In joining a new conference this season, Arizona found itself playing at several ballparks it was unfamiliar with. The Wildcats’ first Big 12 road trip was to West Virginia’s Kendrick Family Ballpark, later visiting fields at BYU, Texas Tech and Houston that hadn’t previously been on the schedule.
Each of those artificial turf surfaces took some getting used to, as did the outfield dimensions and stadium sightlines. Maybe not surprisingly, Arizona lost the first game of three of those series at new parks.
But when the UA arrives at PK Park in Eugene for its pre-NCAA Tournament practice on Thursday morning it won’t be the same experience. Arizona played a 3-game series at Oregon in 2024, when both teams were in the Pac-12, and another in 2022 that gives three Wildcat seniors double the familiarity.
“I feel like I’ve been there 10 times,” joked senior Garen Caulfield, who has played in six games at PK Park. “We’re really familiar with it. It’s turf. The weather is going to be great … and it’s just a fun place to play. It’s going to be an electric environment, we’re going to have to be ready for it.”
Of the 40 players on Arizona’s 2025 roster, 13 have played in at least one game in Eugene. That includes eight of the nine likely to be in the batting order as well as four of the top relievers.
The team success hasn’t been there—Arizona is 1-5 at PK Park in its last two trips, winning the last game—but some individuals have done well. Brendan Summerhill is 6 for 14 with eight RBI, driving in seven in the 15-4 win at Oregon last March that included a grand slam, while Mason White has homered there and seniors Caulfield and Tommy Splaine are a combined 14 of 43 with seven runs scored.
Senior left-hander Eric Orloff, whose 87 career appearances are tied for 5th-most in school history, threw in three games in Eugene while Casey Hintz got into two and both Matthew Martinez and Tony Pluta one.
Don’t think familiarity with a baseball field is valuable? Arizona began the 2024 season at Globe Life Field in Arlington, losing all three games by a combined score of 31-7. Three months later it won the Big 12 Tournament title on the same surface.
Down time in Texas led to fashion statements
When Arizona began play in the Big 12 tourney on Thursday there was a different look to some players. The number of mustaches on the roster—and coaching staff—had increased, with at least one lip sweater a different color than normal, and Splaine had buzzed off most of his blonde locks while brightening them.
“My girlfriend helped me with it a little bit, but I’ve been wanting to do it for a while,” Splaine said. “It’s just kind of something I felt like I could do for playoffs, and I couldn’t really do the mustache right then and there. So I wanted to do something.”
Arizona spent 11 days in the Lone Star State, finishing the regular season at Houston before bussing to Arlington for the Big 12 tourney. They had four days off between games, and other than practices or team meals there was a lot of free time. Reliever Garrett Hicks dyed his handlebar mustache black, making him look like a villain from a Western, while pitching coach Kevin Vance grew out a horseshoe that could be prominently seen when he made mound visits.
There was also a much livelier dugout during the conference tourney, with the return of the bananas that first popped up late last season but also a variety of accessories built out of disposable cups. That and other things were the brainchild of redshirt sophomore outfielder TJ Adams, whom Caulfield said has been “rallying the troops” since Arizona dropped the opener at Houston on May 15 for its fifth loss in six games.
“I wouldn’t call that rock bottom for the season, but it felt … we’re like, dang, are we even going to make a regional?,” Caulfield said. “Like, what’s going on? We’re supposed to host one day, and then now it’s like, we’re on the bubble. I give total credit to TJ Adams for putting together something. It’s something new each game, we’ll talk out in the outfield, like, I’m sure you guys see, full credit goes to him for that.”
Game 1 starters confirmed
As expected, sophomore right-hander Owen Kramkowski (8-5, 5.03) will start for Arizona against Cal Poly on Friday. The Mustangs will counter with sophomore righty Griffin Naess (7-2, 3.38).
Kramkowski is coming off a stellar performance against BYU in the Big 12 quarterfinals, allowing four hits with one walk and a career high-tying eight strikeouts over six shutout innings. That was part of a strong of five consecutive strong games by UA starters, who during the 5-game win streak have an 0.96 ERA.
It’s presumed that senior righty Raul Garayzar (2-0, 2.18) would start the second game on Saturday, with freshman righty Smith Bailey (2-3, 4.31) starting the next one if Arizona is still alive. It’s a double elimination format and, depending on how things go, the Wildcats could play five games in four days.
“Obviously, the perfect way to do it is win three in a row, and have our three starters pitch, but it could be that we’re going to need five starters,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “That’s going to be different for us, so we’re going to find out maybe some different guys are gonna have to pitch if we get in that spot.”
Garayzar has been tremendous since moving into the weekend rotation, allowing one run in 10.2 innings. He replaced redshirt sophomore righty Collin McKinney, whose control issues had first moved him out of the Friday slot and then the rotation altogether, but in the 12-1 win over West Virginia he threw the final two innings and didn’t not walk or hit anyone.
McKinney is one of six other pitchers who have started a game for Arizona this season but most of the others aren’t expected to be on the 27-man postseason roster. If the Wildcats were to play a fifth game in the regional it would likely be a bullpen approach.