TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to open a four-game road trip Tuesday night at Arizona State in a midweek, nonconference affair at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. 

The Cats are coming off a perfect 4-0 homestand and will look to keep their momentum rolling against the Sun Devils. First pitch is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. JB Long and Ben Francisco will have the call. 

Below is a full preview: 

Leading Off...
•    Arizona heads up I-10 to head to Phoenix to take on Arizona State in the first of four games between the two instate foes this season.
•    The Wildcats have won four in a row after dropping five of seven beforehand. 
•    Arizona has won four straight games against Arizona State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, dating back to 2016.
•    Last year, Alfonso Rivas went 10 for 17 against ASU with 10 RBI in five games. He had seven walks and reached base better than 70 percent of the time against the Sun Devils. Cal Stevenson was 7 for 18 with eight runs scored against ASU last year. 
•    Arizona's pitching staff has given up just 43 runs total in 15 games this season, which is the fewest allowed by an Arizona pitching staff through 15 games since 1974.
•    Rivas went 9 for 18 with 10 RBI last week in four games against San Diego State and North Dakota State.
•    Sophomore third baseman Nick Quintana is riding a seven-game hitting streak entering Tuesday's game. He leads the team with six doubles on the year.
•    Arizona has a staff ERA of 2.30 and is limiting opposing batters to a .214 batting average. 

Some Series Themes: Fresh off a 4-0 homestand, the Arizona Wildcats will hit the road again Tuesday, but only for a short bus ride to Phoenix…The Cats will battle intrastate foe Arizona State in a nonconference tilt Tuesday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium…Arizona is riding a four-game winning streak at Phoenix Municipal against the Sun Devils…The Wildcats won the final matchup at Phoenix Municipal in 2016, before sweeping the three-game conference series last season in Phoenix…The Cats took four of five from the Devils last season…This year, the two programs will only meet four times with Tuesday's matchup being the only nonconference game of the season between the two in-state rivals…Arizona enters with a 9-6 record and having won four straight…Arizona State is 8-8, coming off a series loss to UNC Wilmington…Arizona All-American Alfonso Rivas went 10 for 17 against Arizona State last year with seven walks…He reached base 71 percent of the time against ASU last year…Cal Stevenson went 7 for 18 against the Sun Devils last year with eight runs scored in five games…The Sun Devils enter the series with a .301 batting average as a team…Gage Canning leads them with a .485 batting average…He's already totaled 32 hits in 16 games, including 13 extra-base hits…Lyle Lin has also had a hot start to the season, batting .400 with two home runs…Spencer Torkelson is above .300 at .317 with eight home runs in 16 games…The Devils have a 4.31 staff ERA in 142 total innings…They've totaled 137 strikeouts…Alec Marsh, Boyd Vander Kooi and Eli Lingos lead the team with two wins apiece…Arizona is led offensively by Alfonso Rivas, who is batting .339 and leads the team in runs (13), hits (21), home runs (2), RBI (21), total bases (33) and slugging percentage (.532)…Cameron Cannon, getting his first action as a full-time starter, is batting .327 on the season with 18 hits and is second to Rivas in runs with 12 and RBI with 14…Pitching has been the name of the game so far for the Wildcats, however…Arizona has a staff ERA of 2.30…Cody Deason has a 1.03 ERA in 26 1/3 innings to pace the Wildcats…Arizona has given up 103 hits, while striking out 109 batters…In 10 games against Arizona State, Jay Johnson is 6-4 during his time at Arizona…In his three seasons as Arizona State's coach, Tracy Smith is 7-8 against Arizona.

No Runs for You: Never in the Pac-12 era has an Arizona team given up fewer runs through 15 games than the 2018 Wildcats. Through 15 games, Arizona has surrendered just 43 total runs, which is the fewest since Arizona joined the Pac-10/12 in 1978. The 43 runs allowed are the fewest by an Arizona team since 1974 when the Jerry Kindall-led Wildcats allowed just 23 runs through 15 games. That year, Arizona went 58-6 and won the WAC Championship. This year, Arizona has yet to give up more than five runs in a game and have held opponents to three runs or fewer in nine of 15 games. In the Pac-10/12 era, the fewest runs allowed through 15 games came in 2011 when the Cats gave up 51 total runs. Arizona has allowed seven hits or fewer in 10 of 15 games to start the year, keeping the scoring opportunities at an absolute minimum.
Fewest Runs Allowed Through 15 Games Since 1950

Year	Runs Allowed
1974	23
1969	34
1973 and 1956	41
1961	42
2018 and 1960	43

 
 
What a Start: Arizona pitching has set the tone for the season thus far. Arizona has a staff ERA of just 2.30 so far this season, allowing just 103 hits in 136 2/3 total innings. Wildcat pitchers have combined to strike out 109, while allowing 56 walks. Opposing batters are hitting just .214 against Arizona pitching with 27 extra-base hits in 15 games. It's been a collective effort for the Wildcats thus far with several different arms contributing to the early season success. Randy Labaut leads the team with 26 innings and has a 2.08 ERA, giving up just six earned runs on the season. Labaut has walked just two, compared to 16 strikeouts. Cody Deason, who has had the Friday night honors so far this season, has just a 1.03 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. Michael Flynn and Avery Weems have also logged 17 or more innings. Weems has a 3.26 ERA in 19 1/3 innings, while Flynn was stellar in his start Saturday and has a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings.
 
Digging Deeper: Coach Dave Lawn's pitching staff has done several things very well early in the season. First, left-handed hitters are batting just .195 against Arizona pitching, combining to go 41 for 210 so far. Right-handed starters Cody Deason and Michael Flynn have been especially tough on lefties, allowing them to go just 10 for 76 for a .132 average. Another area where Arizona pitchers have excelled is with runners on base. Opposing hitters are just 45 for 218 with runners on for a .206 average. And once Arizona pitchers get to two outs, there's a good shot they're finishing off the inning clean. Opposing batters are just 23 for 141 (.163) with two outs against Arizona pitching. In fact, North Dakota State had just one hit with two outs in three games against the Wildcats. With runners in scoring position, it's not much better with the opposition hitting 24 for 134 (.179) in that situation.
 
Arizona Pitching By the Numbers

• 2.30 – Staff ERA, 2^nd Best in Pac-12
• .214 -- Batting Average Against
• 3 – Home Runs Allowed, tied fewest in Pac-12
• 43 – Total Runs Allowed, fewest by an Arizona team since 1974
• .163 – Batting Average Against with 2 outs
• .195 – Batting Average Against by left-handed hitting
• .179 – Batting Average Against with runners in scoring position

 
Dominant Deason: Through four starts, junior right-hander Cody Deason has looked a lot like a Friday night starter in the Pac-12 should look. Deason is 2-0 with a 1.03 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. He's given up just three earned runs on the season and has opposing batters hitting just .165 against him. Deason got the Opening Day start against Bryant and threw seven shutout innings. He walked five, but gave up just three hits and paced the Cats in a 4-0 win. The next week, against San Diego State, Deason went just 5 1/3 innings, but battled, giving up two runs and striking out six, which matched a career high. Against Minnesota, Deason again went seven innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run, while again striking out six.  In his fourth start of the season, Deason went seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out a career-high nine. After giving up a double in the first inning, Deason faced the minimum from innings two to seven. The junior has lefties hitting 6 for 47 against him, and batters are just 2 for 24 against him with two outs, showing he knows how to shut down an inning. With runners on, Deason is limiting hitters to a .194 average, seeing hitters go 6 for 31. He's allowed just four extra-base hits in 26-plus innings.
 
A Very Good Avery: Junior left-hander Avery Weems will undoubtedly draw comparisons to another recent Arizona lefty this season in JC Cloney. Weems, who is wearing the same number Cloney donned – 27—has looked as dangerous as Arizona's Opening Day starter in 2016 and 17. Weems made his Arizona debut in the finale of the Bryant series, drawing the Sunday start. He had an impressive start to his career, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on six hits, while striking out three and walking two. Weems then showed off his versatility, appearing in relief at San Diego State the following Friday. Weems tossed 2 2/3 hitless innings against the Aztecs, striking out four. Two days later, Weems drew his second start of the season against San Diego. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning and went six innings total, allowing just three hits. He allowed four runs, but only one was earned in a 5-3 loss to the Toreros. Weems started against Illinois, and went just 3 1/3 innings, but gave up just two runs and didn't issue any walks, battling and keeping his team in the game. A Flagstaff native, Weems spent the previous two seasons at Yavapai Junior College in Prescott.
 
Randy's Dandy: Sophomore left-hander Randy Labaut has wasted no time carving out a niche in this season's pitching staff for the Wildcats. Labaut has pitched a team-best 26 innings, giving up 24 hits and six earned runs. He's walked just two, compared to 16 strikeouts and has hitters batting .253 against him this season. Labaut appeared out of the bullpen for his first two appearances of the season, but has started four straight, and earned his first win of the season Sunday against North Dakota State. Against Arkansas, Labaut was on the unlucky end of a 1-0 loss, despite going seven innings and giving up just one run on a solo home run. Against Michigan State, Labaut went a career best eight innings. He pitched eight scoreless, before starting the ninth and giving up back-to-back hits to start the inning, before exiting. Labaut then went 5 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run and one unearned run against the Bison. Hitters are just 3 for 25 against him with two outs. The two walks on the season have been a big improvement for the lefty. Last season, Labaut walked 22 in 31 2/3 innings, compared to 23 strikeouts. He's allowed just seven extra-base hits this season.
 
Flynn the Day: Junior right-hander Michael Flynn earned the win in Saturday's game against North Dakota State, tossing five innings. He improved to 2-0 on the season with a 3.18 ERA. The junior has yet to lose in his Arizona career, posting a perfect 8-0 record. He's made 40 total appearances and nine starts, logging 84 2/3 innings. He's posted a 3.61 ERA thus far in his career. He went 1-0 as a freshman, before going 5-0 last season. His 75 career strikeouts are the second most by a current Arizona pitcher. Cody Deason has 98 for his career.
 
First Up: Junior Alfonso Rivas manned left field as a freshman, before mainly handling the designated hitter role last year as a sophomore. This year, Rivas has moved to first base to take over for JJ Matijevic. Rivas was named first-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and a second-team pick by D1Baseball and a third-team selection by Baseball America. He's already backing it up this season, leading the team in runs hits, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage. Rivas went 3 for 5 with four RBI against San Diego State and hit his second home run of the season. In four games last week, the left-handed hitting first baseman went 9 for 18 with 10 RBI, seven runs scored and a home run. He drove in at least two runs in each of his four games and scored at least one run. He had back-to-back three-hit games to open the week against San Diego State and Game 1 versus North Dakota State. Through 15 games, he's batting .339 with a .532 slugging percentage. Rivas is 11 for 20 on the year with runners in scoring positon and he's 12 for 28 against left-handed pitching. One thing to watch Tuesday: Rivas was 10 for 17 with 10 RBI in five games against Arizona State last season as a sophomore with seven walks. He had an on-base percentage of .708 against the Sun Devils.
Most RBI by an Arizona Underclassman Since 2000

Player (Class)	Year	RBI
Jeff Van Houten (Sophomore)	2003	72
Alfonso Rivas (Sophomore)	2017	63
Brad Glenn (Sophomore)	2007	62
Jordan Brown (Sophomore)	2004	57
Robert Refsnyder (Sophomore)	2011	55
Bobby Dalbec (Sophomore)	2015	53
Steve Selsky (Sophomore)	2010	52

 
Pac-12 RBI Leaders
1. Jonah Davis, Cal: 26
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal: 25
2. Trevor Larnach, Oregon State: 25
4. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona: 21
 
The Cambino: Sophomore second baseman Cameron Cannon has had a strong start to his season. Cannon is hitting .327 through 15 games, having started every game at second this season. Cannon is second on the team in runs scored with 12 and RBI with 14. He has an on-base percentage of .406. Cannon has turned it on as of late. He's enjoying a modest four-game hitting streak and has a pair of three-hit games during that stretch. He's 8 for 15 over his last four games with seven RBI, four runs scored and two walks. He also has a double and a triple. Cannon has already doubled his RBI total from his freshman season. He had seven RBI in 84 at-bats last year. This year, he has 14 RBI in 55 at-bats. He's 11 for 23 with runners in scoring position so far this season.
 
The Snow Man: Thanks to his new No. 8, Cal Stevenson has adopted a new nickname this season, courtesy of his teammates: The Snow Man. The name seems to be agreeing with him. Stevenson is batting .304 on the young season, and leads the team in walks with 11 after leading the entire conference last year. Stevenson went 7 for 15 last week during Arizona's four-game homestand with seven runs scored, three RBI and four walks. Against ASU last season, Stevenson was 7 for 18 with eight runs scored, one home run and five RBI.
 
Q Gets It Going: Sophomore third baseman Nick Quintana, a freshman All-American last season, is enjoying a seven-game hitting streak entering the game against the Sun Devils. He's 11 for 28 during the streak for a .393 batting average. He's driven in five with three doubles and six runs scored. During the hitting streak, which is the longest by an Arizona batter this season, Quintana has seen his average rise from .207 to .298. On the season, Quintana leads the Wildcats with six doubles and is third with 17 hits.
 
Ball Haug: Senior Ryan Haug has patiently waited to become an everyday player for the Wildcats, and this year it has paid off. Haug has started the past 10 games for Arizona, going 10 for 30 during that stretch with nine walks and five hit-by-pitches. He's had five multi-hit games during that stretch. He was named to the Dairy Queen Classic-Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge All-Tournament Team. Perhaps more impressive than his offense, has been Haug's defense. Against New Mexico State, Haug played left field and threw out a runner at home, trying to score on a sacrifice fly. Against Minnesota, Haug, again in left, made a diving catch into the stands on a foul ball, and then later threw out a runner at the plate to send the game into extra innings. Against Illinois, Haug moved to right and again had a hand in throwing out a runner at home, starting a 9-4-2 putout at home on an extra-base hit. Haug then started behind the plate against Michigan State, giving Cesar Salazar, who DH'ed a blow. The senior drew a pair of walks Tuesday against San Diego State, starting in left field. He hit in the three-hole for the Wildcats.