ARLINGTON, Texas – No. 4 seed Arizona defeated third-seeded TCU, 2-1, in dramatic fashion on Saturday night at Globe Life Field to win the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship. After conceding a run to TCU in the first inning, Arizona tied the game with a home run from left fielder Andrew Cain in the top of the ninth. Third baseman Maddox Mihalakis drove in the game-winning run for the Wildcats with a single in the 10^th inning.
 
Arizona won the Conference title in its first season as a Big 12 member, marking the first time since the conference’s inaugural season that a newcomer has claimed the title in its first year of competition.
 
The Wildcats used a quartet of arms to limit the Horned Frogs to just one run on six hits while issuing only one walk and striking out nine. Starter Smith Bailey was spelled by Casey Hintz after 5.1 innings. Hintz, Garret Hicks and Tony Pluta combined to close out the game with Pluta picking up the win after throwing a scoreless ninth and tenth inning.
 
The win is Arizona’s second of the season when trailing the ninth inning. Saturday’s 10-inning thriller also marked the sixth extra-inning finale in the history of the Big 12 Baseball Championship and the first since 2011.
 
Noah Franco’s fourth RBI of the tournament put the Horned Frogs on the board in the first inning, earning All-Tournament Team honors alongside teammates Cole Cramer, Jack Bell, Sawyer Strosnider and Tommy LaPour.
 
Arizona threatened the Frogs’ lead in the third inning with bases loaded and only one out. TCU called on senior Gianluca Shinn out of the bullpen who would retire back-to-back Wildcats to close the frame.
 
The Wildcats threatened with runners on second and third with only one out in the sixth and eighth innings, but TCU left Braeden Sloan worked out of both jams.
 
Arizona receives the Big 12's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, making the NCAA Tournament in each of head coach Chip Hale’s four seasons in Tucson. Full selections for the field will be revealed Monday, May 26, at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
 
2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team
C: Jack Natili, Cincinnati
1B: Brady Ballinger, Kansas
2B: Cole Cramer, TCU
3B: Maddox Mihalakis, Arizona
3B: Jack Bell, TCU
SS: Mason White, Arizona
OF: Brandon Summerhill, Arizona
OF: Noah Franco, TCU
OF: Kyle West, West Virginia
DH: Sawyer Strosnider, TCU
SP: Tommy LaPour, TCU
SP: Griffin Kirn, West Virginia
RP: Tony Pluta, Arizona
 
Most Outstanding Player:
Mason White, Arizona
 
A tie resulted in an extra third baseman on the All-Tournament Team