The Arizona baseball team will not have an opportunity to defend its Big 12 Tournament championship.
The Wildcats were eliminated from any postseason possibilities Friday when they lost 13-1 at Oklahoma State.
Arizona, which had made a program-record five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, will miss the postseason for the first time since 2019. (The postseason was canceled in 2020 because of COVID.)
The Cats needed to sweep the Cowboys to nudge past Texas Tech for the 12th and final spot in next week’s Big 12 tourney after the Red Raiders split a doubleheader at Cincinnati on Friday.
But after winning the series opener in Stillwater 7-4 on Thursday, Arizona was no match for OSU in Game 2. The Cowboys scored five runs in the first inning and three more in the second en route to a run-rule win.
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Arizona coach Chip Hale comes out to talk to the home plate umpire between innings after batter Carson McEntire was called out for running into his own bunt out of the box in the second inning against Kansas State, April 18, 2026, at Hi Corbett Field.
Junior starter Owen Kramkowski lasted just 1⅓ innings, his shortest outing of the season — and possibly the last outing of his UA career. Kramkowski is considered a strong candidate to be selected in this year’s MLB Draft.
Center fielder Carson McEntire provided Arizona’s lone run with a solo homer in the second inning, his team-leading 10th long ball of the season. The Wildcats had a season-low two hits.
Arizona (19-33, 9-20 Big 12) and OSU (35-19, 17-12) conclude the regular season at 10 a.m. MST Saturday.
Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social
Michael Lev
Sports Reporter/Columnist
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