Arizona baseball needs to upset Oklahoma State — and get help — to make Big 12 Tournament

“We put ourselves in a pretty bad spot,” UA coach Chip Hale said.

Despite countless injuries and other issues, Arizona had a chance to win about a half-dozen more games than it has — with the latest example coming in the middle game of the final home series of 2026 vs. Houston.

Although the Wildcats bounced back to beat the Cougars on Sunday, the damage already had been done. Arizona will need something close to a miracle to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament, which begins May 19 at Surprise Stadium.

The coaches and players aren’t thinking about it that way, though. They’re laser-focused on the first game of the final regular-season series Thursday at Oklahoma State.

“All we can worry about is going pitch by pitch,” said freshman catcher Joe Forbes, who hit his first career home run to put Arizona ahead in Sunday’s 6-5 victory. “We can't control 10 pitches from now or three games from now.”

Twelve of the 14 conference schools that play baseball qualify for the Big 12 Tournament. Arizona sits in 13th place at 8-19, one game behind Texas Tech (9-18) and two behind Kansas State (10-17).

Because they lost two of three against both, the Wildcats would have to finish ahead of Tech or K-State to make the tournament. To pass the Red Raiders, Arizona would need to win two of three at OSU and hope Tech gets swept at Cincinnati (or sweep OSU and hope Tech loses two of three). To pass the Manhattan Wildcats, Arizona would need two sweeps — its own and one by UCF over KSU.

It’s not inconceivable that Tech and/or KSU will struggle in their final series. Cincinnati (15-12) and UCF (17-10) are both projected to make the NCAA Tournament.

The bigger question is whether Arizona can hold up its end of the bargain. The Wildcats’ longest winning streak this season is three games (March 6-8 vs. Fresno State), and they’ve won only one Big 12 series (at TCU).

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (16-11) just took two of three at Arizona State and has won nine of its past 11. The Cowboys are 20-5 at home, while the Wildcats are 4-11 on the road.

But as far as the Cats are concerned, all those factoids are just clutter. All they can control is their performance when the first pitch is thrown in Stillwater.

“The best thing we can do is go win (Thursday),” senior third baseman Maddox Mihalakis said. “We know we're going to have to play good ball all weekend.

“Setting the tone early on Thursday is the goal. I think that's something that we're fully capable of, and I'd love to see us do it.”

Mihalakis’ moment

It’s been a difficult season for Mihalakis. A starter on last year’s College World Series team, Mihalakis started 4 for 50 and hasn’t fully recovered.

He came through in the 12th inning Saturday night, tripling into the right-field corner to drive in the tying run with one out. But Arizona couldn’t get pinch-runner Jackson Forbes home, one of several such failures with a runner on third base and less than two outs. Houston scored two runs in the 13th inning to win 7-5.

Mihalakis got another opportunity Sunday, and he delivered again. Mihalakis drove in the tying run in the seventh inning with a double into the left-field corner. This time Arizona prevailed as Joe Forbes provided the go-ahead run in the eighth.

“Very gratifying,” Hale said of Mihalakis’ pair of RBI hits. “I told the team, ‘We gotta play our hearts out these last three games. I don't want you to let this season drag you down. What's happened has happened.’ I feel like sometimes, especially when guys are seeing the end of their careers here at the U of A, it starts to weigh on you too much.”

Mihalakis acknowledged that this season has been hard. Although he’s second on the team with 28 RBIs, Mihalakis is hitting just .211.

“It's obviously frustrating,” Mihalakis said. “You can't put it any other way. That's just how it's been.

“But also, that's sometimes how it goes with the game. It's just baseball sometimes.

“The only thing I've been doing is just continuously putting my best foot forward, still working as hard as I can, being out here and trying to do better every day. That's about it.”

Mihalakis was grateful to have parents Jason and Jessica on hand for Senior Night on Saturday. Eleven Wildcats in all participated.

Jessica was one of 19 moms to simultaneously throw out a ceremonial first pitch before Sunday’s Mother’s Day matinee.

‘Elevate/celebrate’

Joe Forbes was an unlikely hero Sunday. He had just one hit in 10 at-bats when he stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

After falling behind 1-2, Forbes fouled off three pitches (four in total during the at-bat) and worked the count to 3-2 before smashing a fastball from Caleb Kimble over the left-field wall.

“I had a rough day before that, so I went into that at-bat with a new approach, trying to change things up a little bit,” Forbes said. “He was fastball/slider to me only, and every slider he threw was either yanked or in the dirt. So after fouling off about five or six, it was just sit on fastball, be on time and elevate/celebrate.”

Forbes followed older brother Jackson to Arizona from Glendale’s Mountain Ridge High School. Joe Forbes was Perfect Game’s No. 1 catcher and No. 6 overall prospect from the state in the class of 2025.

He has played sparingly this season behind veterans Beau Sylvester and Roman Meyers but could use Sunday’s breakthrough at-bat as a springboard. Forbes will play for the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League this summer.

“I don't feel surprised that that happened for a guy like Joe,” Mihalakis said. “He works hard. He has a great mindset. He's a great team guy. If you listen in on the bench, you'll always hear him cheering our guys on. You always see him out talking to all the guys. So it couldn't happen to a better person in that situation.”

Inside pitch

– After mostly struggling as a reliever this season, right-hander Evan Brandt made his first UA start Sunday and pitched well. Brandt scattered three hits and a walk over five scoreless innings. “That’s what he did in junior college,” Hale said of Brandt, who was a JC All-American at Weatherford (Texas) College. “He was a good starter, a sinker-baller, and he did exactly that today. Will we start him this next week? We’ll see. We’ll see what we look like health-wise. But it might be something for next year, (that) he really vies for a starting rotation spot.”

– After reliever Matthew Martinez couldn’t get an out in the sixth, senior left-hander Patrick Morris picked him up and finished the game. Morris was not charged with a run over four innings, one day after failing to retire any of the five batters he faced. “That's what I told him when I went out there (Saturday),” Hale said. “I said, ‘Listen, you're gonna be in there tomorrow, so let's go get rid of this thing and get right.’ That's the life of a reliever, right? The best closers in the game blow games and come back the next day and get wins.”

– Sylvester went 2 for 3 Sunday and has hit safely in 20 of 21 games. Sylvester, who spent his first three seasons at Oklahoma State, is batting .345 overall and .379 in Big 12 play.

– Center fielder Carson McEntire went 5 for 7 over the final two games against Houston to raise his average to .230, the highest it’s been since March 13. McEntire leads the team with nine home runs and 31 RBIs.