EUGENE, Ore. – The Arizona Wildcats,known for their unique offensive strategy tailored to their home field at Hi Corbett Field,unleashed an unexpected power surge Saturday night. In a stunning display of hitting, arizona crushed a school-record eight home runs, propelling them to a 14-4 victory over utah Valley in the NCAA Tournament at PK Park.

A Power Surge in Eugene

Typically, Arizona’s approach focuses on generating triples and doubles, a strategy that has seen them lead the nation in triples this season. However,the smaller dimensions of PK Park,combined with favorable wind conditions,transformed the Wildcats into a home run hitting juggernaut.

Mason White’s Historic Performance

Leading the charge was Mason White,who etched his name into Arizona baseball history with a remarkable three-home run performance.White homered in his first three at-bats, including a 2-run shot off the right field foul pole in the first inning. His subsequent blasts in the third and fourth innings marked the ninth three-homer game in school history and the first in postseason play.

White finished the game 4-for-5 with a double, tying Dave Stegman’s school record of 110 extra-base hits from 1973-76.

We saw the wind when we got here,saw it in BP,and then nothing changed.We just hit like how we hit. And you see in Hi Corbett, it really doesn’t help out the wind blowing in, but playing in a park like this it really shows.
Mason White

White’s stellar performance increased his season home run total to 18, with nine of those coming in May.

A Team Effort

While White stole the show, he wasn’t alone in contributing to the home run barrage. Tommy Splaine, brendan Summerhill, Aaron Walton, Adonys Guzman, and Garen Caulfield also went yard. Caulfield’s opposite-field shot in the eighth inning broke the previous school record set in 2001 against Washington State.

They hit eight home runs, and they didn’t hit eight cheap home runs.
Nate Rasmussen, Utah Valley Coach

Arizona’s offense exploded for 19 hits, including a school-record 14 extra-base hits. This offensive outburst was a welcome change after scoring only five runs on eight hits in the previous two games.

Coaching Strategy and Early Innings

Arizona coach Chip Hale emphasized a simple approach before the game, encouraging his players to focus on making solid contact.

We actually talked about it before we left the hotel, just get our best swing off. Get our best swing off, hit low, hard contact. sometimes people think you’re trying to hit the ball in the air. They’re not, they’re trying to hit low line drives, and they end up going a long way.
Chip Hale, Arizona Coach

White’s first homer gave Raul garayzar an early 2-0 lead, but Utah Valley quickly responded, tying the game in the bottom of the first. However, Arizona regained the lead in the second and never looked back.

Pitching and Defense

After Garayzar’s early struggles, Casey Hintz and Michael Hilker Jr. provided crucial relief. Hintz threw three scoreless innings, inducing seven ground ball outs. Hilker Jr. closed out the game with three shutout innings and seven strikeouts, earning the save.The UA bullpen allowed just one hit over six innings.

You look at the scoreboard, I think at the time it was 7-2. At the time, it’s just get outs, get ground balls, turn a double play, just minimize what’s going on. All you can do is minimize, go pitch by pitch, and just don’t let them get more damage.
Casey Hintz

Looking Ahead

The Wildcats (41-18) advance to the Eugene Regional final Sunday night. They await the winner of the elimination game between Utah Valley (33-28) and Cal Poly (42-18). A single victory will send Arizona to their first Super Regional as 2021.

Mission hasn’t changed.
Mason White