A change of scenery didn’t change Arizona’s luck on the diamond.

The UA lost 7-2 to unbeaten Oregon on Friday night at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas Classic, dropping to 1-8 on the season.

Arizona finished with five hits, all singles, with three by redshirt freshman Nate Novitske. The Wildcats’ runs came thanks to a dropped fly ball with the bases loaded in the top of the 4th inning.

They only trailed 4-2 at that point but in the bottom of the 5th starter Owen Kramkowski gave up a single and double and left with one out. Reliever Matthew Martinez then allowed a 3-run home run, the third of the night for Oregon.

Kramkowski allowed six runs in 4.1 innings, falling to 0-2.

Arizona did get a strong relief performance from lefty Maclain Roberts, who struck out four in 2.2 innings.

Oregon pitchers combined to strike out 19 UA batters, with freshman Cash Brennan whiffing five times and two others striking out thrice.

The UA will send sophomore righty Smith Bailey to the mound Saturday at 5 p.m. MT against Vanderbilt, which lost its tourney opener 9-4 to UC Irvine. It will be the first meeting with the Commodores since the opening night of the 2021 College World Series.

Arizona State basketball is at a crossroads. After back-to-back road losses to Baylor and TCU, the Sun Devils are suddenly fighting just to stay above .500. 

Now, with Utah coming to town Saturday afternoon, this isn’t just another conference game. It feels bigger than that. It feels like the moment that decides whether this season still has life or if it quietly fades away.

The Department of Justice is facing scrutiny this week after it was revealed that records involving President Trump were missing from the public release of the Epstein files. On Washington Week With The Atlantic, panelists joined to discuss the ensuing political fallout for the Trump administration, and more.

“The key thing to remember about the Epstein story is that it is a case that has been mishandled for decades. The reason that we’re hearing about this now and why it’s exploding into public view is because, for the first time, Republicans in Congress and Democrats in Congress were willing to openly defy their leadership and call for the release of these files,” Sarah Fitzpatrick, a staff writer at The Atlantic, said last night. “That has never been done before, and I think it really is changing the political landscape in ways that we’re still just starting to learn.”

“What’s been so striking is how many of those very same Republicans who were calling for the release of those files, who had promised to get to the bottom of them, are now saying things that are just the opposite,” Stephen Hayes, the editor of The Dispatch, argued.

Joining guest moderator Vivian Salama, a staff writer at The Atlantic, to discuss this and more: Andrew Desiderio, a senior congressional reporter at Punchbowl News; Fitzpatrick; Hayes; and Tarini Parti, a White House reporter at The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.