First Place Wildcats Visit Second Place Utes

TUCSON, Ariz. — The No. 17 Arizona Wildcats (30-17, 17-7) and the Utah Utes (30-16, 15-9) square off in a crucial matchup between Pac-12 front runners this weekend at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City.

All three games in the series will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM. Due to scheduling arrangements with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, games one and two on Friday at Saturday will both begin at 10:00 a.m. MST, while the Sunday series finale has a first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m. MST.

Arizona enters the penultimate weekend of the regular season sitting in first place in the Pac-12, two games ahead of second place Utah. Both squads are fighting for a Pac-12 regular season championship in their final year in the conference.

The Wildcats pitching staff continues to impress, with the starting rotation posting one of the top ERAs in the nation entering the weekend. Arizona's offense has also sparked in the second half of the season and the Cats currently rank third in the nation in triples.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Leading Off...

• The No. 17 Arizona Wildcats head out for their final road trip of the season this weekend and face a three-game series against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
• All three games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Roxy Bernstein (PxP) and Ben Francisco (Analyst) on the call. The series will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and Utah have faced off 86 times previously, with games dating back to 1952 and the Wildcats holding a 66-20 edge in the all-time series.
• The Wildcats swept the most recent meeting between the two teams, a three-game series in Tucson during the 2023 season. Arizona's last road series win at Utah came in 2014 (2-1).
• Arizona moved up in the national polls this week, checking in at No. 17 via D1Baseball, No. 19 with USA Today and the NCBWA, and No. 23 by Baseball America.
• The Wildcats and Utes, selected to finish 9th and 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, respectively, enter the weekend occupying the top two spots in the conference standings. The first place Wildcats hold a two-game lead over the Utes.
• Arizona's 4.12 team ERA is the 10th best mark in the nation and leads the Pac-12. The Wildcats pitching staff also holds the best marks across all 295 Division I teams in BB/9 rate (2.50) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.63).

SOME SERIES THEMES: The No. 17 Arizona Wildcats head out for their final road trip of the season this weekend and face a three-game series against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City...The Wildcats and Utes, selected to finish 9th and 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, respectively, enter the weekend occupying the top two spots in the conference standings...The first place Wildcats hold a two-game lead over the Utes, a two-and-a-half-game lead over Oregon State, and a three-game lead over Oregon...All three games this weekend will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Roxy Bernstein (PxP) and Ben Francisco (Analyst) on the call...The series will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Arizona and Utah have faced off 86 times previously, with games dating back to 1952 and the Wildcats holding a 66-20 edge in the all-time series...The Wildcats swept the most recent meeting between the two teams, a three-game series in Tucson during the 2023 season...Arizona's last road series win at Utah came in 2014 (2-1)...Arizona moved up in the national polls this week, checking in at No. 17 via D1Baseball, No. 19 with USA Today and the NCBWA, and No. 23 by Baseball America...Arizona's 4.12 team ERA is the 10th best mark in the nation and leads the Pac-12...The Wildcats pitching staff also holds the best marks across all 295 Division I teams in BB/9 rate (2.50) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.63)...Arizona's three weekend starters — Cam Walty, Jackson Kent, and Clark Candiotti — rank first through third in the Pac-12 in ERA, respectively...Walty's seven wins pace the conference...Shortstop Mason White currently ranks third in the conference with 56 RBI, while his 15 home runs rank fourth on the circuit...Utah is led by third-year head coach Gary Henderson, who has led the Utes to a 78-75-2 (.510) record during his time in Salt Lake City.

STREAKONOMICS: No Arizona players currently sport extended hit streaks of five games or longer. Outfielder Brendan Summerhill has posted the longest hit streak of the season thus far, a 12-game streak that was snapped on April 7 at California. Summerhill also holds the longest on-base streak on the team this year, a 33-game streak that ended last weekend at Washington. Over that 33-game stretch, Summerhill posted a .428 on-base percentage; he drew 20 walks and collected 47 hits during the streak. Infielder Garen Caulfield's currently active 22-game on-base streak is the second longest on the team this year; over the course of the streak he has posted a .360 on-base percentage with 27 hits and 11 walks drawn. Infielder Mason White (18 games), catcher Blake McDonald (10 games), outfielder Emilio Corona (9 games), and infielder Richie Morales (8 games) also carry active extended on-base streaks into this weekend's action in Salt Lake City.

MAKE IT ROTATE: The Wildcats 2024 weekend rotation, consisting primarily of left-hander Jackson Kent along with right-handers Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty, has posted a 3.16 ERA this season, the eighth best mark in the nation and the third best among Power Five programs according to data from FridayStarters.com. That number improves when only looking at Pac-12 Conference games, where the Arizona big three have posted a remarkable 2.79 ERA.

PITCH PERFECT: Arizona's pitching staff has excelled this season under first-year pitching coach Kevin Vance. Under Vance's leadership the Wildcats have posted the 10th best ERA in the nation, a 4.12 mark that also ranks fourth among Power Five programs. Arizona's pitching staff has limited walks to the tune of just 116 free passes, the fewest in the nation and 17 fewer than second-place Nebraska (133). The Wildcats enter the weekend as the best staff in the nation in fewest walks per nine innings (2.50) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.63). Arizona also ranks just outside the Top 25 teams in the nation in WHIP with a 1.37 mark (26th).

DIRTY THIRTY: The Wildcats recorded their 30th win of the season on Tuesday at Arizona State, giving them 30+ wins in all three seasons under the leadership of head coach Chip Hale. Arizona is one of just 36 Division I programs with 30+ wins in each of the last three seasons. Additionally, the Wildcats have now posted nine consecutive full seasons with at least 30 wins, dating back to 2015 and not counting the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign. Since joining the Pac-10 for the 1979 baseball season, Arizona has played 45 seasons and collected 30+ wins in 35 of them.

SHORTSTOP SLUGGERS: Sophomore infielder Mason White, the Wildcats everyday shortstop this season, currently leads the team and ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 15 home runs. Dating back through the 1998 season (StatCrew era), no Arizona shortstop has hit more home runs in a single season. He is just three home runs shy of breaking into the Wildcats all-time single-season leaderboard. Of White's 15 home runs, seven have been hit against Pac-12 competition (including three hit in two midweek non-conference games against Stanford and Arizona State), while eight were swatted against non-conference opponents.

START US UP: Arizona's weekend starting rotation of Jackson Kent, Clark Candiotti, and Cam Walty has been arguably the strongest in the Pac-12 Conference this season. The trio has combined to make 34 starts this season, 17 of which have registered as quality starts (6.0+ IP, three or fewer ER allowed) and 30 of which have lasted five or more innings. Between them they have posted a 2.85 ERA (63ERx199.0IP) in their 34 starts; the number improves to a meager 2.79 ERA (44ERx142.0IP) across their 24 Pac-12 starts.

NOTHING BUT NETZ: Fifth-year senior Dawson Netz has established himself as one of the most experienced pitchers in Arizona Baseball history. Going into this weekend, Netz has logged 91 appearances in his collegiate career — 14 starts and 77 relief — the third most games pitched in Wildcat history. His 91 pitching appearances are tied for the 14th most among all active Division I pitchers. Netz recently moved past Ben White (1993-96) on the all-time leaderboard, the father of Dawson's current teammate, Mason White. He is currently on pace to finish the regular season with 93 career pitching appearances in an Arizona uniform, which would rank third all-time.

ROAD FROM THE SHOW: Arizona Baseball, a program that proudly boasts 280 Major League Baseball Draft selections and 94 alumni MLB players, also currently has five players on the roster with MLB ties in their bloodlines. Between those five players, the Wildcats relatives have logged 44 years and 1,357 games worth of Major League service time.

GRAND THEFT BASEBALL: The Wildcats have combined to steal 44 bases in 47 games this season, their most since the 2017 team swiped 49 bags across 59 games. Outfielder Emilio Corona leads the team with 14 stolen bases, a mark that ranks tied for third in the Pac-12. Corona's 14 steals are the most in a single-season by a Wildcat since Kevin Newman posted 22 steals in 2015; he is also the first Wildcat with 10+ steals in a season since Jared Oliva in 2017. In total, nine different Wildcats have logged stolen bases this season, with Corona (14), Easton Breyfogle (7), Brendan Summerhill (7), and Mason White (5) all having stolen five or more.

MILESTONE MEN: With a win over UCLA on March 29, Arizona Baseball picked up the 3,000th victory in program history. The Wildcats joined the ranks of just nine other programs that boast 3,000 program wins. As it currently stands, Arizona is the 10th all-time winningest program in the history of college baseball. Four of the winningest programs in college baseball history are current members of the Pac-12 Conference.

TRIPLES ARE BEST, TRIPLES ARE SAFE: Arizona currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks tied for third nationally with 23 triples; the Wildcats average of 0.49 triples per game is also tied for the third best mark among all Division I programs. Outfielders Emilio Corona and Brendan Summerhill are tied for the team and Pac-12 lead with six triples apiece. Since Arizona moved to Hi Corbett Field in 2012 they have led the Pac-12 in triples seven times.