After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Arizona fell behind 4-1 before rallying with four in the fifth and three in the seventh to win 8-5 at Arizona State on Friday night. The win is the fourth consecutive for Arizona over Arizona State, dating back to the 2024 season.
Aaron Walton put Arizona on the board with a solo home run in the first inning. Arizona State answered with a double by Nu'u Contrades to score Landon Hairston to tie the game. The Sun Devils scored one in the third inning and two in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead.
Arizona started the comeback in the fifth inning with a Maddox Mihalakis two-run single to cut the deficit to 4-3. A Tommy Splaine single scored Adonys Guzman to tie the game and Mathis Meurant added another single to put Arizona in front 5-4. Arizona State wasn't finished.
Jacob Tobias doubled home Contrades to tie the game at five and slow the Arizona momentum. The game remained tied at five through the end of six innings. Mihalakis left no doubt with a HR deep over the right field fence that also scored Guzman and put Arizona in front 7-5. A Gunner Geile triple scored Meurant to make it 8-5.
Game won 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UsyB7k6eMV
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) April 5, 2025
Arizona State left a runner in the seventh and eighth innings before going down in order in the ninth to give Arizona the 8-5 win. Guzman finished with four hits and two runs scored and Mihalakis had four RBIs for Arizona. Casey Hintz earned the win in 3.2 innings in relief. Garrett Hicks pitched two scoreless inings for his second save.
The win stopped an Arizona slide of three losses in its previous four games. Arizona is at Arizona State again on Saturday with a 6:30 MST first pitch on ESPN+. The final game of the series is on Sunday at 5 PM MST on ESPN2. Arizona returns home on Tuesday to host New Mexico State.