With a travel-heavy road trip on the horizon, it was in the best interests for everyone involved with Arizona to get Tuesday night’s nonconference game against New Mexico State over as quickly as possible.
Then the opponent showed up late because of bus trouble, pushing the start time back 30 minutes, followed by a bullpen implosion that put the prospect of extra innings into play.
Garen Caulfield prevented that with a 2-run single in the bottom of the eighth, giving the UA a 4-2 win over NMSU at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats (23-10) finished their 4-game homestand at 2-2, winning the last two and taking momentum into a trip that begins with day games in Salt Lake City and finishes with nationally televised night tilts on the same field they played the College World Series on last June.