Arizona baseball drops final series to Oklahoma State, shifts gears to offseason

The UA dropped its season finale 7-5 at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Wildcats lost the series, two games to one, and finished 19-34 — their most losses in a season since 1995 (35).

Arizona’s 9-21 Big 12 record was its worst league mark since 2014, when the Wildcats went 9-21 in the Pac-12.

Arizona was eliminated from the postseason Friday after falling 13-1 to OSU in seven innings. Earlier in the day, Texas Tech defeated Cincinnati. The Red Raiders would split a doubleheader, meaning the Wildcats needed to sweep the Cowboys to secure the 12th and final spot in the Big 12 Tournament.

Instead, Arizona — which was picked to finish second in the league after winning the conference tourney last year and advancing to the College World Series — lost a Big 12 series for the ninth time in 10 tries. The Wildcats will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. They had made five consecutive appearances, including four in a row under Chip Hale.

Arizona suffered multiple injuries along the way, losing two projected starting position players and several pitchers. Hale and his staff were forced to rely on freshmen more than they planned.

Hale now heads into the offseason looking to retool the roster. The transfer portal for baseball opens June 1.

Hale started four senior position players Saturday, and all of them got hits.

DH Dom Rodriguez went 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. TJ Adams went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Maddox Mihalakis went 1 for 3 with an RBI. And Mathis Meurant went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Junior Andrew Cain also had two hits for the Wildcats, going 2 for 4 with two runs scored.

Arizona led 3-1 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, when OSU (36-19, 8-12) scored six runs. Four were charged to right-hander Collin McKinney, two to lefty Patrick Morris.

Morris was among three seniors to pitch Saturday. Matthew Martinez threw a scoreless seventh inning. Garrett Hicks put up a zero in the eighth.

Arizona won the series opener 7-4 on Thursday, rallying from a 4-3 deficit with a run in the eighth inning and three in the ninth.

Meurant went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. Senior left-hander Luc Fladda matched his season high with 11 strikeouts in seven innings.