One of the worst seasons in school history is mercifully over.
Arizona lost 7-5 at Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon, dropping the final two games of the series after winning the opener. It will not be able to defend its Big 12 Conference Tournament title, finishing 13th out of 14 teams and missing next week’s tourney in Surprise.
The Wildcats finish with a 19-34 record, its most losses since 1995, the final season of legendary coach Jerry Kindall’s tenure. The 9-21 conference mark is the most since 2014,
which was also the last season with a losing record.
The UA led 3-1 in the 4th inning before Oklahoma State (36-19, 18-12) erupted for six runs including a pair of home runs. The Cowboys, who have 136 homers on the season, hit eight in the series including four in Friday’s 13-1 win.
Arizona got within 7-5 in the 5th on a 2-run homer by senior Dom Rodriguez, who drove in three runs, and had the tying run at the plate in the 8th and 9th but couldn’t make the comeback.
TJ Adams, Andrew Cain and Mathis Meurant each had two hits while Tony Lira had a double to up his hit total to 74, fourth-most by a UA freshman since the team moved to Hi Corbett Field in 2012.
Arizona will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, ending a run of five consecutive trips, its longest streak since Frank Sancet led the Wildcats to 14 in a row from 1950-63.
