Arizona is midway through its fall practice season, which has so far featured numerous intrasquad scrimmages at Hi Corbett Field. But Thursday night brought a completely different atmosphere.
The Wildcats made their fifth appearance at the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, a four-day event at Kino Stadium featuring preseason competition for six teams from the Mexican Pacific League. For the second consecutive year, Arizona came out victorious, defeating the Naranjeros de Hermosillo 7-1.
“This was kind of a free game for us,” said UA coach Chip Hale, who now holds a 2-1-1 record in the Fiesta. “It’s a great game. There’s a huge crowd, and it’s distracting.”
In addition to facing a team of professional players, many with Major League or high-level minor league experience, Arizona’s roster of 18- to 23-year-olds used wood bats instead of the metal ones typically used in their games. Adding to the unique environment, multiple concerts were taking place near the field, and recorded music played between pitches.
“It’s something that throws (newcomers) off a bit, but they look forward to it,” Hale said. “When they get into school, the older guys tell them, this is going to be a fun experience.”
Despite the distractions, Arizona took control in the 6th inning when third baseman Maddox Mihalakis hit a solo home run to right. The rising junior, who had only three homers in 184 plate appearances last season, hit eight homers and drove in 61 runs over the summer while batting .429 in the Northwoods League.
“I kept it consistent over the summer, avoiding the highs and lows,” Mihalakis said. “I focused on getting one or two hits each day instead of overthinking it.”
Mihalakis was one of eight returning starters in Arizona’s lineup, signaling the veteran presence of the 2025 team. The lineup featured four seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores, with the only newcomer being Samford transfer Aaron Walton.
“This helps build culture,” Mihalakis added. “We have a lot of returning guys from last year’s strong team, plus some great new talent. It’s exciting to see how we develop this fall and into the spring.”
Arizona sealed the win with a five-run 9th inning, scoring on just three hits and four walks. Freshmen Nate Novitske and Kade Thompson each drove in two runs with pinch-hit singles.
Nine pitchers took the mound for Arizona, five of whom are new to the team. Jack Berg, a left-hander from Tacoma Community College, was the only pitcher to give up a run, and even that was unearned. Overall, the pitching staff allowed just four hits.
Arizona will have to replace its entire weekend rotation after all three starters were drafted in July. The team returns only seven pitchers who appeared in games last season.
“They’ve looked really good,” Hale said. “We’ve got some power arms and some guys with excellent stuff. One-inning looks are nice, but we’ll need some of these guys to go more than one inning.”
Arizona’s fall exhibition schedule continues on October 12 against Pima College at Hi Corbett Field, and concludes on October 18 with a home game against Central Arizona.
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