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 1^st 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 1^st, 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 1^st 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 3^rd 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 34^th of his career tied him for 6^th on the UA career list.

Baylor (19-8, 4-5) scored four in the top of the 5^th 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.

Arizona had some of the nation’s most frequent reports of lasers pointed at aircraft in 2024, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said lasers posed a severe danger to pilots, passengers, and everyone above a flight path.

The FAA received 550 reports from pilots in Arizona skies who were struck by a laser, which put Arizona sixth on a list of the states with the most reports of laser-related incidents.

At the top of the list in 2024 was California, with 1,489 reports, followed by Texas with 1,463, Florida with 810, Tennessee with 649, and Illinois with 662.

Nationwide, there were nearly 13,000 laser strikes reported by pilots in the U.S., a 3% decrease from last year but which the FAA said still remained too high.

The number in Arizona was also down, but only slightly, with 558 laser incidents reported by pilots in 2023.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the state’s busiest airport, handles hundreds of flights daily over the Phoenix area, home to approximately 5 million people.

“Lasers can incapacitate pilots, many of whom are flying airplanes with hundreds of passengers,” the FAA said in an announcement.

Since the FAA began tracking laser incidents in 2010, 328 pilots have sustained injuries from laser strikes. Pilots hit by a laser often experience temporary vision disruptions, including glare, afterimages, or blind spots.

The FAA said people who shine lasers at aircraft face FAA fines of up to $11,000 per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple laser incidents, and that violators can also face federal criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as state and local penalties.

In 2019, a man from Mesa was arrested on suspicion of aiming a laser pointer at a Mesa police helicopter.

In 2016, a man was arrested and accused of pointing a laser at several aircraft at different Valley airports, including Sky Harbor.

The agency has asked pilots to report laser incidents to a dedicated online webpage.

What we know: Sky Harbor airport had 10 near-crashes in the past decade

Reach reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Take a drive down any dirt road in any forest, near any mountain range in Arizona, and you are likely to see a beautiful, natural view.

But, there are also minerals in these lands, and the new Interior Secretary has made it clear: He wants more mining, drilling and chopping.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, “In North Dakota, we created a prosperous economy by sustainably developing our natural resources.” One of his first acts as Secretary was to sign orders to “encourage energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters.” Now, even some national monuments that had been off-limits are open for review by the mining and energy sectors.

Arizona’s Family spoke with Taylor McKinnon from the Center for Biological Diversity about the impact this could have on Arizona’s public land. When asked why it is problematic to open these spaces back up for review he said all of these lands were designated as protected for a reason.

“Each of these places was protected in the first place because there are values, cultural sites, important habitats, and iconic landscapes that people like to visit that weren’t compatible with energy development,” McKinnon said.

He says the energy and mining industries leave the landscape scarred forever. “Once an area is mined, it’ll never be the same again.”

Arizona’s backcountry faces rising threat from growing outdoor tourism trends

McKinnon and other public lands advocates believe Arizona is a target because it has so much federal land. Nearly 40% of the state is owned by the federal government.

From the Grand Canyon to the Sonoran Desert, these spaces draw tourists from across the country—tourists that spend billions of dollars every year in our hotels and restaurants. Which ultimately has a huge impact on the state of Arizona.

Dozens of people gathered in front of the State Capitol to urge lawmakers to protect public spaces from mining, development and private ownership. The group held signs with sayings such as, “Public lands in public hands.” They say this fight is too important for them to stay quiet.

Tina Mollica who was at the rally said, “As soon as the executive order went out that they were firing the park rangers, I was infuriated.”

The people rallying in front of the capitol are hoping that, in the end, public support for enjoying nature outweighs the support for exploiting nature’s resources.

“I want my grandchildren and their children to enjoy some of the things we’ve been able to enjoy,” another attendee Mary Marmor said.

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