The Arizona Wildcats have embarked on a road trip that appears to be unprecedented in UA baseball annals.
The Cats traveled by bus to Southern California for a three-game series against the University of San Diego that runs Friday-Sunday. They’ll be home for about a day and a half before heading to Texas to face TCU on Wednesday. Then come three games in the Frisco College Baseball Classic next weekend. On March 8, Arizona opens Pac-12 play against USC in Irvine, California. The UA will visit Loyola Marymount the day after the USC series concludes.
In all, the Wildcats will play 11 consecutive games away from Hi Corbett Field. They will have played 11 of their first 15 games elsewhere before hosting ASU from March 15-17.
In the modern era, Arizona never has played that high a percentage of games away from home over the first 15 games of a season. The Wildcats typically play most of their games at home in February and early March, taking advantage of Tucson’s baseball-friendly weather.
Arizona coach Chip Hale gives a game ball to pitcher Raul Garayzar after the Wildcats’ 6-1 season-opening win against Northeastern at Hi Corbett Field on Feb. 15.
“Obviously, it’s not how we would have planned it,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “These tournaments we go to ... those are huge tournaments with great teams. So we’re never going to turn those down. Those are great events for our players to go to, for scouts to see our players. And they’re great RPI games.
“The USD thing, when we made the home-and-home, it would have been nice if we would have played (at) home this year and flipped it. But they couldn’t do it.”
In 2022, Hale’s first season, Arizona opened with three games at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. The Wildcats then played their next 10 games at home.
Last year, Arizona played 10 of its first 15 games at home — and none outside the state.
In 2018, the Wildcats played seven of their first 11 games away from Hi Corbett before returning for a four-game homestand.
In ’16, Arizona played its first seven games on the road or at neutral sites. The Wildcats then played nine straight at Hi C.
“I was always sad when they were out of town,” sophomore shortstop and Tucsonan Mason White said. “I think I’d be pretty disappointed if I was a kid and they’d be out of town for three weeks. But playing, I look forward to going on the road.
“I think it’s going to prepare us for the postseason when we go to the Pac-12 Tournament, then we go to a regional. Hopefully we’re hosting. But if we have to go somewhere, it’s really gonna teach us how to fight when we’re down and it’s a tough situation. So I think it’ll prepare us better than last year.”
Swanberg’s slot, shot
White and UA senior left-hander Jaeden Swanberg were teammates at Salpointe Catholic High School. Swanberg got the best of White in those days.
“He struck me out every time I saw him,” White said.
In intrasquad scrimmages leading up to this season, White went 1 for 2 against Swanberg, with the one hit being a home run. That’s more a product of White blossoming as a hitter than Swanberg falling off as a pitcher.
Jaeden Swanberg, shown pitching for Salpointe Catholic in the 4A state championship game in Mesa in May 2019, has fulfilled a longtime goal by becoming an Arizona Wildcat.
Swanberg had an impressive offseason, and his UA debut — with his father and girlfriend in attendance — was flawless. He didn’t allow a baserunner in two innings of relief in Arizona’s 24-4 victory over Utah Tech on Tuesday. Swanberg struck out three of the six batters he faced.
“It was good. Looking forward to it for a while,” said Swanberg, who spent the previous three seasons at Pima Community College. “Obviously it sucked that I didn’t get in over the weekend. But growing up here, I just always wanted to play here. So it’s finally good to make that happen.”
Hale didn’t rule out the possibility of Swanberg being part of the weekend mix out of the bullpen. He has thrived since pitching coaches Kevin Vance and John DeRouin advised him to lower his arm slot. Swanberg is getting more movement on his pitches, and he’s an especially tough at-bat for left-handed hitters.
“What’s impressed me the most is how he’s adapted to it and how well he’s thrown after what they’ve helped him with,” White said. “He’s taken it on his own and gotten a lot better.”
Arizona's Brendan Summerhill, left, shown during a scrimmage against Pima in October 2023, has used speed and keen batting eye to become an effective leadoff hitter for the Wildcats.
Hot Summerhill
Sophomore Brendan Summerhill had big cleats to fill as the successor to first-round pick Chase Davis in left field. So far, Summerhill is flourishing.
The Chicago product is batting .579 through four games. He leads the Pac-12 with 11 hits and ranks second behind ASU’s Isaiah Jackson (Cienega High) with 11 RBIs.
On Tuesday, Summerhill went 6 for 6, becoming the first Wildcat to record six hits in a game in 20 years.
Two of Summerhill’s hits were doubles. The other four were singles, including a bunt and a “swinging bunt” that he chopped off the plate.
Summerhill’s speed and keen batting eye have made him an effective leadoff hitter. His career on-base percentage is .453, including a .419 mark in 22 games last season.
“We’re not surprised,” Hale said. “He did it last year. He didn’t get to play every day. He played sporadically and showed flashes.
“There’s a reason why he was one of our top recruits coming out of Chicago. We were excited to get him. We were excited to have the opportunity to get that type of athlete.”
Summerhill is known for working deep into counts. But he swung at the first pitch in four of his seven plate appearances Tuesday. As Arizona’s leadoff hitter, he’s been getting a lot of first-pitch strikes.
“You can just be aggressive,” Summerhill said. “They’re probably gonna challenge you early on.
“I’m still kinda new out here. I played a little bit last year, but there’s not much on me. So I just go pick what I want to hit and do my thing.”
Inside pitch
USD’s rotation features some familiar faces. Right-hander Josh Randall, who spent the past two seasons at Arizona, is expected to start Friday. Randall did not allow an earned run in 4⅓ innings vs. Texas last Friday. The Toreros’ No. 3 starter on opening weekend was righty Ryan Kysar, who redshirted at the UA as a freshman in 2021.
Arizona is planning to use the same rotation as last weekend: left-hander Jackson Kent followed by righties Clark Candiotti and Anthony “Tonko” Susac.
Right-hander Josh Randall, shown with Arizona during an intrasquad scrimmage in January 2023, is now at the University of San Diego and is expected to start against the UA on Friday.
Emilio Corona is tied with ASU’s Jackson and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana for the Pac-12 lead with three home runs. Bazzana is a projected top-10 pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
Arizona used 33 players in the first four games. But only 30 are allowed on the travel roster for the USD series and the Frisco Classic — and just 27 once Pac play starts. “We’re gonna have to make decisions,” Hale said after Tuesday’s game. “Hard ones.”
