When Arizona played in the Mexican Baseball Fiesta a year ago, it marked the unofficial coaching debut of Chip Hale. That 10-3 loss to Yaquis de Obregon also came during the first week of fall practice.
This time around, the Wildcats had been in fall ball for a few weeks before taking on another team from the Mexican Pacific League, Naranjeros de Hermosillo. And as a result, the UA squad that played a professional club to a 6-6 tie on Thursday night looked a lot like the one that was on the field in the NCAA Tournament four months ago in Miami.