Tony Lira continues to be a bright spot amid a dreary season for Arizona baseball even at poorly lit Brazell Field in Phoenix.
The UA squandered a four-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose 9-8 at Grand Canyon on Tuesday night. In a season full of painful losses, it might have been the most excruciating one of all.
Lira, meanwhile, kept doing his thing. The redshirt freshman went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Lira brings a five-game hitting streak into this weekends series at Kansas and has hit safely in eight of nine games. He leads the Wildcats in batting average (.360), on-base percentage (.443), slugging percentage (.537), hits (63) and doubles (14).
His approach at the plate is very mature, UA coach Chip Hale said. He takes his hits to right. He works counts.
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Arizona's Tony Lira celebrates his first career triple, a drive off the right-center-field wall in the ninth inning at Grand Canyon on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
Lira plays with flair but has something of an old-school batting style. The powerful right-handed hitter stands close to the plate and chokes up slightly on his bat.
Hes adept at hitting with two strikes and can take the ball to all fields. His double at GCU was hit down the third-base line; his first career triple caromed off the wall in right-center.
This past year I just realized I could sit in my legs and let the ball travel and just poke it in play, Lira said. And I have enough power to still drive it with two strikes. So its just understanding who I am. And just battling, just competing.
Lira is the type of player Hale wants to build next years team around and not just because of the big first basemans talent. Lira also has exhibited leadership qualities, including accountability.
Arizona's Tony Lira connects on a pitch at Grand Canyon on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Lira went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.
Lira wasnt happy with his first at-bat Tuesday (a flyout), his baserunning or his defense in particular a throw from shortstop Mathis Meurant that Lira tried to short-hop. He let the ball get past him, and the Lopes scored a run on the play.
Thats not Mathis fault; thats my fault, Lira said. That should have never been by. I tried to get the out for him, but at the end of the day, I need to block the ball. That was on me.
Lira couldnt enjoy his three-hit night on the bus ride home because the Wildcats (16-27, 7-14 Big 12) gave the game away. Besides thinking about what could have been, Lira has been contemplating what lies ahead over the final 10 regular-season games and, hopefully, several more in the Big 12 Tournament.
How can we play the best Arizona baseball finishing it off? Lira said. How can I help this team, the younger guys, develop going to the next season? And how do we just start closing out games? We've been in some really close games, we've been up in some close games ... and we just can't close them out.
The Wildcats are 6-11 in games decided by one or two runs after going 20-3 last year, when closer Tony Pluta was healthy, and the lineup was more experienced. No. 11 Kansas, which sits atop the Big 12 standings, is 13-1 in games decided by one or two runs.
It hasnt been the same issue every time, but far too often Arizona has hurt itself in late-game situations. In the ninth inning Tuesday night, a wild pitch moved GCU runners to second and third. Griffin Camerons two-out, two-strike single off Matthew Martinez scored them both and ended the game.
Whether it's a walk, a hit batsman, a wild pitch, an error, we put guys in scoring position when we don't have to; they haven't earned it, Hale said. That's hurt us a lot this year, whether it's in the last couple innings or even early in the game.
Arizona's Corey Kling delivers a pitch at Grand Canyon on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Kling did not allow a run and struck out three in 2 innings.
We obviously hada much more mature team last year, older, seen a lot more stuff happen. We're seeing a lot of stuff with guys for the first time, being out there and having to deal with it. So we're hoping that they'll learn from it and build on it.
Its good to be Kling
Reliever Corey Kling is another player whos building a r矇sum矇 for 2027.
Kling, a junior who transferred to Arizona last summer from USF, is tied for second on the team with 17 appearances and tied for third with a 1.34 WHIP. He has a 32-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 30 innings.
Kling also has shown the ability to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen. He has thrown at least two innings in seven of his past eight outings.
He's a nice bridge guy, Hale said. If we get to a five-game Big 12 thing teams seeded 9-12 will have to win five games to win the conference tournament; he's a possibility of pitching out of the bullpen, start a game, pitch three or four innings.
He's really got good stuff, and I think he's getting more confidence.
Kling also has gained more confidence in pitching coach Sean Kenny, and vice versa.
Kling came to Arizona to pitch for John DeRouin, who heard about Kling from a coach he knew with the Ocean State Waves of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. DeRouin left the UA program in mid-December to take a job with the New York Mets.
Kenny was hired less than two months before the start of the season, and its taken him time to build trust with the staff. In a game against UConn on Feb. 19, Kling shook off Kennys pitch call and proceeded to give up four hits and three runs in the 12th inning of a 6-4 defeat.
The two have come a long way since then.
Kenny's done really well at coming in here and knowing what we need to get better at and the things we're good at, Kling said.
I think I just have gotten a lot better as a pitcher since the UConn game. I don't really remember what happened. But I just trust him.
Inside pitch
The GCU game began to turn when UA left fielder Andrew Cain slipped while running in for a flyball that dropped for a double. Hale had put TJ Adams in the game for defensive purposes to start the bottom of the ninth. But because right field is deeper than left at GCU, Hale put Adams in right and kept Cain in left; at Hi Corbett Field, he would have switched them. Cain had made two or three really nice plays out there, so I left him in left, Hale said. And sure enough, it haunted us.
Arizona's Jack Lafflamdelivers a pitchagainst Grand Canyon on March 24, 2026, at Hi Corbett Field.
Freshman right-hander Jack Lafflam started the GCU game and allowed three runs (two earned) in 1 innings. It was his first appearance since March 31 as Lafflam rehabbed an injury. He's going to Cape Cod to pitch (in the summer); well see how that goes, Hale said. Sean has a good plan for him. Sean's excited. It's not going to click overnight. It's going to be a slow process for him as a big man (6-foot-6) with a lot of mechanical things going on. ... But we're excited about him being part of the starting rotation next year.
Kansas (34-11, 17-4) is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Jayhawks have won seven games in a row and 18 of their past 19. Theyve scored at least nine runs in each of their past seven games. Kansas leads the Big 12 in runs (196) and ranks second in home runs (45) in conference play.
Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social
Michael Lev
Sports Reporter/Columnist
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