7 thoughts, observations and notes on a weekend of baseball in Tucson | Michael Lev

Baseball sandwiched Arizona’s football game at West Virginia. First, the inaugural “Sonoran Series” game between the Wildcats and Naranjeros de Hermosillo at Hi Corbett Field. Then, the long-awaited Arizona Fall League doubleheader at Kino Stadium.

Here are seven thoughts, observations and notes from 20-plus innings of baseball:

Fiesta at Hi C

The Sonoran Series was an undeniable hit. The energy was palpable. A total of 7,053 tickets were distributed. I’m not sure that many people were in attendance, but that’s a stunning number. The UA has had only three larger crowds for games at Hi Corbett: two NCAA Tournament games and a regular-season contest against ASU.

Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos performed behind home plate before the game, including superb renditions of the Mexican and U.S. national anthems. UA men’s basketball players signed autographs and threw T-shirts into the crowd. (I’ve never seen a more enthusiastic T-shirt thrower than freshman Caleb Holt.)

Gil Heredia and Tommy Lloyd threw out ceremonial first pitches. Terry Francona watched the game from the first-base-side box seats. Former Wildcat Cesar Salazar, playing for Hermosillo, was introduced and received a warm round of applause.

The plan is to make this an annual accompaniment to the Mexican Baseball Fiesta. To which I say: ¡Vamos!

Progress at the plate

As for the play on the field, Arizona performed much better than in its MBF matchup with Hermosillo. The Wildcats had two errors in the first two innings before settling into the game and playing clean baseball.

The battle-every-pitch approach that new hitting coach Jack Meggs is trying to instill seems to be sticking. UA batters continued to work walks and get hits with either two strikes, two outs or both.

Outfielder Carson McEntire had two RBI hits that exemplified that plan of attack. One was a line-drive triple down the right-field line — his opposite field. The other was a bouncer up the middle on a breaking ball that McEntire reached for and simply put into play.

McEntire and his teammates didn’t do that enough last season. Arizona had the lowest on-base percentage in the Big 12. McEntire, a transfer from Oregon State, had a team-high 63 strikeouts in 171 at-bats.

I was also impressed with freshman pitchers Tommy Pascanu and Quinn O’Rourke. Pascanu, one of only two left-handers on the staff, displayed a competitive demeanor on the mound. O’Rourke threw a ton of sharp-breaking sliders. How much they contribute this season remains to be seen.

Mason’s mission

Making more contact and better swing decisions is an ongoing challenge for former Wildcat Mason White, one of four players with local ties who participated in the AFL doubleheader.

White seemed frustrated when he spoke to us after Game 1. He had just gone 0 for 4 in his first game back in his hometown since the spring of 2025.

Baseball is an incredibly difficult sport, and it only gets harder the higher you go. White, Boston’s fourth-round pick in the ’25 MLB Draft, advanced to double-A in his first full professional season. He had 18 home runs and a .351 on-base percentage across two stops.

“It's a different game,” said White, who played shortstop for the Mesa Solar Sox and helped turn two double plays. “You're facing the best players in the world. It's not college.”

I’ve seen many phenomenal college hitters flame out in the pros over a decade-plus covering UA baseball. Will White ever wear the Boston uniform he donned Saturday in an MLB game?

The odds are stacked against him. But White is a grinder. He’ll put in the work. That will give him a chance.

Back where it started

White conducted his postgame interview alongside Cade McGee. The two were teammates at Salpointe Catholic High School.

McGee was in good spirits after going 1 for 2 with a walk for the Peoria Javelinas and doing so in front of a large cheering section behind the first-base dugout. How many people came to see and support him?

“Shoot, I'd say probably 50,” said McGee, St. Louis’ ninth-round pick in the ’24 draft after playing at Gonzaga and Texas Tech. “A lot of my family, friends, so really cool. I haven't really played that close to home in recent years, so I think they were really excited to come out.”

McGee is married and lives in the Dallas area. He’s been playing ball all over the country since 2021, so getting to play a game in Tucson — specifically at Kino — was a big deal.

“I grew up coming to the Tucson Padres’ games,” McGee said. “Actually, I have an Anthony Rizzo signed ball and bat. I remember being above the bullpen and heckling the bullpen catcher, asking him for a ball. There was a home run hit, and it took one bounce and went over the fence. He told me to go get it.”

Imagine being that kid ... and 15 years later playing in that same ballpark as a professional against your former high school teammate. Really cool indeed.

‘Something in the air’

Neither a 30-minute lightning delay nor getting hit in the foot by a pitch could dampen Brendan Summerhill’s enthusiasm about returning to Tucson.

“Super special,” said the former UA outfielder, whom Tampa Bay selected with the 42nd overall pick in the ’25 draft. “We were talking about it on the ride down. Just being back here is so fun. I feel it. Tucson’s got something in the air.”

Summerhill — who caught a ceremonial first pitch from UA coach Chip Hale — played a familiar brand of ball. He led off against flame-throwing Nationals prospect Jarlin Susana and reached base four times, including a double, a single and a walk. Summerhill scored four runs and stole two bases.

Summerhill was more of a table-setter than a slugger at Arizona, and that has continued in the Rays organization. He has five home runs in 359 minor-league at-bats but has stolen 29 bases in 35 attempts.

“The big thing about the Rays is they want you to be good at what you're good at,” Summerhill said of an organization that’s renowned for its player development. “I've obviously never played for other orgs, but from what I've heard, they try to teach kind of blueprint things to all hitters, and that's not how the Rays are. It's very personal to the player.

“They want me to hit singles, hit doubles, run the bases hard, go play stellar defense. ... The Rays do a very good job of providing an environment for young players to learn, and that's the most important thing right now.”

Tampa has taken three Wildcats in the past four drafts: right-hander TJ Nichols (2023), Summerhill (’25) and righty Owen Kramkowski (’26).

Demetrio’s dream

Summerhill’s Scottsdale Scorpions faced the Salt River Rafters, who started Demetrio Crisantes at second base.

Crisantes is the top-rated prospect in the Diamondbacks’ organization. They drafted him out of Nogales High School in 2022. Crisantes ascended to Triple-A last season and could be on the verge of making the majors.

Like McGee, Crisantes had a huge cheering section on hand. It felt as if half of Nogales was sitting behind the third-base dugout.

“I got a lot of support and love, and I really felt it today,” Crisantes said. “It was awesome to come back to Tucson and play.

“I felt butterflies in my stomach — kind of like, ‘Wow, a lot of people are here.’ ”

Crisantes spent quality time with his support group after the game. Sarah Hanna, director of the Kino Sports Complex, said she “almost teared up” watching Crisantes take pictures with friends and family members for about 45 minutes.

Crisantes often dreamt of playing for the Diamondbacks. He’s gotten to wear their gear in the Arizona Fall League.

“I don't want to take it off,” he said. “It just gives me a little more motivation to get to the big leagues soon.”

Delayed gratification

Hanna loves a good rainstorm, as any Tucsonan should. But she also concedes that “sometimes it’s the bane of my existence.”

Inclement weather wiped out last year’s scheduled AFL tripleheader, and it threatened Saturday’s doubleheader.

With the possibility of rain in the forecast, the AFL asked that the games start an hour earlier. Hanna gladly obliged.

There was one lightning delay, as mentioned, and it sprinkled at times during Game 2. But they got both games in. Hanna and her staff finally could exhale.

“Definitely relieved,” she told me Monday.

To help put AFL officials at ease, Hanna arranged to have Glenn Lader, the lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tucson, in the press box providing real-time updates. I’m a becoming-your-parents-level weather-app checker. This took it to a different plane.

The weather undoubtedly impacted attendance, which was announced as 705 patrons. But the AFL average entering Saturday was just 390, Hanna said. So the league considered that a win. So did Hanna, who’s hopeful that MLB will bring more events to Tucson after Kino again showed it’s more than capable of hosting.

“Now that they know we can do this,” she said, “it’s these baby steps developing our relationship with MLB after they went away and figuring out how we lean into it.”