6-run rally in bottom of 9th gives Arizona baseball 10th straight victory

In order to put together a long win streak, a lot of things have to go a team’s way. And when they suddenly don’t, that’s usually how it ends.

Or it all goes wrong for eight-plus innings and then you score six in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Arizona waited until the very end to maintain the longest active win streak in college baseball, rallying from five runs down in its final at-bat to beat Louisiana Tech 6-5 on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field.

Only about 500 or so of the announced crowd of more than 3,700 were around to watch the UA (20-13) pull off its fourth walkoff victory during the streak … and actually kind of do it twice. Garen Caulfield’s single scored Maddox Mihalakis to end it, but only after it appeared that Mason White had ended the game with a 2-run double to left-center.

But the ball bounced over the red line on the outfield fall, resulting in a ground-rule double, and the umpires had to send the entire UA team—which was dousing White behind second base—back into the dugout and Mihalakis two third.

Two pitches later, Caulfield singled thru the left side and the previously interrupted celebration was able to resume.

“I’ve played a lot of baseball and I’ve never seen that,” said Caulfield, who began the inning with a walk. “Thank God I focused on my mental game and I was able to control my breath a little bit and be ready for that at-bat.”

The UA had managed just five hits and seven baserunners through the first eight innings, the last four of which it played without head coach Chip Hale. He had been ejected in the top of the fourth shortly after making a pitching change and while reliever Bradon Zastrow was warming up Hale’s chirping from the dugout got him tossed.

“It seemed like we couldn’t get a break,” said Hale, who watched the rest of the game via livestream in his office. “I was obviously reflecting it onto the umpires, which I shouldn’t have. They were doing a great job. It was just my frustration of struggling against another left-handed pitcher. A left-handed starter, we’ve really struggled against those guys.”

Louisiana Tech (26-11) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first against Clark Candiotti, who only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up three runs and seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. His last home outing was a complete game, but immediately after that he contracted an illness that resulted in his start last weekend at Cal to be moved back a day and see him only go five innings.

“It probably took a little bit more out of him than we think,” Hale said. “He didn’t seem like he had the same energy level.”

Zastrow came in and threw two scoreless innings, then Kyler Heyne went 1.1 innings to lower his ERA to 0.64. Casey Hintz and Jaeden Swanberg—who ended up getting the win—each allowed an unearned run as Arizona committed five errors, its most since having seven in a 19-3 home loss to Grand Canyon in 2022 in Hale’s Hi Corbett debut.

“We can’t make five errors,” Hale said. “It should have been 3-0 going in (to the ninth).”

Down 5-0 with three outs left, Hale said his goal for the ninth was to force Louisiana Tech to use its closer. That happened when setup man Sam Brodersen walked Caulfield and Brendan Summerhill to start the inning and Ethan Bates came in from right field.

“And now I’m thinking, what am I’m gonna tell the team,” Hale said. “And then all of a sudden we start coming back.”

Adonys Guzman fisted a single to right, loading the bases for Emilio Corona, who singled to left to bring in Caulfield and get Arizona on the board. Easton Breyfogle—who appeared to hit a towering 2-run homer in the bottom of the first but it was called foul and upheld on review—followed with a single to score Summerhill and make it 5-2.

Tommy Splaine popped out, then Mihalakis singled home Guzman and Corona. A Richie Morales flyout had Arizona down to its last out, then after being down 0-2 White roped a ball into the deepest part of the stadium for the tying ground-rule double before Caulfield’s winning hit on a 1-1 pitch.

The UA had six hits and eight baserunners in the ninth after having five hits and seven men on base in the first eight.

“That happens by our players just keeping each other accountable,” said Corona, who was 3 for 4 and is 8 for 18 during a 5-game hitting streak. “You can fold and you can just swing at whatever you want. But I mean, the hard thing to do in that situation is stay disciplined to our plan and execute to the best of our abilities, which is what we do.”

Arizona can go for another sweep and its longest in-season win streak since 2012 in Sunday’s finale, which has a 10 a.m. PT start. Right-hander Cam Walty (5-1, 2.70) will be on the mound.