Arizona baseball’s season ends with 8-3 loss to Louisville in College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Baseball's run in Omaha came to a close Sunday morning after an eighth-inning collapse sent the Wildcats home as the first team eliminated from the 2025 College World Series.

Leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth, Arizona gave up six runs to Louisville, four of them unearned, after a pair of costly defensive miscues. The Wildcats ultimately fell 8-3 in the elimination game at Charles Schwab Field.

Shortstop Mason White, typically steady on defense, opened the eighth with a rare error that allowed Jake Munroe to reach safely.

From there, Louisville's lineup took advantage. With the bases loaded, Zion Rose blooped a two-run single down the right-field line to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead, their first of the game.

Kamau Neighbors followed with an RBI single to make it 5-3. Then came a bizarre sequence: With Garret Pike caught in a rundown between third and home, pitcher Tony Pluta dropped the ball at the plate, allowing another run to score.

Alex Alicea laid down a safety squeeze to score Neighbors, and Matt Klein capped the six-run frame with a single to left, pushing it to 8-3.

Arizona tried to rally in the ninth, putting two runners on with one out, but Adonys Guzman's flyout to center ended the season.

The Wildcats started hot, scoring two in the first. Guzman drove in Aaron Walton with a single, and Garen Caulfield followed with an RBI single of his own. Guzman later launched a solo homer in the third, his ninth of the season, to extend Arizona's lead to 3-1.

Freshman starter Smith Bailey turned in a quality outing, pitching six innings and giving up two runs on seven hits. He struck out four and left with the lead. Garrett Hicks was charged with the loss after giving up the go-ahead runs in the eighth.

Arizona had a chance to add on in the sixth after putting two on with one out, but a failed bunt and a double play on a fly ball ended the threat.

The loss marks a tough end to a strong season. The Wildcats won the Big 12 Tournament in their first year in the conference, swept the Eugene Regional, and battled through a three-game Super Regional to earn their first trip to Omaha under head coach Chip Hale.

Despite the early exit, Arizona showed resilience and promise in a season that brought the program back to the national stage.