FRISCO, Texas -- Behind a sterling performance from JC Cloney, the Arizona Wildcats won their first game at the Frisco Classic Friday night 3-0 over Arkansas. Cloney tossed 7 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to lift the Cats to the win over the Razorbacks. 

On Saturday, the game started like Friday's as a pitcher's duel, but quickly turned into an slugfest. The Cats eventually came out on top, walking-off Oklahoma State 10-9 on a walk-off double from Cal Stevenson, scoring pinch-runner Matt Fraizer. Arizona erased a 9-6 lead entering the eighth inning, scoring three in the eighth and one more in the ninth. 

The Cats will now look to go 3-0 at the Frisco Classic, when they take on Nebraska at 11 a.m., MST. LHP Rio Gomez will start for the Cats. 


Leading Off...
•            The Arizona Wildcats are 8-0 for the first time since 2007 and will look to build on the hot start this weekend at the Frisco Classic against Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
•            Saturday's game against Oklahoma State and Sunday's matchup with Nebraska will both be streamed on ESPN3.com. Friday's Arkansas-Arizona matchup will be blacked out on ESPN3 in Cox markets, which includes Tucson. It will be shown on channel 1382 on Cox in Tucson and Phoenix.
•            The Cats have entered the Top 10 in both the Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA polls. Arizona is No. 5 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and No. 9 in the NCBWA.
•            Senior JC Cloney will get the start Friday versus Arkansas. He hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 30.1 innings, stretching back to last season.
•            Freshman Nick Quintana became the first player in school history to win Pac-12 Player of the Week after his first career series earlier this mont. He's 15 for 30 this season with six doubles and eight walks. He's started all eight games at third base.
• Jared Oliva already has 10 extra-base hits this season. He has more doubles (seven) than he had all of last season (four).
•   Arizona is leading the country in batting average at .378.

 
Some Series Themes: For the second straight year, the Arizona Wildcats head out of town for a tournament featuring some of the top teams in the nation…Last year, it was the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego, this year, the Cats are head to Frisco, Texas to take part in the Frisco Classic with Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska…The Cats are off to an 8-0 start and lead the nation in batting average at .378 and doubles at 30…The Cats are second in runs at 90…Arkansas enters the tournament at 7-1 after splitting a midweek series with Louisiana Tech before heading to Texas…The Cats have five regulars hitting better than .400 to start the season and have a strikeout to walk ratio of 31 to 50…JC Cloney will start the tournament opener Friday, and the Cats are TBA for the rest of the weekend…Mitchell Morimoto has multi-hit games in seven of his eight contests this season…Oklahoma State joined Arizona in Omaha last season and Arkansas made an appearance in the College World Series in 2015…The Cowboys are 4-4 on the season and Nebraska enters the tournament with a 2-4 mark…Arizona and Oklahoma State played at the college World Series with the Cats winning two of three…Arizona and Nebraska also played last year at the Tony Gwynn Classic, with the Cats winning a one-run game…The Cats' two leading hitters this season are both newcomers…Nick Quintana leads the way with a .500 average and junior college transfer Mitchell Morimoto is second at .469…Of course, the veterans have been steady as well with Jared Oliva hitting .457 and leading the team with 10 extra-base hits…Oliva has a team-best seven doubles and two home runs to go with a triple…Catcher Cesar Salazar is quietly off to a hot start, hitting .423 in six starts…He has four doubles and eight RBI…JC Cloney, Cameron Ming and Michael Flynn have all yet to allow an earned run this season…The team has a staff ERA of 3.17, posting 80 strikeouts to 20 walks.
 
Hitters Hit: While we're only eight games into the season, one quality the Wildcats have already shown is the ability to hit the ball. Arizona enters the Frisco Classic as the top hitting team in the country at .378 through games Tuesday. The Cats have scored 90 runs in eight games, have 40 extra-base hits and have five regulars hitting better than .400 in the early going of the season. Arizona's .378 average is tops in the nation, one point ahead of Dartmouth, sitting at .377. The next closest Pac-12 team is Utah, hitting .335 this season. The 90 runs are second in the country, behind New Mexico State's 113 runs. The Cats' 30 doubles are tied with Baylor for most in the country and the team's six triples are tied for fourth most in the nation. The Cats are slugging .566 and getting on base at a staggering .477 mark. Not only are the Cats hitting, they're having good at-bats and showing strong discipline. The cats are second in the league with 50 walks, just one behind USC. On the flip side, the Cats have only struck out 31 times. Individually, Jared Oliva  has 16 hits and is tied for the Pac-12 lead. JJ Matijevic, Mitchell Morimoto and Nick Quintana are all one behind at 15. Morimoto leads the league in runs scored at 13 and Oliva is tops in the league in RBI (13) and doubles (seven). Oliva is also leading the Pac-12 with 31 total bases.
 
They Pitch, Too: Lost in how strong the offense has been through eight games is that the pitching has also been excellent to start the season. Of pitchers who have thrown at least 7.2 innings this season, just one has given up an earned run. The trio of JC Cloney, Michael Flynn and Cameron Ming have combined to throw 31.1 innings without giving up an earned run. They've combined for 31 strikeouts to just three walks. Combined, the three pitchers are 5-0 on the season. Rio Gomez, who has started a pair of games, is also 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA, giving up three earned runs in 10.1 innings. Gomez has an 11-1 strikeout to walk ratio. All total, opponents are hitting just .239 against the Cats. Arizona pitching has combined for 80 strikeouts in 71 innings, dishing out just 20 walks. Relief pitcher Landon Faulkner has also been strong for the Cats over 4.2 innings and is tied with Ming with the most appearances this season at four. Faulkner, who is 1-0, has eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
 
He Went to Jared: Now a junior, Jared Oliva has wasted no time taking center stage for the Wildcats as an upperclassmen. Oliva is hitting .457 on the season with a team-high 10 extra-base hits. He has seven doubles on the year after having just four all of last year. The junior from Saugus, California also has a pair of home runs and 13 RBI. He's slugging a team best .886 and is getting on base 50 percent of the time. He's also been successful in both of stolen base attempts. In Sunday's series finale against McNeese State, Oliva went 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run and tied his career high with five RBI. His home run was a three-run shot and his two doubles both came in the seventh inning, allowing Arizona to pull away and earn the sweep. Oliva has at least one hit in all eight games this season and has multi-hit games in six contests so far. He has had at least one extra-base hit in six of his eight games and went all last weekend against McNeese State without striking out. He also scored six runs over the final three games of the series against McNeese State. 
 
Quintana's Quick Start: Arizona's leading hitter through eight games is freshman Nick Quintana, who hasn't seemed to have a lot of trouble adjusting to college baseball. Quintana is 15 for 30 to start the season with six doubles, eight RBI, eight walks and 12 runs scored. Like Oliva, Quintana has at least one hit in each game this season and multi-hit games in four contests. Against McNeese State, Quintana had two hits in each of the first three games, before going 1 for 4 with a run scored in the finale. He has at least one extra-base hit in four of the eight games and has scored at least one run in seven of the eight. He leads the team with a .590 on-base percentage and has shown a strong ability to wait for his pitch as a freshman. Quintana's .700 slugging percentage is second on the team to Oliva. Quintana is currently leading all Pac-12 freshmen in batting average, runs scored, doubles and total bases.
 
More on Morimoto: Nick Quintana isn't the only newcomer who has made an instant impact for the Wildcats thus far this season. Junior college transfer Mitchell Morimoto has been a revelation atop the lineup for coach Jay Johnson. Morimoto has at least one hit in all eight games this season and has multi-hit games in seven of the eight contests. Overall, he's 15 for 32 with three doubles, nine RBI and 13 runs scored. He had two hits in each game last weekend against McNeese State and has scored at least one run in seven of the eight games. A two-time All-American at Mesa Community College, Morimoto has shown the ability to draw walks, hit for power and set the tone at the top of the lineup. The Issaquah, Washington native has also done a strong job manning left field for the Cats.
 
Matijevic the Masher: While the Cats have gotten big contributions from their newcomers, their veterans have been steady as well. Junior first baseman JJ Matijevic, who thrived in the Cape Cod League last summer with the Falmouth Commodores, is hitting .441 and is tied for the team lead in RBI with 12. Matijevic has hits in seven of eight games this season and the lone game he didn't get a hit, he took two walks. He and fellow junior Jared Oliva are the only two players on the team with double-digit runs scored and double-digit RBI. His six extra-base hits are tied for second on the team with Quintana.
 
Cloney Can: After flourishing in the College World Series last year and throwing 16 scoreless innings, senior left-hander JC Cloney has picked up right where he left off. Cloney is 2-0 on the season and has yet to give up an earned run in 14.1 innings. Stretching back to last year, Cloney hasn't given up an earned run in his last 30.1 innings. His career ERA is down to 2.17, which would rank eighth all-time at Arizona in career ERA. There has not been a new entry into the top 10 in ERA at Arizona since the 1970s. Opponents are hitting just .140 against Cloney so far this season and he's struck out 12 to two walks, one of which was intentional. He combined for a 6-0 shutout with Seve Romo on opening day when the Cats topped Eastern Kentucky 6-0 at Hi Corbett Field.
 
Flynn the Flamethrower: The Cats have been eager to see which pitchers would step up this season after the loss of Nathan Bannister and Bobby Dalbec, and so far sophomore Michael Flynn has emerged as a serious threat on the mound. Flynn has thrown 9.1 scoreless innings so far this season. He's allowed just four hits, while striking out nine. He's yet to allow a walk. Flynn threw 3.1 scoreless innings against Eastern Kentucky in the series finale, helping to stabilize a game the Cats trailed in at the start. He then entered in relief again in the second game of the series against McNeese State. There, he allowed an infield single to the first batter he faced, and then retired 18 straight batters over six perfect innings. He earned the win against McNeese State, which is his second career win.