TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats continue their seven-game homestand this weekend with a three-game series with Washington State. 

The Wildcats improved to 10-0 at Hi Corbett Field on Friday night, topping the Cougars 5-4 to win the opener of the three-game series, before suffering their first home loss of the season Saturday, 5-4 to Washington State. 

Sunday, Arizona will go for the series win over the Cougars. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.

Below is a full preview:

Date                    Time (MST)    Location (Ballpark)                         Probable Starters/Results
Fri. March 23          6 p.m.           Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)           Arizona 5, Washington State 4 
Sat. March 24         6 p.m.           Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)           Washington State 5, Arizona 4
Sun. March 25        12:30 p.m.    Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)           LHP Cody Anderson vs. RHP Michael Flynn

Live Stream: Available through Pac-12.com/live/university-arizona-3 AND www.facebook.com/pac12plus
Live Stats: Available through ArizonaWildcats.com
Live Radio: Brian Jeffries will call the action on the Arizona IMG Sports Network and TuneIn

Leading Off...
•    Arizona continues a seven-game homestand this weekend, hosting Washington State for a three-game set. The Wildcats will play nine of their next 10 games at home, where they are 9-0 this season.
•    Since Coach Jay Johnson took over at Arizona, the Wildcats are 55-14 at Hi Corbett Field and 2-1 against Washington State.
•    Arizona is sixth nationally in ERA at 2.30. The Wildcats lead the Pac-12 and are second among all Power 5 schools. 
•    Friday night starter Cody Deason ranks third in the Pac-12 in strikeouts with 31, fifth in ERA at 1.42 and sixth in innings pitched at 31.2. He's second in the league with 15 strikeouts looking. Deason is 2-1 in five starts. 
•    Catcher Cesar Salazar leads Arizona with a .364 batting average. He's 20 for 55 with five doubles and 12 RBI. He's also thrown out five of 10 potential base stealers this season. The junior from Hermosillo, Mexico is on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, handed out to the nation's top catcher. 
•    Salazar has reached base safelty in 18 straight games, while senior centerfielder Cal Stevenson is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.
•    Arizona pitchers are limiting opposing hitters to just a .218 batting average against and have allowed 35 extra-base hits in 180 innings. 
•    The pitching staff currently has six pitchers with an ERA of 3.00 or better and 10 or more innings pitched.

Some Series Themes: Arizona is set for its Pac-12 home opener this weekend, welcoming in Washington State for a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field…Both the Wildcats and Cougars were swept last weekend on the road to open up league play…Washington State suffered three straight losses at UCLA, while Arizona lost a pair of one-run games against the Huskies in a sweep…Both teams will look to get back on track this weekend with a pair of night games and a Sunday matinee…Arizona lost starting pitcher Randy Labaut for the season in Seattle, due to compartment syndrome in his leg…Labaut had been one of Arizona's most trusted pitchers this year, tied for the team lead in innings pitched, while sporting a miniscule 1.71 ERA in 31 2/3 innings over seven appearances…Coach Jay Johnson will look to other options to help fill the void left by Labaut and has altered his weekend rotation without the services of the sophomore left-hander…This weekend, Cody Deason will start as normal on Friday, followed by junior lefty Avery Weems on Saturday and junior righty Michael Flynn on Sunday…Washington State will counter with three left-handers, starting sophomore A.J. Block on Friday and seniors Scotty Sunitsch and Cody Anderson on Saturday and Sunday respectively…Arizona has won three straight series against Washington State, winning two out of three each of the past three years…Washington State last won a series against Arizona in 2014, winning two of three in Tucson after dropping the opener 12-1…The series win in Tucson in 2014 was Washington State's first here since 2006…All-time, Arizona leads the series 40-25…In Tucson, the Wildcats have a 20-11 edge…Coach Jay Johnson and Washington State coach Marty Lees are both in their third years in the program with Johnson's Wildcats winning each of the first two series' the two have battled out…This weekend's series will be live streamed through Facebook Live on the Pac-12 Channel at facebook.com/pac12plus/, on top of the normal live stream…There will be postgame fireworks after Friday's game.
 
No Runs for You: Never in the Pac-12 era has an Arizona team given up fewer runs through 20 games than the 2018 Wildcats. Through 20 games, Arizona has surrendered just 56 total runs, which is the fewest since Arizona joined the Pac-10/12 in 1978. The 56 runs allowed are the fewest by an Arizona team since 1974 when the Jerry Kindall-led Wildcats allowed just 38 runs through 20 games. That year, Arizona went 58-6 and won the WAC Championship. This year, Arizona has given up more than five runs in a game just once, and has held opponents to three runs or fewer in 13 of 20 games. In the Pac-10/12 era, the fewest runs allowed through 20 games came in 2011 when the Cats gave up 69 total runs. Arizona has allowed seven hits or fewer in 13 of 20 games to start the year, keeping the scoring opportunities at an absolute minimum.
Fewest Runs Allowed Through 20 Games Since 1950

Year	Runs Allowed
1974	38
1969	49
1973	54
2018	56
1961	58

 
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, which is the sixth-best mark in the country and second-best among Power 5 Conference teams. Arizona has allowed just 139 hits in 180 total innings. The pitching staff is averaging 6.95 hits per nine innings, which is the 14^th best mark in the country. Wildcat pitchers have combined to strike out 142, while allowing 73 walks. Opposing batters are hitting just .218 against Arizona pitching with 35 extra-base hits in 19 games. It's been a collective effort for the Wildcats thus far with several different arms contributing to the early season success. Randy Labaut and Cody Deason lead the team with 31 2/3 innings. Labaut, who is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA, has walked just four, compared to 19 strikeouts. Cody Deason, who has had the Friday night honors so far this season, has just a 1.42 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. Michael Flynn and Avery Weems have also logged 19 or more innings. Weems has a 2.97 ERA in 30 1/3 innings, while Flynn has a 2.79 ERA in 19 1/3 innings pitched.
National Team Leaders in ERA

School	Staff ERA
Stetson	1.89
Louisiana Tech	1.93
East Carolina	2.15
Hofstra	2.19
Ole Miss	2.19
Arizona	2.30

 
 
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 .201 against Arizona pitching, combining to go 57 for 283 so far. Right-handed starters Cody Deason and Michael Flynn have been especially tough on lefties, allowing them to go just 14 for 94 for a .149 average. Another area where Arizona pitchers have excelled is with runners on base. Opposing hitters are just 60 for 288 with runners on for a .208 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 37 for 192 (.193) 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 36 for 174 (.207) in that situation.
 
Arizona Pitching By the Numbers

• 2.30 – Staff ERA, Best in Pac-12; 6^th best in country
• .218 -- Batting Average Against
• 5 – Home Runs Allowed, fewest in Pac-12
• 56 – Total Runs Allowed, fewest by an Arizona team since 1974
• .193 – Batting Average Against with 2 outs
• .201 – Batting Average Against by left-handed hitting
• .207 – Batting Average Against with runners in scoring position
• 6.95 hits allowed per nine innings, 14^th best in the country

 
Dominant Deason: Through five starts, junior right-hander Cody Deason has looked a lot like a Friday night starter in the Pac-12 should look. Deason is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. He's third in the Pac-12 in strikeouts with 31, fifth in ERA and sixth in innings pitched. He's given up just five earned runs on the season and has opposing batters hitting just .181 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 9 for 61 against him, and batters are just 4 for 31 against him with two outs, showing he knows how to shut down an inning. With runners on, Deason is limiting hitters to a .225 average, seeing hitters go 9 for 40. He's allowed just six extra-base hits in 31-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. Weems started against Arizona State and went 4 2/3 innings in a 6-2 win for the Wildcats. He made his team-leading sixth start of the season Sunday against Washington and went a career-best 6 1/3 innings. 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 31 2/3 innings, which is tied for the most on the team, and has given up 27 hits and six earned runs. He's walked just four, compared to 19 strikeouts and has hitters batting .239 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 29 against him with two outs. The four 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.
 
He's Been Juanderful: Spanning back to last season, senior right-handed pitcher Juan Aguilera has given up just one earned run over his last 19 innings pitched. This season, Aguilera is 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. He made his first career start Tuesday against New Mexico State and tossed six shutout innings, needing just 64 pitches to churn through one of the top offenses in the country. Aguilera has struck out 12 and opposing batters are hitting just .208 against him. Over his final four appearances last year, Aguilera didn't give up a run over 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit, three walks and four strikeouts. He earned the win in Arizona's win over Delaware in the NCAA Tournament. He's been especially tough against right-handed hitters this year, forcing them to go just 6 for 33. Batters are also just 1 for 23 against him with runners on base and 0 for 13 with two outs. A product of nearby Sierra Vista, Aguilera has had a long journey to this point, spending the first two years of his college career at Cochise College.  
 
All Hail, Cesar: Cesar Salazar returns for his third consecutive season as Arizona's primary backstop. The junior from Hermosillo, Mexico, was named All-Pac-12 first-team last year, and was also a member of the Lubbock All-Regional team last year after a strong three-game performance in the postseason. Salazar's offensive production increased last season in several areas. Salazar improved his average, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks total, while striking out three fewer times. He's also posted back-to-back fielding percentages of .992 behind the plate. Salazar threw out 11 of 37 potential base stealers last season. This season, Salazar has thrown out five of 10 potential base stealers. He's also leading the team in batting with a .364 batting average. He's 20 for 55 and has reached base in all 18 games he's played in this season. He's been hit by a pitch six times total this year. Salazar already has five multi-hit games on the year, including two three-hit games, including last week against Arizona State where he went 3 for 4 with a run scored. Salazar had a season-high three RBI on Tuesday against New Mexico State with a bases loaded double.
 
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 is batting .304 this season with two home runs and 22 RBI. 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 against San Diego State and North Dakota State, 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. Rivas is 12 for 24 on the year with runners in scoring positon and he's 13 for 33 against left-handed pitching.
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: 28
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal: 27
2. Trevor Larnach, Oregon State: 27
4. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona: 22
4. Spencer Torkelson, ASU: 22
 
The Cambino: Sophomore second baseman Cameron Cannon has had a strong start to his season. Cannon is hitting .320 through 20 games, having started every game at second this season. Cannon is third on the team in runs scored with 14 and second in RBI with 18. He has an on-base percentage of .395. Before the Washington series, Cannon enjoyed a modest five-game hitting streak and had a pair of three-hit games during that stretch. He went 9 for 19 over his those five games with eight RBI, five runs scored and three walks. He also had a double and a triple. Cannon has already more than doubled his RBI total from his freshman season. He had seven RBI in 84 at-bats last year. This year, he has 18 RBI in 75 at-bats. He's 14 for 32 with runners in scoring position so far this season. Cannon went 3 for 5 with three RBI on Tuesday against New Mexico State.
 
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 .318 on the young season, and leads the team in walks with 13 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. He had a pair of triples Tuesday against New Mexico State and has four on the season, ranking second in the Pac-12.