There’s really no other way this was going to end.
Down a run to the preseason favorites, who had easily won the first two games of the series, Arizona did what it had done so many times this season in its final at-bat. But unlike the previous six, this one was for the last Pac-12 title.
Brendan Summerhill roped a 2-run double into the gap in right center with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning, scoring Tommy Splaine and Maddox Mihalakis to give the Wildcats a 4-3 victory over Oregon State on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field.
It was the seventh walkoff win this season for Arizona (33-20, 20-10) and sixth in conference play. And Chip Hale had a feeling it was going to happen, telling player development director John DeRouin that Summerhill was going to gap one.
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“I was right for once in my life,” Hale said. “Why not be a walkoff?”
As regular season champions, Arizona gets the No. 1 seed for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament at Scottsdale Stadium. The tourney begins Tuesday but the UA’s first game is 7 p.m. PT Wednesday against No. 9 Washington (19-29-1), with No. 6 Cal (34-18) on tap for Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats, picked in the preseason to finish ninth, advance to Friday’s semifinals with one victory.
OSU (41-13, 19-10) had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the 9th when No. 9 hitter Jabin Trosky poked a ball inside the first base bag with two out, scoring Easton Talt from second. That came against Anthony ‘Tonko’ Susac, who came in with a man on first and one out for Cam Walty, who was masterful in going 8.1 innings.
“None of this happens without Cam Walty,” Hale said of the senior right-hander, who allowed six hits and struck out eight with no walks. “He kept us in the game.”
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Walty allowed a 1-out double before exiting, then after Susac walked Talt he got Jacob Kreig to ground one sharply in the hole at short. Mason White dove on the outfield grass to glove it and then fired just in time to third to get the lead runner, with Richie Morales’ foot briefly coming off the bag but then back down before the runner reached. OSU challenged that play but lost, as it did in the 6th on an infield single by Summerhill that came around to score and tie the game at 2.
“I trust my guys, no matter what,” Walty said of his defense, which was charged with six errors in the series including four in Friday’s 16-1 loss. “I always tell them if they (mess) something up up, I’m like you’re making that play nine out of 10 times no matter what. So I know that next time you get that ball, I still trust you. You have to flush it and just go back and make the next play. And so knowing what we had to do today, I knew they were going to be ready.”
The UA was outscored 25-3 in the first two games, none of its pitchers looking effective while few batters made good contact. All that changed Saturday, with Walty’s cutter keeping an OSU team that was hitting .307 and averaging 12.4 runs during a 7-game win streak from mounting any major rallies.
“The cutter was probably the best that I’ve thrown all year,” Walty said. “And so when (pitching coach Kevin) Vance I knew that we were like I’m gonna pepper it all game.”
Arizona scored first, manufacturing a run in the bottom of the 2nd via a leadoff double by Garen Caulfield and then consecutive grounders to the right side by Andrew Cain and Adonys Guzman. OSU went up 2-1 in the 3rd on a 1-out RBI double from Travis Bazzana and a low liner to center that Casey Hintz—a pitcher forced into outfield duty because of numerous injuries—misplayed.
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Walty stranded that runner, though, and five others including a man on third with 1 out in the 4th.
Arizona tied it in the 6th when Summerhill and Morales both opened with infield singles. White moved both into scoring position with a groundout and then Caulfield flied out deep enough to bring Summerhill home.
All five of Arizona’s runs in the series to that point had been scored on outs, and before the 9th the Wildcats were 2 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
“They’re a very good team,” Hale said of Oregon State, who will be the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. “They’re going to be one of the national seeds, for sure. We’re really proud to beat them to win the conference, but we’re going to see them in Phoenix. And obviously we’re staying in the same hotel so we’ll see a lot of them.”
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In the 9th, Splaine led off and was hit by a pitch for the 12th time this season. It was the second hit batter of the game for OSU closer Bridger Holmes, who after Brandon Rogers struck out trying to sacrifice Splaine walked Mihalakis—who pinch hit for Hintz—and was pulled for Joey Mundt.
Mundt fell behind Summerhill 2-1 before throwing him a slider that he crushed into the deepest part of the field. He said he had prepared himself for such a situation going into the inning.
“I kinda knew where I was coming up in the order,” said Summerhill, a sophomore who was 3 for 5 and leads the team with a .332 average. “I figured my teammates were gonna get on, as we’ve done in the ninth all year. And I kind of just was visualizing, like how that’s gonna feel, what it’s gonna feel like what the crowd is be like. Putting myself there emotionally before it happens.”
Arizona’s 20 conference wins are tied for the third-most in school history. The last two times it got that many, in 2012 and 2021, it reached the College World Series.
A self-described Arizona social media “villain” was arrested after he filmed himself allegedly spraying bed bug killer on groceries inside a Walmart as he boasted to police about his prank videos.
Charles Smith, 27, is accused of grabbing a can of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer and unleashing the pesticide on a series of perishable items in the Mesa, Ariz. megastore around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 19.
In the now-deleted video, the influencer filmed himself wearing a black hoodie and pink bandana while spraying the toxin on bananas, acorn squash, potatoes, lemons, green apples and Roma tomatoes at the store — located in a neighborhood southeast of Phoenix.
Charles Smith was accused of spraying a bed bug killer on groceries inside a Walmart. ImTheMainCharacter/Reddit
Police claim the TikTokker, who goes by the username WolfieKahletti, intentionally went to the store to film pranks for his channel.
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Smith identifies as an online “troll,” according to court documents viewed by Az Family. He has more than 300,000 followers on TikTok.
The troublemaker allegedly told police that he makes between $6,000 – $10,000 per month filming his provocative prank videos.
”I think social media has got people doing crazy things out here,” Walmart shopper Xavier Griego told the outlet. “It’s unfortunate that somebody would mess up their whole life, potentially, for something on social media for views.”
Smith voluntarily turned himself over to police on Dec. 21.
The prankster reportedly posted the video on his TikTok page with over 300K followers. ImTheMainCharacter/RedditWalmart claimed it removed the contaminated items and cleaned the areas that were hit. ImTheMainCharacter/Reddit
He faces charges of introducing poison (a felony) as well as three misdemeanors that include criminal damage, endangerment and theft.
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A spokesperson from Walmart told AZ Family that store employees removed the directly impacted products and cleaned the affected areas of the store.
It’s not clear if any customers were injured from eating the contaminated items.
Smith voluntarily turned himself over to the police on Dec. 21. ImTheMainCharacter/Reddit
“This incident underscores the potential dangers of reckless actions disguised as social media pranks,” the Mesa Police Department said in a statement.
Other videos posted online by Smith include the posts of him seemingly mixing in bacon and eggs in a stranger’s load at the laundromat as well as locking people inside a different grocery store.
Smith is charged with a felony and three misdemeanors. ImTheMainCharacter/Reddit
The spray is “harmful if swallowed” and “prolonged or frequently repeated skin contact may cause allergic reactions in some individuals” per HotShot’s website.
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Suspects convicted of tampering with consumer products face up to 5 to 20 years in prison.
In 2022, an Arizona man was sentenced to 10 years of probation after being convicted of adding harmful chemicals to food at several retail stores in the Phoenix area.
David Lohr was ordered to pay restitution to a grocery chain for $390.42 and ordered to participate in a mental health evaluation and any additional recommended treatment.
There were no reported injuries or illnesses associated with the tampered items during the 2018 stunt, prosecutors said.
Lohr was accused of tampering with products at stores in California one year later and sentenced to a 51-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release with mental health services.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Caleb Love matched his season-high with 24 points to help power Arizona to a 94-41 rout of Central Michigan on Saturday.
The Wildcats (6-5) won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Canisius and Old Dominion to open the season.
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The Chippewas (5-6) scored the game’s first three points but Love knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 18 first-half points to put Arizona firmly in charge at intermission, 44-23.
Arizona shot 54.5% from the field, including 10 of 29 from distance, and got 44 points from its bench. K.J. Lewis hit 4 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line for 13 points to lead the reserves. Tobe Awaka added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Wildcats dominated the boards, outrebounding the Chippewas 45-27.
Central Michigan struggled from the field, hitting just 14 of 54 (25.9%), including just 3 of 16 from distance. Cayden Vasko hit 4 of 13, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range, to lead the team with 10 points.
Arizona opens Big 12 Conference play at home when it plays host to TCU on Dec. 30. Central Michigan will look to snap its three-game losing string on Dec. 30 when it plays host to Cleary.
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After getting hired as Arizona’s offensive coordinator, Seth Doege said his scheme is one that can be effective through the air and on the ground. And now he’s added a playmaker who has shown the ability to produce in both areas in a similar system.
Former Texas State running back Ismail Mahdi has committed to Arizona, giving the Wildcats a versatile ball carrier who can also catch passes out of the backfield.
BREAKING: Texas State star transfer RB Ismail Mahdi has Committed to Arizona, he tells @on3sports
The 5’9 187 RB led the nation in All-Purpose Yards in 2023 (2,169)
2x All-Sun Belt 1st Team & 2023 1st Team All-American
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Mahdi ran for 2,322 yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons with the Bobcats, adding 44 catches for 470 yards and three TDs as well as a score off a kick return. He has more than 3,500 all-purpose yards the last two seasons, with another 900 and five scores from the 2022 season at FCS Houston Christian.
Texas State runs a spread attack similar to what Doege used at Marshall, one that averaged 37.1 points and almost 475 yards per game this fall.
Ismail is Arizona’s 10th transfer pickup, fifth on offense and third at a skill position along with former New Mexico receiver Luke Wysong and ex-Washington State receiver Kris Hutson.
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