Arizona baseball had won five of its last seven games, which included three road wins, entering Friday evening’s matchup with Kansas State.
Arizona
Weekend wrap: Biggest Arizona stories from June 13-15
PHOENIX — From thousands of people gathering for “No Kings” demonstrations to Phoenix experiencing its first 110-degree temperature day of the year, here are some of the top Arizona news stories from June 13-15.
Sights and sounds: ‘No Kings’ protests gather around Valley against Trump, ICE
Thousands of people gathered for “No Kings” demonstrations on Saturday across the country and Arizona, protesting President Donald Trump.
“No Kings is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from Trump and his allies,” the organization wrote on an event listing for Saturday’s demonstration at the state capitol in Phoenix.
“We’ve watched as they’ve cracked down on free speech, detained people for their political values, threatened to deport American citizens and defied the courts. They’ve done this all while continuing to serve and enrich their billionaire allies.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration was planning for an expensive military parade in Washington D.C. in honor of the Army’s 250th anniversary — the motive for the “No Kings” demonstrations — which coincided with his own birthday.
Gabby Giffords reacts to friend killed in Minnesota ‘politically motivated’ shooting
Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords spoke out about the “politically motivated” shooting in Minnesota that left former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband dead.
“I’m devastated to learn that my friend, Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were killed in last night’s shooting,” Giffords said in a post on X.
Giffords described Hortman as a true public servant and stated the former house speaker dedicated her life to improving Minnesota and making it safer.
The former U.S. representative called Hortman and her husband’s death “a profound loss” for not only those who the two but the entire country.
Phoenix experiences 1st day of 110-plus temperatures, extreme heat in 2025
The city of Phoenix on Saturday endured its first day of 110-degree temperatures this year, according to readings by the National Weather Service.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which NWS uses for official measurements, reached exactly 110 degrees at around 4:35 p.m.
In 2024, Phoenix saw the most days of 110-degree-plus heat in city history at 70. There were also 143 days of 100-plus temperatures and 21 days in a row of daily heat records from September to October.
4 children, 1 adult hospitalized after hazmat situation at pool in Apache Junction
Four children and one adult were hospitalized midday Saturday following a hazmat situation in Apache Junction, authorities said.
The hazmat situation occurred at a pool near Meridian Road and Radiance Avenue, according to Superstition Fire and Medical District.
Superstition Fire and Medical District and multiple agency partners were dispatched to the hazmat call around 11:51 a.m.
Due to the amount of patients involved, it was upgraded to a second-alarm hazmat, authorities said.
Mother who drove pickup truck through park sentenced to 10 years
A mother who drove a pickup truck through a Peoria park full of children was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced on Saturday.
Brandie Gotch, 31, pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault for the incident that occurred in February 2024.
“This could’ve been a much more tragic situation,” Maricopa County Attorney General Rachel Mitchell said in a release. “Thankfully, the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises.
In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
In the first game of the series, Arizona (14-23, 5-11 Big 12) battled in a low-scoring affair but fell short in a 2-1 loss to Kansas State (24-12, 8-8 Big 12). The Wildcats from Tucson held the Wildcats from Manhattan at bay for a good majority of the night.
Given that Kansas State leads the Big 12 in conference play in batting, on-base percentage, and slugging, Arizona had a rather good performance, but it was not enough.
Owen Kramkowski pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the first Kansas State run in the top of the eight. He finished with six strikeouts and kept the high octane Wildcats at bay.
“I thought the defense played well behind him too,” said head coach Chip Hale. “There’s a lot of ground balls, and we made plays where we were positioned in good places, and he was pitching in the eighth inning. That’s unbelievable.”
Garrett Hicks (3-1) came in to try and stop the bleeding for the Wildcats and did so by not allowing Kansas State to take the lead in the eighth. It was in the ninth when the lead was surrendered.
It took until the sixth inning but the first run was scored by Arizona. Andrew Cain singled to left field and after Maddox Mihalakis flew out, it was Beau Sylvester bringing Cain home with a triple through right center field.
Sylvester extended his hitting streak to eight games and it proved to be not enough to get Arizona to the finish line.
Kansas State tied the game at the top of the eight when back to back singles got runners on at first and third. Then a passed ball allowed the third base runner to come home.
Arizona had a chance to retake the lead in the bottom of the ninth after Cain singled to deep right field. With Sylvester back at the plate, it seemed like it was a perfect set up.
A wild pitch nearly got past Kansas State and Cain tried to take advantage of it and steal home. However, Kansas State was able to corral the pitch and get Cain out at home.
AJ Evasco started the ninth inning with a double for Kansas State and back to back fly outs eventually got him home to give Kansas State the lead and the win.
With eight players being left on base, Arizona will need to bring those runners in more often than not if they want to tie the series Saturday afternoon.
As a young team, the Wildcats have had to walk a very tight line between disappointment and dejection and will need to continue handling these losses with grace if it wants to turn a corner.
“It’s the way it goes, it’s baseball,” said Hale. “If we don’t handle it, we will come out tomorrow and won’t be ready to go, so hopefully they handle it.”
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