Arizona entered the weekend unbeaten at Hi Corbett Field, winning its first 14 home games and averaging nearly nine runs per outing. The Wildcats then dropped the first two of its series with Baylor, scoring a combined nine runs in the process.
By the end of the 1st inning Sunday the UA had surpassed its run total from the previous two games en route to salvaging the series finale.
Arizona scored 10 in the bottom of the 1st inning in an 11-6 win over Baylor, avoiding being swept at home for the first time since March 2023.
“It was great to kind of jump on them early,” said center fielder Aaron Walton, who hit a 2-run homer in the opening frame. “Sundays are about energy, so coming out with that early was great.”
Arizona (20-7, 6-3 Big 12) sent 14 batters to the plate in the 1st, chasing Baylor left-hander Carson Bailey after 0.2 innings. Walton’s homer started the scoring, but then with the bases loaded and two out freshman Gunner Geile singled up the middle to drive in the first two runs of his career.
TJ Adams followed with a 2-run double on the first pitch he saw, making it 6-0, then run-scoring hits by Walton, Mason White and Adonys Guzman capped the 1st inning production.
“It was an incredible start,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “That’s one of the best guys in the league that started. I was proud of them for getting the hits against the lefty.”
Arizona would only score once more in the game, on a solo homer by White in the 3rd to make it 11-1 at the time. White, who was 3 for 5 with three RBI and is 20 for 50 with 13 RBI during his 11-game hit streak, hit his first homer at Hi Corbett since last April and the 34th of his career tied him for 6th on the UA career list.
Baylor (19-8, 4-5) scored four in the top of the 5th to keep UA starter Smith Bailey from qualifying for the win, which went to Julian Tonghini who was the most effective of four relievers.
Sunday was the fourth game Arizona played without junior Brendan Summerhill, who is expected to miss a month with a fracture in his right hand. The Wildcats also played the last two games without sophomore Easton Breyfogle, who came out of Friday’s loss with another leg injury but was available if needed.
Adams started both corner outfield positions over the weekend, and Sunday had a 2-hit game after coming in hitting .175. Geile, a Tucson native, started in right the last two games tripled his career hit total with two singles Sunday after looking on track to redshirt this season before making his debut last Sunday at West Virginia after Summerhill got hurt.
“They didn’t really give me any (indication), they were going to make decisions at the end of the year,” Geile said of playing as a freshman. “But opportunities arise, and we just try to do what we can for the team.”
Arizona’s next four games are on the road and up Interstate 10, starting with Tuesday at Grand Canyon. The Wildcats lost three of four to the Antelopes last season, including in the NCAA Tournament opener at Hi Corbett.
“The guys who haven’t been up there, it’s been a wild atmosphere,” Hale said. “They’re a good team, and obviously they left a bad taste in our mouths last year.”
After GCU the UA will play three at ASU, which it beat 3-2 at home in a nonconference game on March 10. The Sun Devils (19-9, 7-2) are in second place in the Big 12, a game behind Kansas State.