Arizona baseball avoids sweep with win over KSU but remains near bottom of Big 12

Arizona had 13 hits — its highest total since March 22 — and got strong relief efforts from Collin McKinney and Garrett Hicks to hold off KSU on a warm, windy afternoon in Tucson.

Arizona improved to 15-24, 6-12 in the Big 12. Kansas State fell to 25-15, 9-9.

KSU is tied for seventh place in the conference. Arizona is tied for 12th. The top 12 teams (out of 14) make the Big 12 Tournament.

“We need to win series,” UA coach Chip Hale said, “if we plan on ... making the tournament, our own tournament, and doing anything.”

Arizona lost the series opener Friday, 2-1, after taking a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning. After KSU tied the score in the top half of the frame, Arizona failed to get a runner home from third with no outs in the bottom half. KSU score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth.

On Saturday, Smith Bailey struck out a career-high 15 batters over six one-hit, shutout innings. But Arizona could manage only one run, and the bullpen yielded 11 runs in the seventh and eighth innings in an 11-1 run-rule defeat.

Arizona took a small step in the right direction Sunday. TJ Adams and Maddox Mihalakis hit solo home runs to spark the offense in the early going. It was the second homer of Adams’ career, the first coming May 7, 2024, at Arizona State. It was the second home run of the season for Mihalakis.

Mihalakis’ blast in the fourth inning pulled Arizona within a run at 4-3. The UA took the lead for good on a two-run error in the fifth.

Nate Novitske, Mihalakis, Cash Brennan, Andrew Cain and Beau Sylvester recorded RBI hits in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Arizona needed all of them as Bear Madliak’s three-run homer off Maclain Roberts trimmed the UA’s lead from 9-4 to 9-7 in the top of the eighth.

Hicks kept it there and recorded a five-out save, his sixth of the season. McKinney earned the win, yielding two runs and striking out six batters over four innings in relief of starter Luc Fladda.

“It was tough conditions to pitch,” Hale said. “(Fladda has) had to do this three or four times now in this hot, wind-blowing-out weather. We had an idea that we weren't going to let him go very long and go to McKinney, and Collin did just a really, really good job for us.”

Arizona continues its homestand with a three-game series vs. BYU (20-18, 9-9) Thursday-Saturday.

Inside pitch

– Adams started in place of Carson McEntire, who fouled a ball off his foot Saturday night. Hale said McEntire could be back for the BYU series.

– Novitkse, Sylvester, Mihalakis, Brennan and Tony Lira had two hits apiece. Lira has a team-best .354 batting average.