Arizona
‘Consummate professional’ Tommy Splaine shines for Arizona baseball in big moments
Among players who have appeared in at least 25 games this season, Tommy Splaine’s .237 batting average is at the bottom of the list for Arizona. It’s also by far the lowest of his three years at Arizona, having hit .271 as a freshman and .287 last season.
But where the junior first baseman lacks in raw numbers he more than makes up for in big plays.
It was Splaine’s single in the bottom of the 9th inning that scored Emilio Corona to give Arizona the Pac-12 Tournament title over USC on Thursday night, part of a 2-hit game that also featured a single to open the 8th when the Wildcats scored twice to tie it.
Splaine had five hits in the four Pac-12 Tournament games, tied for second most on the team. And his previous late-game dramatics were key to Arizona winning the conference’s regular season title and pulling off several of its astounding eight walkoff wins.
“It’s funny because Tommy can have some at-bats where there are strikeouts and he’s not doing much,” UA coach Chip Hale said afterward. “But it seems like when the the game’s on the line he has his best at-bats.”
That statement describes Splaine’s season—and that game—to a T. He was 2 for 4 against USC, striking out the first two times as the Wildcats were being no-hit, yet during the late innings he came through.
Splaine has struck out 56 times this season, three more than in his previous two years, while walking just seven times. His swing has been in constant adjustment, starting from the fall when hitting coach Toby DeMello started working with him to try and draw more power from his 6-foot-5 frame.
“Starting in the fall, I started working with some different stuff,” Splaine said. “As the season has gone on obviously, it didn’t go as I wanted it to but my coaches and I have been just working hard just to keep improving and just sticking with it really.”
Overall, the season has been a disappointment for Splaine, who after spending 2023 sharing catcher duties with Cameron LaLiberte was moved to 1B. He’s been stellar there, with a .988 fielding percentage and just five errors in over 400 chances, but because of the hitting struggles he hasn’t started every game; true freshman Andrew Cain got some starts at 1st with Splaine coming in late as a defensive replacement, but there hasn’t been any complaining from the vet.
“If he was a professional I’d say he’s a consummate professional because he has not let any of his struggles at the plate affect him on defense,” Hale said. “That’s why he’s out there. He holds down that infield, and I’m just so happy that it was him that got the winning hit.”
Splaine’s five home runs are a career high, but he last hit one out April 24 at New Mexico State. Since then he’s had nine hits, all singles, but he’s found other ways to contribute down the stretch as he’s been part of the last three walkoffs.
Against Washington State he led off the 11th inning by getting hit by a pitch and ended up scoring the winning run in that 7-6 victory, part of a run of a school-record 11 consecutive Pac-12 victories. Then, in the regular-season finale Splaine was first to the plate in the 9th after Oregon State took a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning.
What did he do? Like he has more than anyone else on the Wildcats (12), Splaine was hit by a pitch. That’s happened 29 times in his career, 10th-most in school history.
A one-out walk to Maddox Mihalakis put Splaine in scoring position, and he crossed the plate as the tying run just ahead of Mihalakis on Brendan Summerhill’s walkoff 2-run double to win the conference title.
“I just really wanted to pull through for this team,” Splaine said. “We all love each other.”
Taipei [Taiwan], : Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has cautioned the US government that imposing tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could undermine its significant investment plans in Arizona, Focus Taiwan reported on Friday.
The company’s USD 165 billion investment aims to build advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities in the state, but TSMC warned that tariffs could reduce demand for chips and jeopardize the project’s success.
“New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce.
TSMC argued that tariffs would increase costs for end consumers, leading to lower demand for products containing semiconductors, reported Focus Taiwan.
According to Focus Taiwan, the country’s government and companies has always been unwilling to raise any voice against the “the Donald Trump administration’s chaotic tariff rollout but the TSMC letter made the case that going through with them would have negative consequences.”
TSMC letter stated that any import measures adopted by the trump’s administration “should not create uncertainties for existing semiconductor investments,” referring to its huge investments in Arizona.
In Arizona, TSMC has currently invested USD 65 billion to build three advanced wafer fabs in Arizona. “The first one has begun mass-producing chips, construction of the second fab is nearly complete, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the third fab last month,” Focus Taiwan reported.
In March the company also planned to invest USD 100 billion in Arizona Project over next few years, to set up three more wafer fabs, two packaging and testing plants and one research and development center.
In the letter, TSMC stated that “tariffs that raise the cost of end consumer products will lower demand for such products and the semiconductor components they contain.” It further added, “Therefore, TSMC respectfully requests that any remedial import measures imposed resulting from this investigation not extend to downstream end products and semi-finished products containing semiconductors.”
Earlier this month, TSMC reported a significant rise in revenue figures for April 2025, attributed to surge in demand for advanced semiconductors.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
PHOENIX — A man who defrauded a University of Arizona fraternity board out of over $500,000 was sentenced recently to five years in prison, officials announced Thursday.
Michael Woolbright, 60, was convicted in April on five counts of fraud and one count of theft, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
His prison sentence will be followed by 30 years of probation. In addition, the AG’s Office said it secured $520,000 in restitution.
How did Michael Woolbright defraud UofA fraternity board?
Woolbright served on the Tucson Delta Chi Alumni Board and controlled its bank account. The board holds the title to a fraternity chapter house on the University of Arizona campus.
Prosecutors said he repeatedly issued unauthorized checks and sent unauthorized wire transfers to himself and his business without the rest of the board’s knowledge.
“If you are an individual or an entity attempting to defraud Arizonans from their hard-earned savings — consider this a warning,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release.
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A Green Valley man is facing a host of charges after allegedly attacking a grocery store employee with a club.
The Sahuarita Police Department said Daniel Kovarik Jr., 42, was arrested Wednesday on several counts of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, criminal damage, and threats and intimidation. He is being held on a $45,000 bond.
The SPD said he also had an unrelated felony arrest warrant.
The SPD said Kovarik went into the grocery store, located in the 18000 block of South Nogales Highway, on Wednesday afternoon and attacked the worker. Kovarik was taken into custody without incident, according to police.
The 70-year-old employee suffered serious injuries, according to the SPD.
The SPD said there is no indication that Kovarik knew the woman before the attack.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 911, 520-445-7847, 520-351-4900, or 520-344-7000.
Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold
Copyright 2025 13 News. All rights reserved.
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