The Chip Hale era at Arizona will officially begin in the same stadium where his professional coaching career ended.
The Wildcats will open the 2022 season playing in the State Farm College Showdown Feb. 18-20 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Globe Life Field is the home of the Texas Rangers, against whom Hale (as bench coach) and the Detroit Tigers were playing in July when he was hired to coach his alma mater.
The UA, coming off a trip to the College World Series, open against Kansas State on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. MT. It faces Oklahoma at 6 p.m. MT Feb. 19 and finishes Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m. MT against Texas Tech.
Arizona beat Oklahoma twice last season en route to winning the Frisco Baseball Classic in Texas. Texas Tech, which was the No. 8 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, features one of the top players in college baseball in infielder Jace Jung.
The rest of Arizona’s 2022 schedule is expected to be released next week. The Wildcats’ home opener is slated for Feb. 24 or 25 at Hi Corbett Field.