TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to host New Mexico State Tuesday night in a midweek matchup at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

A full preview is below:


Date/Time (MST)                                             Location (Ballpark)                                              Starters
Tue., April 25/6 p.m.                                        Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)                            LHP Steven Butts vs. RHP Cody Deason
 
 
Live Stream: Live Stream will be available through ArizonaWildcats.com
Live Stats: Live stats will be available through ArizonaWildcats.com.
 
All-time series: Arizona leads 51-7                            First meeting: The two teams met for the first time in 1917; Last meeting: Arizona beat NMSU 6-3 earlier this season
 
Some game themes: The Wildcats will look to rebound from a weekend sweep against Utah when they welcome in the New Mexico State Aggies for a Tuesday night matchup…The Cats enter at 26-12, while New Mexico State enters with a 26-15 mark and an 11-1 mark in WAC play…The two teams met earlier this season at Hi Corbett Field with Arizona winning 6-3….Cody Deason, who will start Tuesday for the Wildcats, started against the Aggies the first time, and earned the win, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings…It was his first win of the season…Jonathan Groff started for New Mexico State, and took the loss, going five innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits…Tuesday's starter Steven Butts, appeared in relief the first time, facing just one hitter and giving up a hit to Arizona's Alfonso Rivas, before exiting…Michael Flynn earned the save for the Cats the first time around, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings to close the game out in front of 3,242 fans…Rivas, designated hitter Cory Voss and Kyle Lewis all had multiple hit games in the win for Arizona…The Cats, who still lead the Pac-12 in every offensive category, minus home runs and triples, after a rough weekend against the Utes…JJ Matijevic still leads the nation in doubles with 22 and leads the Pac-12 in batting average at .401 to go with six home runs, 43 RBI and 41 runs scored…Aggies starter Steven Butts will make his first start of the season against the Cats on Tuesday…He's 0-2 in seven appearances, spanning nine innings; He has a 9.00 ERA.
 
All the runs: Arizona enters Tuesday's game with New Mexico State third in the nation in scoring (8.6 runs per game) and 12th in runs scored (325). Through 38 games, Arizona has put up more runs scored than any season since 2005, long before the introduction of BBCOR bats to college baseball. In 2003, Arizona got off to a 26-12 start and scored 362 runs through 38 games. Two years later, in 2005, Arizona started 27-11 and scored 335 runs. Not since then has Arizona put up as many runs in its first 38. Only one other time in that span, 2010, did the Cats even reach the 300-run mark. Arizona has already scored more than 100 runs more than its 2014 38-game total of 216. Not only does Arizona leads the conference in runs with its 325, and has more than 100 runs more than the next closest team, which is Utah at 212 runs.
 
Most runs by an Arizona team through 38 games since 2003
Year       Runs      Record
2003       362         26-12
2005       335         27-11
2017       325         26-12
2010       309         27-11
2009       294         18-20
Home at Hi Corbett: Arizona, 19-4, at home this season, has thrived playing at Hi Corbett Field this season, thanks in large part to the fan support from the Arizona faithful. Over the last 10 home games, three against USC, one against Arizona State, three against Oregon and three against Utah, Arizona has drawn a total of 38,907 fans for an average of 3,890. Arizona drew 5,208 fans to its Friday night affair with Oregon l, marking the largest non-ASU crowd since the Wildcats moved to Hi Corbett prior to the 2012 season. Only one other time has Arizona drawn more than 5,000 fans for a non-Arizona State game. That came in 2013 when the defending national champion Wildcats opened their season against Coppin State and drew 5,145 fans. Three of Arizona's top six attendance figures at Hi Corbett have come with Jay Johnson as the head coach.
 
Largest Crowds at Hi Corbett since 2012
Attendance        Opponent                           Date
8,067                     ASU                       5/14/16
6,324                     ASU                       5/13/16
5,677                     ASU                       5/26/12
5,451                     ASU                       5/25/12
5,396                     ASU                       4/16/13
5,208                     Oregon                 4/14/17
 
More on the crowds: Arizona leads all Pac-12 and West Coast schools with an average attendance of 3,152. Overall, Arizona is 16th in the country in average attendance. The next closest Pac-12 team is Oregon State at 2,627. Last season, Arizona led all West Coast schools and Pac-12 teams with an average attendance of 3,043.
 
Attendance Leaders in the Pac-12:
1. Arizona: 3,152
2. Oregon State: 2,627
3. Arizona State: 2,492
 
Smile for the Camera: After each win, Coach Jay Johnson takes his team to the outfield for a postgame meeting and a team picture. The reasoning for the picture is simple: Winning in college baseball is hard, and Johnson wants his squad to appreciate it. Well, in Johnson's first 53 home games, his team has taken 42 pictures in the right field grass. Johnson's 42-1 start at home is the third-best mark by an Arizona coach through 53 home games. Johnson is third to Frank Sancet, who went 43-6-1 from 1950-1952, nothing wins over such programs as Camp Pendelton, San Diego Marines, National University of Mexico and Casa Grande Apcos, and Jerry Kindall, who went 43-10.
Best 53-game home starts for Arizona coaches
1. Frank Sancet: 46-6-1
2. Jerry Kindall: 43-10
3. Jay Johnson: 42-11
4. Jerry Stitt: 37-16
5. Andy Lopez: 36-17
 
Pac-12's Best: Arizona enters the series versus Oregon leading the conference in every major offensive category, minus home runs and triples. The Cats lead the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, total bases and walks. The Cats are the only team in the league with a batting average better than .300 at .323. The next closest team is Utah at .291. The Cats are also the only team in the league with an on-base percentage better than .400 at .417. The next closest is Utah at .380. Arizona has scored 325 runs through 38 games, which is 113 more runs than the next closest. Perhaps even more impressive, the Cats have done all their offensive damage while striking out the fewest times in the league at 214. Arizona also possesses the individual leader in batting average (JJ Matijevic, .401), slugging percentage (JJ Matijevic, .656), on-base percentage (Alfonso Rivas, .518), runs (Jared Oliva, 42), hits (Matijevic, 63), RBI (Matijevic, 43), doubles (Matijevic, 22) and total bases (Matijevic, 103).
 
Pac-12 leaders in Batting Average:
1. Arizona .323
2. Utah .291
3. California .289
 
Pac-12 leaders in Slugging Percentage:
1. Arizona .473
2. California .431
3. Arizona State .405
 
Pac-12 leaders in On-Base Percentage:
1. Arizona .417
2. Utah .380
3. Washington State .375
 
Pac-12 leaders in runs scored
1. Arizona 325
2. Utah 212
3. California 204
 
Pac-12 leaders in RBI
1. Arizona 283
2. Utah 191
3. California 190
 
Pac-12 leaders in doubles
1. Arizona 97
2. Washington State 78
3. Stanford 74
 
Pac-12 leaders in walks:
1. Arizona 181
2. Washington State 167
3. Oregon 159
 
Fewest Strikeouts in Pac-12:
1. Arizona 214
2. Oregon State 221
3. Oregon 222
 
What about nationally?: At 8.6 runs per game, Arizona is third in the nation in scoring. At 325 runs, Arizona is 12th in the country and third among Power 5 Conference schools. The Wildcats are sixth in the country in on-base percentage at .417, which is the second-highest mark among Power Five teams. Arizona also is second in doubles per game at 2.55 and sixth in doubles overall with 97, which is second among Power Five teams.
 
Matijevic the Masher: Thirty-eight games into his junior campaign, JJ Matijevic has blossomed into one of the top hitters in the country. Matijevic enters the New Mexico State game with a .401 batting average, a .656 slugging percentage and is getting on base 44 percent of the time. The junior from North Huntingdon, Pa., is leading the nation in doubles with 22 and is ninth in the nation in batting average. More than midway through the conference season, Matijevic is giving the Triple Crown a run in the Pac-12. He currently leads the league in average, is tied for the RBI lead with teammate Jared Oliva and is third in home runs. Matijevic was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 10 after a remarkable four-game performance against Arizona State and Washington State that featured three home runs and four doubles for the week. He then went 10-for-17 last week, but was passed over for Player of the Week.
 
National Leaders in Doubles: 
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 22
2. Brent Rooker, Mississippi State, 20
2. Cutter McDowell, Lamar, 20
2. Tyler Zabonjnik, Air Force, 20
 
Pac-12 Leaders in Hits: 
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 63
2. Andrew Vaughn, California, 56
3. Gage Cannin, Arizona State, 55
 
Pac-12 Leaders in Total Bases 
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 103
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal, 95
3. Gage Canning, Arizona State, 87
3. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 87
 
Pac-12 Leaders in Slugging Percentage: 
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, .656
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal, .629
3. Dallas Carroll, Utah, .609
 
Pac-12 Leaders in RBI: 
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 43
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal, 43
2. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 42
3. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona, 40
 
He Went to Jared: Now a junior, Jared Oliva has wasted no time taking center stage for the Wildcats as an upperclassman. Oliva, who was named to Perfect Game's Midseason First-Team All-American squad earlier this season, is hitting .346 on the season with 24 extra-base hits. He has 18 doubles on the year after having just four all of last year. The junior from Saugus, California also has four home runs and is second on the team and third in the league in RBI with 42. He's slugging .569 and is getting on base at a .414 clip. He's also been successful in nine of 10 stolen base attempts. In the 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. His best game in the Frisco Classic came in the middle game against Oklahoma State. Oliva was 2 for 5 with a pair of runs scored. He was 1 for 3 with an RBI double in the tournament opener against Arkansas. Against Hartford, Oliva had 11 RBI in the series and a career-high six RBI in the series finale. Oliva hit his first career grand slam in the 17-13 win over the Hawks and also had a two-run single. Oliva went 4 for 12 with five runs scored and six RBI in his first conference series of the season at UCLA.  In his second conference series of the season, Oliva homered against Oregon State in the series opener. Through 38 games, Oliva has already surpassed or tied career highs in runs, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks.
 
Pac-12 Leaders in Runs Scored: 
1. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 42
2. JJ Matijevic, Arizona 41
2. Cal Stevenson, Arizona, 41
4. Mitchell Morimoto, Arizona, 40
5. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona, 38