Arizona baseball knocks off No. 1 Texas A&M for 6th straight victory

HOUSTON—The last time Arizona played a tournament in Texas, just two weeks ago, it found itself in a 1-run game late against an SEC opponent. It had chances to to come back but couldn’t finish the job.

The Wildcats weren’t about to let recent history repeat itself.

The UA scored twice in the top of the 9^th inning to beat No. 1 Texas A&M 3-2 on Friday night in the Astros Foundation College Classic at Daikin Park. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Wildcats (6-3) after staring the year 0-3 at a tourney in Arlington.

“You’ve seen it with this team, we’re never out of it,” said junior right fielder Brendan Summerhill, who drove in the winning run in the top of the 9th and then threw out a baserunner in the bottom of the inning to help seal the victory. “I think there’s just a lot of resilience and toughness in this group.”

Arizona won despite striking out a season-high 13 times, 10 against A&M starter Ryan Prager. The left-hander looked every bit the pro prospect who turned down a 7-figure signing bonus after getting drafted in the third round last summer, holding the UA to a run on three hits over 6.1 innings.

The lone run against Prager was a solo home run by Aaron Walton in the 6^th.

“Prager just cut us up pretty good,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “Guys were frustrated, they were trying too hard. But then they just loosened up and let it go.”

Arizona had seven baserunners against four A&M relievers, including four in the ninth. Maddox Mihalakis got things started with a leadoff double, then after pinch hitter TJ Adams fouled out trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt Tommy Splaine singled to short left to move the tying run to third.

Easton Breyfogle then bounced one up the middle that was knocked down by the second baseman but he couldn’t make a play, bringing in Mihalakis to tie it at two. A fielder’s choice by Mathis Meurant moved Splaine to third, bringing up Summerhill with two outs.

He fell behind 1-2 before smacking a hard bouncer to the left side that A&M third baseman Wyatt Henseler couldn’t field cleanly, resulting in an RBI infield single.

“Make them make a play, that’s the idea,” said Summerhill, who was 3 for 5. “You don’t want to just be a free out.”

Casey Hintz got the win by going the final five innings in relief of starter Collin McKinney, who tossed four scoreless frames and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the 1^st. Hintz allowed both runs in the 5^th on a 2-run homer by Henseler, which came after he hit a batter who should have been retired to end the inning had Hintz not misplayed a foul pop.

“Infielders are told to get the ball and don’t let the pitcher catch it, but they all know I’m athletic enough to catch it,” Hintz said. “I called it, and then I heard (Meurant) coming and I thought he was going to call me off. Both things were going through my mind.”

Hintz allowed three hits including two in the bottom of the 9^th, but in between his defense turned what could have been a disastrous mistake into heads-up play.

With one out, No. 9 hitter Terrence Kier II hit a soft bouncer that shortstop Mason White charged. His throw to first was going to be late but it also bounced past Andrew Cain and rolled up the right field line, allowing Kier to advance into scoring position.

Summerhill chased down the errant throw and fired a one-hopper—“once I threw it I knew he was out; perfect backspin, it felt great out of my hand—to Meurant to apply the tag at third.

Texas A&M (5-3) challenged the out call, leading to a review, which took more than 10 minutes before the umpires, who apparently couldn’t see any replays on the field and had trouble communicating with the replay booth, upheld the call. In the meantime, Hintz played catch with Tommy Splaine to stay loose while the very partisan crowd began chanting ‘Safe! Safe! Safe!’, but Hintz had already prepared himself for the worst.

“My mentality during that long replay was this guy’s gonna be safe and this next guy, I gotta strike out,” Hintz said.

Hintz would allow a single with two out but then struck out Jace Laviolette, ranked by MLB.com as the No. 2 prospect in the 2025 draft, for his seventh punchout to end the game.

Things don’t get any easier for Arizona on Saturday, when it faces No. 18 Mississippi State (7-2) at 3 p.m. MT. The Bulldogs beat Rice 14-3 in seven innings on Friday afternoon.