Wildcats unconcerned about early 1st pitch vs. BYU in Big 12 Baseball Championship

Chip Hale has taken steps to prepare his team for morning baseball.

He’s hopeful Arizona will handle its early start time better than ASU did.

The Sun Devils’ offense never woke up in the opening game of the Big 12 Baseball Championship on Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. No. 5 seed ASU got shut out by No. 12 seed BYU, 2-0. As a result, the fourth-seeded Wildcats will face the Cougars in the quarterfinals instead of the Devils.

First pitch is slated for 9 a.m. Texas time (7 a.m. in Arizona). In creating a schedule for his players, Hale has been “dialing it back,” he said. They had breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Texas time Tuesday and at 7 a.m. Wednesday. They practiced at Dallas Baptist at 8 a.m.

“We’re trying our best to match the time,” Hale said.

The Wildcats will have had more than a week to acclimate by the time they start playing. Arizona finished the regular season at Houston. The team left for Texas last Wednesday and has been there since.

“We’re preparing these next two days to get our body ready, going earlier and earlier,” sophomore utility player Andrew Cain said Monday. “What time you play doesn’t really matter. If you’re looking to use that against you, that’s an excuse, in my opinion. I don’t think there should be any excuses for what time the game is.

“This is what time it is. That’s what time we gotta get ready at.”

Scheduled starter Owen Kramkowski said his pregame routine will remain the same. He and his teammates just have to get to the ballpark a lot earlier than they would have if they’d been the No. 3 seed. In that case — which easily could have happened with Utah pushing TCU into extra innings in the final Big 12 regular-season game — Arizona would have played at 7:30 p.m. Texas time Thursday. That’s assuming all the other games finished on time, which rarely if ever happens in conference tournaments.

This is the fourth conference tournament in which the Wildcats have participated, but the stakes are different this time. In 2022 and ‘23, Arizona needed to win some games in the Pac-12 Tournament to strengthen its case to make the NCAA Tournament. Last year, winning the Pac-12 Tournament helped the Wildcats secure one of the 16 host spots in the field of 64.

By virtue of winning the final two games at Houston — performances Cain dubbed “complete, team-oriented” victories — Arizona solidified its standing for the NCAA Tournament. With an RPI in the mid-30s as of Wednesday afternoon, the Wildcats are in no danger of being left out of the tournament — but might be too far down to get into the top 16 even if they win the Big 12 Baseball Championship.

Hale and his players aren’t thinking about it that way.

“We want to win it,” Cain said. “That’s our goal, to win every game we play. I don’t think that changes. We’re just taking it one game at a time. Just keep building on those games and get to the end and hopefully we’ll see ourselves on top.”

No Arlington angst

Kramkowski made his first career start at Globe Life Field, and it didn’t go well.

The sophomore from Walden Grove High School lasted just two-thirds of an inning vs. Clemson in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown on Feb. 15. He allowed seven earned runs on eight hits.

“I’m not trying to think about that,” Kramkowski said. “That part of the season (is) behind me. I think that was a massive game for me, learning-wise.”

Even after back-to-back outings that weren’t his best to close the regular season, Kramkowski has pitched to a 4.63 ERA since that opening appearance.

“I think he’s ready,” Hale said. “He threw the ball really well at Houston. That was one of those weird games where it just got out of hand after we took him out. But he’s been throwing the ball great, so I’m excited to get him back out there.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Kramkowski is deep into a season in which he’s taken on a greater workload than at any point in his baseball career — 72⅔ innings vs. college-level hitters. He’s focusing on slowing the game down and trying to get into and stay in a rhythm while on the mound.

“It’s hard,” Kramkowski said. “It’s learning right now ... how to do that.

“Being able to take it day by day, pitch by pitch or whatever my task at hand is — just being able to realize that that’s the only thing that matters.”

Injury updates

Hale wasn’t sure he’d have all his offensive weapons when the week began.

Third baseman Maddox Mihalakis missed the finale at Houston on Saturday after his back tightened up. Mihalakis took batting practice Monday and worked out with the team Tuesday.

Left fielder Easton Breyfogle had to leave that game after hurting his left (non-throwing) shoulder while sliding head-first into home plate.

Breyfogle didn’t take BP on Monday, but Hale said Breyfogle “felt OK,” adding: “We think he’s going to be back” for Thursday’s game.

If the Wildcats don’t have Breyfogle — who has eight hits, including two home runs, in his last 17 at-bats — Cain likely will start in left field, Hale said.

Cain has been just as hot lately as Breyfogle, his classmate and roommate on the road. Cain has gone 7 for 15 in his last four games, including three home runs.

“I don’t think anything has changed swing-wise,” said Cain, a product of Ironwood Ridge High School. “More of a mindset. Just understanding that I’m not going to get beat by this guy and taking that into every pitch — really focusing on winning every pitch.”

Cain mostly has played first base or designated hitter. He has started seven times in the outfield. Hale believes Cain can handle left field at Globe Life. Regardless of where Cain plays, Hale wants his bat in the lineup.

“Andrew was in, Andrew was out. He was in against righties, out against lefties,” Hale said. “Now he’s too important. And we knew that. We knew that for us to go to where we want to go in the playoffs and get to Omaha, Andrew Cain has got to be a big part of it.”

Inside pitch

– Hale was concerned about ASU’s running game (113 steals, second most in the Big 12). He described BYU as “more of a hitting club.” The Cougars scored only two runs against the Sun Devils, mainly because of 1-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position. BYU left 14 runners on base.

– Left-handers Justis Reiser and Ashton Johnson combined for BYU’s first shutout since March 2023. (It was also the first time ASU had been shut out since April 12, 2024.) Neither pitcher will be available to face Arizona. The Cougars entered the Big 12 Baseball Championship with the highest ERA in the league (7.22).

– Arizona took two of three vs. BYU in Provo April 17-19. The Cougars won the first game 12-5. The Wildcats responded with 5-4 and 7-5 victories. UA shortstop Mason White homered in both wins.

– Does it help that Arizona has faced BYU previously? “Maybe it helps some, but none of that really matters anymore now that we're in the postseason,” Cain said. “It's very important that we not worry about what happened then. We gotta focus on this game right now. So it might help, but who knows?”