OMAHA, Neb.—Arizona was the first team to arrive in Omaha, landing on Tuesday after spending an extra day in North Carolina following a Super Regional that saw the Wildcats take advantage of a huge break to get back to the College World Series.
The UA is also the first to depart the CWS, losing 8-3 to Louisville on Sunday to go 0-2 for the second straight trip. And as fate would have it, breaks going against the Wildcats down the stretch did them in.
“It’s college baseball,” Chip Hale said after leading his alma mater to Omaha in his fourth season in charge. “The ball bounces funky ways. We have to live with it. We got some great breaks along the way, too.”
Our recap from the elimination loss can be found here. Below is what Hale, pitcher Smith Bailey and senior infielders Garen Caulfield and Tommy Splaine said afterward:
Hale on the loss: “Obviously it’s not the way you want it to end. Really the only way you want it to end is to be the champion. We played as hard as we could. We just didn’t play fundamentally sound baseball today. That’s the frustrating thing as a coach and as an instructor of baseball. It got really ugly at the end there. I take the blame for that. I have to have the team better prepared.”
On the 2025 season: “But it doesn’t mean we didn’t have a great season. These kids played until the end. They did everything they could. I’m really proud of them. I’m proud of their families for putting up with me as their surrogate father for this season. And nothing but good things for the Wildcats in the future.”
On the baserunning and defensive miscues: “We just did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic of us during this run. People ask all the time, you were struggling a little bit in the middle of the year, and we played a lot like this. We made a lot of baserunning mistakes. We didn’t execute on bunt plays. Twice they bunted the ball, we didn’t get an out, a rundown. There were so many things.”
On Maddox Mihalakis getting thrown out trying to tag up: “The ball’s in front of him. He knows if he can make it or not. He just made a bad decision.”
On losing for the first time when leading after 7 innings: “It just slowly slipped away. You could see it slipping away, unfortunately, doing everything you can to try to keep the guys positive and keep them with it, but you could see at certain points that there were guys who were starting to, with their own disappointments, let that kind of cloud what was going on in the game.
“And once the tide turned, that’s where Louisville takes advantage of you. They’re really good with the bunting. They’re really good with the baserunning. They put a lot of pressure on you. While we were ahead, we kept them at bay. But you’ve got to give them credit. Once they got the chance, they saw the opening like we did during the other games during the playoffs. They really took advantage of it. So you’ve got to give them credit.”
On Tony Pluta’s performances in Omaha: “It was a little uncharacteristic. We’re using that word a lot, aren’t we? Maybe the 60-some pitches last weekend, it’s tough on a body. It’s a lot of pitches for him. He definitely was not as sharp as he has been. I know those are some bloop hits and all that, but he gets a lot more swing and miss than that.”
On his message to the team afterward: “I hope they can take what they learned in this run. Sometimes losing, not making it to where you want to get to, these things are going to happen. We have guys that are going to play in a World Series in the future. And they’re going to lose the World Series. How do you handle it? We have guys who aren’t going to play another game of baseball. They’re going to have families and be in business. They might be struggling; how are they going to make it so that their family is better, their business is better? And I hope they learn from that.”
On meeting preseason expectations: “It was a great group. They fought. We’ve said it many times—I’ve said it to the media many times—we felt when we started in August, that this team could be in Omaha. And so I’m not surprised we got here, it was a funky way we got here, we didn’t play great at times. We had a lot of learning to do. And we overperformed, underperformed in spots we didn’t think we would.”
On the offseason: “This is the beauty of college baseball. We get to go back, and the guys who are going to leave, they’re going to leave and get drafted. And now we’re going to get a new team and have some fun doing it. We’re going to learn how we played today. I’m going to do my best as the head coach not to let that happen.”
On his experience going 0-2 as a player in 1985 and then winning the title a year later: “I like that. I like the way that went. Obviously we didn’t like ‘85. It was tough. Same deal. We lost a really close game. Then we didn’t play very well against Stanford. Yeah, let’s get back here and see if we can repeat what we did in ‘86 in 2026. But it’s so hard to get here. There’s seven teams left now, and I wish them all luck. They’re great teams. And we’re sorry that we’re not going to be playing anymore. But it’s baseball.”
Bailey on pitching in an elimination game: “It felt the same as every other outing because I do everything the same. I tried to execute my pitches and keep my composure with any hits or anything that happened that didn’t go our way.”
On building off this season: “I’m just going to take from this experience to be a leader for our team next year and try to bring us back next year and hopefully get a little bit of a different result.”
On facing Louisville a second time: “I think they’re just a great hitting team. I think throughout the season they’ve adjusted and just improved throughout the season. I think I had a little bit of an advantage just because I knew what some of the kids could and couldn’t hit. But I could definitely tell that some kids just kind of fought a little bit more, fouled some balls off, hit some grounders. Just a great hitting team. I had a little bit more confidence coming into this outing just knowing that the first game was a little bit successful. So I think that was pretty good.”
On his success as a true freshman: “I think it’s something that everyone can look at, recruits can maybe look at and see that (Kevin) Vance and John (DeRouin) and all the coaches have done a great job with development. Beginning of the season or before the season started, it wasn’t the best. And then John and Vance did a great job helping me improve throughout the season and getting me to where I am today.”
Caulfield on Arizona’s run to the CWS: “I’d say it’s meant everything to Tommy and I and some of the other guys that probably won’t ever play a baseball game again. The last month, being on the road—I think we’ve been home for 24 hours to 36 hours—but I wouldn’t change it for the world. That’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball this last month. I’m super grateful for it.”
On his UA career: “My time as a Wildcat, I had the second-most at-bats in school history behind this guy (Hale) over here. There’s probably no other school I’d want to play for. And I’m super thankful for the staff for keeping me that long.”
On the 8th inning: “Some stuff spirals and we put guys like Tony in tough spots. You could feel the momentum right there when the bases were loaded and everything.”
On what he said to White after his error: “I told Mason just keep your head up; you’re going to get another one. I saw the ground ball that led off the inning, and it was low the whole time and kicked up right at him. Sometimes that happens. I told him just take a deep breath and try to stay in this one because he’s going to get another one.”
On Arizona’s future: “I would say like guys like Smith, and I would say Breyfogle and Cain, it’s going to be a good core group of guys that have a lot of experience in the postseason. And I would just tell them to keep the focus on the team and not get caught up in their own personal stats or whatever is going on because the best teams play together and love one another like we did this year.”
Splaine on his UA career: “I’m just thankful for everyone. All the coaches and staff and everyone that got me here, but especially Chip. We wouldn’t be here without him. I’m just really thankful to be a Wildcat and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
On his message to the younger players coming back: “I just say keep going. All those guys have done a terrific job, especially Bailey. Just stick with it. And I guess the mistakes and challenges that you make, you really do learn from. Garen and I have been here for four years, that’s been a big reason why we got here today, and Chip. Just keep going.”