Carolina-bound, ‘Minor tweaks’, Power prevention, Less is more, Cookie time

EUGENE, Ore. — After a narrow victory over Oklahoma State on April 13, Arizona coach Chip Hale revealed that he says a prayer before every game.

It’s a moment of self-reflection.

“I’m not a super religious guy,” he said that day. “But every game I say a prayer to help me be as relaxed as I can be and let the players play free. Because I think a lot of times we as coaches cause them to get too much anxiety. So I try my best to just let them be ... who they can be. It’s not easy.”

It’s especially difficult during the postseason when the stakes are at their highest.

Although Arizona ended up winning the Eugene Regional with relative ease — blowing out Utah Valley and Cal Poly after a one-run win over the Mustangs in the regional opener — Hale could sense a heightened level of tension. The Wildcats entered the regional having lost five NCAA Tournament games in a row on Hale’s watch.

“There was some anxiety there,” Hale said after Arizona’s 14-0, regional-clinching triumph over Cal Poly on Sunday night at PK Park. “We got that (first win) out of the way, and things sort of loosened up a little bit for me on a personal basis. I didn’t let the team know that, but those things get to you. ... I’m a human being.

“I didn’t like how it went last year in Tucson, and I didn’t care for how it went in Arkansas (in 2023). I was super proud of these guys. They picked me up. It’s a team game. We’re all in it together.”

Arizona had been 2-6 in regional games under Hale. The Wildcats are now 5-6 and headed to Super Regionals for the first time since 2021.

“The guys just showed up and played their tails off,” Hale said. “I’m super proud of them. It’s never easy to win these. We saw it last year at our own home regional.”

Carolina-bound

About half the team flew home Monday through Las Vegas. During the layover, the Wildcats found out where they’re headed next.

No. 5 national seed North Carolina defeated Oklahoma on Monday afternoon after falling to the Sooners on Sunday night. The Tar Heels captured the Chapel Hill Regional and will host Arizona in a best-of-three Super Regional series starting Friday or Saturday. The schedule will be released Tuesday morning.

North Carolina won the ACC Tournament this season and went to the College World Series last year, its eighth trip to Omaha since 2006.

If Oklahoma had won, Arizona could have hosted the next round. Players surveyed at the Portland airport didn’t seem to care where they were going; they were just happy to keep playing.

‘Minor tweaks’

In typically humble fashion, junior center fielder Aaron Walton downplayed his gargantuan weekend.

Walton broke out of a slump that lasted nearly a month by going 7 for 11 with four home runs and eight RBIs in the final two games of the regional. On Sunday, he became the second Wildcat in as many days to hit three home runs in a game. Mason White did it Saturday.

Given that Walton’s averaged had dropped from .357 on May 2 to .305 after the regional opener, something significant had to have changed, right?

“It’s the same stuff that we’ve been focusing on all season,” Walton said. “Nothing too crazy. Just minor tweaks getting back to that same feel.

“It’s baseball. It’s a hard game.”

Walton hit four of Arizona’s 15 home runs in three games in Eugene. The Wildcats have 20 home runs in six postseason games, or 3.33 per contest. They had 54 during the regular season, averaging one per game.

“We’ve hit the ball hard all season,” Walton said. “This is a very-hitter friendly park. Just continuing to have good at-bats and putting good swings on the ball is what matters. We did a good job this weekend driving the ball and swinging at the right pitches.”

Arizona's Aaron Walton watches the second of his three home runs sail over the wall against Cal Poly in the NCAA Tournament's Eugene Regional on June 1, 2025, at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon.

Power prevention

The conditions in Eugene were conducive to home runs, especially Saturday and Sunday. PK Park has short dimensions and a low wall. The wind was blowing straight out.

None of it affected Arizona’s pitching staff. The Wildcats allowed only one home run in three games. It’s been a season-long strength.

Arizona has surrendered 34 home runs, tied for ninth fewest in the nation. The Wildcats have yielded the fewest among power-conference teams. Virginia is next with 39. The Cats have played 10 more games than the Cavaliers.

“Well, hopefully it stays that way for the rest of the year,” said freshman right-hander Smith Bailey, who threw six scoreless innings Sunday. “We all trust in (pitching coach Kevin) Vance and his pitch-calling. I think it’s the best in the country. We all just go with what he says and throw with 100% conviction with the pitch that is called.”

Hale gave equal credit to Vance’s pitch calls and the pitchers’ execution of them.

“It’s pitch-calling, making quality pitches in and out, up and down, (to) keep the guys off balance,” Hale said. “You’re going to have the occasional one that the guy (Cal Poly’s Cam Hoiland) clips like (Friday) that went out over the left field fence. That probably doesn’t go out at Hi Corbett. So you just have to live with it. If a couple go out, so be it.”

Less is more

Bailey appeared to hit the “freshman wall” in mid-May.

An adjustment helped him break through it.

“The big difference was throwing less fastballs,” Bailey said. “Coach Vance did a great job of going in and looking at the numbers, all of the good and bad outings that the team has had as a whole. All of our good outings, we’ve been below 42% fastball rate. So we went back to that, and the success is coming. I believe that is what got me through that wall.”

Bailey has notched three straight wins — including the clinching games in the Big 12 Tournament and the Eugene Regional — while lowering his ERA from 4.83 to 3.97. He has allowed just two runs over that span.

The Wildcats made sure others could share the fruits of victory on their flight home Monday.

Oreos, actually.

After an announcement that the team was on board, UA equipment manager Frankie Manca walked up and down the aisle passing out Oreos.

A Southwest flight attended seemed to know the drill when it came to accommodating a baseball team.

“Hopefully everyone remembered their mitts,” she said.