UA’s Owen Kramkowski starting to see positive results after unlucky start to 2025

Why not? The sophomore right-hander came within an out of a complete game. He couldn’t quite seal the deal.

“That’s the worst thing about that outing,” Kramkowski said. “That part eats at me, not getting out of that. Until I get my next complete game, that’s going to kill me not getting that 27th out there.”

Kramkowski exited with the lead, and closer Tony Pluta got the final out in a 5-3 UA victory. Kramkowski didn’t notch a complete game, but he earned his fourth victory, clinched the series for the Wildcats and showed why the UA staff selected him to be one of its weekend starters this season despite a sparse résumé.

Kramkowski couldn’t pitch much during his junior and senior seasons at Walden Grove High School because of an elbow injury. As a freshman at Arizona last year, Kramkowski threw just 1⅓ innings across three appearances.

Kramkowski earned the No. 2 starting job coming out of preseason camp, but his early results didn’t match his stuff — a mid-90s fastball and secondary offerings that teammate Andrew Cain termed “gross” (in a good way).

Kramkowski lasted just two-thirds of an inning in his 2025 debut against Clemson, yielding seven runs. He entered the ASU game with a 3-3 record but a 6.46 ERA.

Advanced stats such as FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) suggested that Kramkowski was pitching better than his ERA indicated; batted balls that weren’t struck that hard just happened to be falling for hits.

Sure enough, Kramkowski limited the Sun Devils to one run on five hits through eight innings. ASU clawed back in the ninth, plating two runs with two outs on four hits — all singles.

Kramkowski lamented falling behind two of the last three hitters he faced after working ahead for most of the night. He also acknowledged that that’s how baseball works sometimes.

“It just goes back to trusting the process,” said Kramkowski, who’s scheduled to pitch Game 2 of Arizona’s series vs. Oklahoma State Friday-Sunday at Hi Corbett Field. “If I know I'm getting ahead of guys, 0-2, 1-2, and then balls are squeaking through, there's nothing I can do about that. So it's just controlling the controllables and trusting the work that I put in every day. The results will show for me.”

In the midst of shutting down ASU, Kramkowski showed a side of himself that doesn’t come out often. With a big crowd at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, a charged environment and significant stakes, Kramkowski let out some primal screams and thumped his chest while coming off the mound at the end of innings.

“That’s just raw emotion,” Kramkowski said. “I’m not usually a big energy guy. So when that comes out of me, it means something.”

UA coach Chip Hale said Kramkowski did a great job of handling the atmosphere at ASU. Those emotional flareups were atypical but understandable under the circumstances.

“That surprised me,” Hale said. “But that's what those rivalry games do.”

Andrew in the outfield

Cain played center field during his sophomore year at Ironwood Ridge and a little bit as a junior. He’d exclusively been a corner infielder at Arizona until duty called.

The Wildcats were shorthanded in the outfield with Brendan Summerhill (hand) and Easton Breyfogle (quadriceps) on the shelf. Cain told the coaching staff that he’d be willing to help out.

“I told them I could play out there if they needed me to,” Cain said. “And I'm glad I got the opportunity to.”

Cain started the past three games in the outfield, playing in left Saturday and Sunday against ASU and in right during Arizona’s 11-9 victory over New Mexico State on Tuesday at Hi Corbett. He’s had two recorded chances so far. He also overran a shallow flyball in the sixth inning Sunday, resulting in a double.

Cain, a standout basketball player at Ironwood Ridge, is a good enough athlete to play in the outfield. It’s unlikely to be his long-term position, but it’s a way to get his bat in the lineup and gives Hale another option if injuries persist.

After hitting .290 with five home runs in 100 at-bats as a freshman, Cain got off to a slow start this season. He’s riding a four-game hitting streak into the OSU series, going 7 for 17 with his first two homers of the season and raising his average from .196 to .254.

Cain, a left-handed hitter, has opened his stance slightly, enabling him to better tap into his power.

“I try to feel some things out over the year,” Cain said. “That feels good right now, so I'm sticking with it. ... I’ve just been trying to impact the ball a little better.”

Cain is working at multiple defensive spots during practice and could see time in right field this weekend with Breyfogle possibly returning to left. Right field is the easier of the two at Hi Corbett, but the wind and sky — especially in the early evening — present challenges.

“I'm feeling confident,” Cain said. “That's the way you gotta play. You gotta expect every ball to come your way. You gotta want every ball to come your way. If not ... something bad is going to happen.”

Inside pitch

– Breyfogle returned to the starting lineup at DH vs. New Mexico State. He legged out a triple, then scored on a shallow sacrifice fly. “Hopefully Breyfogle will be back and in the lineup for the rest of season,” Hale said.

– Summerhill, who was injured Feb. 23, has begun some baseball activities, including one-handed swings. The early end of the timetable for his return would be the April 17-19 series at BYU. Said Hale: “Is it the throwing? Is it the hitting? What's going to bother him more? We'll see.”

– Junior shortstop Mason White (Salpointe Catholic) is tied for fourth at the UA with 36 career home runs after clubbing two vs. NMSU. He also has the second-most strikeouts (184) in program history. “I think he is better than that,” Hale said. “The power is impressive. But I do think he ... can cut down on strikeouts. I think that's something that he's gonna bear down on the rest of the year and battle and be better.

– Arizona (22-9, 8-4) ranks first in the Big 12 in triples (22), and its pitching staff has allowed the fewest walks (102) and home runs (15) in the league. OSU (15-15, 4-6) ranks 13th out of 14 teams in batting average (.263) but has the third-most home runs (48).

– Arizona snuck back into the D1Baseball Top 25 this week at No. 24. The Wildcats are a 2-seed in the Norman Regional hosted by No. 16 overall seed Oklahoma in Baseball America’s latest projected NCAA field of 64.

– Arizona’s expected starters are right-handers Collin McKinney (0-1, 2.67), Kramkowski (4-3, 5.72) and Smith Bailey (1-1, 3.19). OSU’s projected rotation features lefty Harrison Bodendorf (6-1, 3.67) and righties Sean Youngerman (1-1, 2.28) and Hunter Watkins (4-1, 5.40).