The Arizona Wildcats’ Big 12 Tournament hopes took a significant hit Friday night, falling 7-4 to Houston in the series opener—a loss that makes a postseason push feel increasingly out of reach.
Entering the weekend at 17-31 overall and 7-18 in conference play, the Wildcats knew they likely needed a sweep of the 21-28 Cougars (5-20 Big 12) to keep their tournament dreams alive. Now, after dropping the first game, they find themselves with little margin for error.
“I’m frustrated,” head coach Chip Hale said afterward. “I told them we’re going to play the right way to the end. I don’t care if we get in the tournament or not. I just want to make sure they understand what winning baseball is.”
On the mound, starter Owen Kramkowski labored through 5.1 innings, surrendering nine hits and all seven runs while striking out just two. But relief pitcher Corey Kling provided a bright spot, coming on to finish the game with four hits allowed and five strikeouts over the final 3.2 innings.
“Wonderful job,” Hale said of Kling’s performance. “We’re in a situation now with Bailey Smith going down and Benton Hickman probably not gonna be able to pitch this weekend, where our bullpen is really short. Kling obviously will be off the rest of the weekend, but it leaves everybody else able to pitch and gave us a chance to win. We still had a chance tonight. So that’s a positive.”
The game’s momentum swung early and often. Houston struck first with a run in the opening frame, but Arizona answered quickly when Andrew Cain scored on a Tony Lira single to knot things up at 1-1.
The Cougars regained the lead in the second inning, aided by a costly error. With a chance to end the inning, Mathis Meurant dropped a routine pop-up, allowing a runner to score all the way from second base. Houston tacked on two more in the third, pushing the lead to 4-1.
To their credit, the Wildcats kept battling. Nate Novistke came home on a Beau Sylvester groundout in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 4-2. But after two scoreless innings from both sides, Houston struck again in the sixth, plating three runs to stretch the lead to 7-2.
Arizona showed signs of life late, finally breaking through after four scoreless frames, but the early damage proved too much to overcome. With the series continuing Saturday, the Wildcats now face a must-win situation to keep any faint tournament hopes alive—and to play the kind of winning baseball Hale is demanding.