In the midst of Arizona’s first slump since the opening weekend of the season, Chip Hale wanted to see how his Wildcats would respond.
The answer came quickly and emphatically.
Arizona scored 10 runs in the first inning, propelling the UA to an 11-6, sweep-avoiding victory over Baylor on Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
The Wildcats improved to 20-7, 6-3 in the Big 12. The Bears dropped to 19-8, 4-5.
“It was an incredible start,” Hale said. “Those games are very difficult. This is how Sundays are in Arizona. The wind’s blowing around. It’s sunny. You’re going to get some weird hits. So to get 10 runs early is good.
“But you’re holding on the whole game. I thought our pitchers did a good job of limiting the damage.”
Baylor had at least one hit in every inning but the eighth. Arizona scored only one run after the first. But Hale was pleased the Wildcats were able to bounce back after losing the first two games of the series and maintaining a .667 winning percentage in conference play.
Arizona's Aaron Walton had a two-run homer as part of a 10-run first inning in the Wildcats' 11-6 victory over Baylor on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field.
“It was great to jump on them early,” said center fielder Aaron Walton, who went 3 for 5, including a two-run homer in the first. “Sundays are about energy. So coming out with that early was great.
“The past two days, it’s baseball. What are you gonna do? Just a couple weird games. But I’m glad that we came out and got the win today.”
The victory gives Arizona some positive vibes heading into what might be its most challenging week of the season.
On Tuesday, the UA faces Grand Canyon, which upset Arizona in the NCAA Tucson Regional last year. The Lopes took three out of four from the Wildcats in 2024.
Arizona then faces Arizona State in a three-game series starting Friday in Phoenix. ASU is in second place in the Big 12 at 7-2, one game behind 8-1 Kansas State. The UA is tied for third with Kansas.
“We said to the guys who haven’t been up there, ‘This is a wild atmosphere. They’re a really good team.’ And obviously they left a bad taste in our mouth last year in the regional,” Hale said of GCU. “So we’re gonna get after it. It’s a big four-game series in Phoenix.”
The first-inning explosion began with a leadoff walk by Garen Caulfield, whom Hale moved into the top spot in the lineup after he batted third the previous three games. Walton followed with a two-run bomb to left.
The frame also featured two-RBI hits by outfielders Gunner Geile and TJ Adams, the replacements for injured starters Brendan Summerhill and Easton Breyfogle.
For Geile, a freshman who spent his first three seasons of high school at Salpointe Catholic, the RBIs were the first of his college career. He finished the day 2 for 4.
“There’s nothing like it,” Geile said. “The energy in this team, the chemistry we have, when you do something like that, everyone has your back. You just want to do what you can for the team. It just motivates you to succeed.”
Hale chose to start the left-handed-hitting Geile against Baylor lefty Carson Bailey in large part because of Geile’s defensive ability. He had eight putouts in right field on a windy, hazy afternoon.
“At the end of the day, you just trust your training,” said Geile, who spent his senior year at IMG Academy in Florida. “You’ve taken that rep a thousand times in batting practice. You just go off of what you know and keep yourself under control.”
A double by Mason White, left, was part of a 10-run first inning for Arizona in its 11-6 win over Baylor on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Hi Corbett Field.
Geile made his UA debut the previous Sunday at West Virginia after Summerhill got hurt. Breyfogle didn’t make the trip.
“Opportunities arise,” Geile said. “You don’t wish it (playing time because of injuries), but if it’s there, you maximize it and do what you can for the team.”
“We’re very deep,” Walton said. “It’s just that next-man-up mentality. Just go out there and play. It’s the same game of baseball that they’ve been playing their whole life.
“I’m super proud of Gunner for stepping in, and TJ does what he does.”
Arizona lost the first two games of the series by scores of 8-5 and 6-3 — the Wildcats’ first two defeats at home this season. They suffered from some uncharacteristic maladies, including issuing walks (six Friday) and committing errors (three Saturday).
Those issues resurfaced Sunday. Although he walked only one batter, UA freshman starter Smith Bailey hit two and needed 90 pitches to get through 4⅓ innings. The first of Arizona’s two errors helped extend the fifth inning, when Baylor scored four runs to make the score 11-6.
Four UA relievers combined to allow one earned run in 4⅔ innings after Bailey was pulled.
Hunter Alberini worked around a single and an error in the sixth. Garrett Hicks allowed back-to-back singles to start the seventh but held the Bears scoreless. Julian Tonghini pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Tony Pluta yielded a one-out double in the ninth before retiring the final two batters.
Inside pitch
— Arizona scored 10 runs in an inning for the first time since March 3, 2024, against Indiana. The Wildcats had scored 22 first-inning runs in 26 games before Sunday.
— After missing time because of a strained quadriceps, Breyfogle tweaked the quad in his other leg Friday. Hale elected to hold him out for the weekend. “He could have played,” Hale said. “He kind of looked funny running. He had a big wrap on. So let’s get him out and hopefully get him ready for ASU.”
— UA shortstop Mason White went 3 for 5, including a solo home run in the third inning. He scored three runs and drove in three. Since going 0 for 4 against ASU on March 11, White has an 11-game hitting streak during which he’s batted .400 (20 for 50).
