TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats return home to Hi Corbett Field to host San Diego State to open a four-game homestand. The Wildcats will host North Dakota State this weekend for three games. 

Below is a full preview of the Aztecs matchup:

Date        Time (MST)    Location (Ballpark)                        Probable Starters
Tue. March 6    6 p.m.    Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)    RHP Justin Goossen-Brown vs. LHP Avery Weems

Live Stream: Available through ArizonaWildcats.com
Live Stats: Available through ArizonaLiveStats.com

Leading Off...
•    Having played seven of their last eight games on the road, Arizona will open a four-game homestand Tuesday night against San Diego State in the second meeting between the two teams this season.
•    Pitching has been the name of the game so far this season for Arizona. The Wildcats have allowed just 30 total runs through 11 games this season, which is the program's lowest total since giving up 18 runs through 11 games of the 1974 season. 
•    Arizona pitchers have combined for a 2.24 ERA and have as many strikeouts (82) as hits allowed. 
•    Junior right-handed pitcher Cody Deason and senior outfielder/catcher Ryan Haug were named to the Dairy Queen Classic-Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge this past weekend. Deason started against Minnesota and allowed one unearned run over seven innings. Haug had three straight multi-hit games and went 6 for 12 on the weekend. 
•    Junior first baseman Alfonso Rivas enters tonight's game with exactly 100 career RBI and leads Arizona in RBI, hits and total bases this season.
•    Arizona is 51-14 at Hi Corbett in the Jay Johnson era. 
•    Cal Stevenson is 6 for 12 at Hi Corbett this season with a pair of triples.
•    Arizona is 8-1 in its last nine games against San Diego State.

Some Game Themes: Arizona and San Diego State will meet for the second time this season Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field…San Diego State took the first matchup, topping Arizona 3-2 in 10 innings on a walkoff wild pitch…The win by the Aztecs snapped an eight-game winning streak for Arizona in the series…Left-hander Avery Weems will draw the start for the Wildcats…Weems is 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA so far this season, and will be making his fourth start of the season for Arizona…Weems has allowed just four earned runs in 17 2/3 innings this season, striking out 11 to four walks…Weems started Saturday against Illinois, but threw just 45 pitches, going 3 1/3 innings…Before that, Weems had gone at least 5 2/3 innings in each of his previous two starts…The lefty is in his first year with the program after transferring from Yavapai Junior College…San Diego State will counter with junior Justin Goosen-Brown…The Arizona native played his high school baseball at Chandler Hamilton…He redshirted the 2017 season at San Diego State after two seasons at Los Angeles Valley College…Goossen-Brown has made two appearances this season for the Aztecs, including a start against Michigan…Against the Wolverines, Goossen-Brown went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, two runs, one earned and striking out 10…He's 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA on the season, having also appeared against UC Santa Barbara…Arizona, despite a slow start, has still been strong at home…The Wildcats are 4-0 this season at Hi Corbett and 51-14 total there since Coach Jay Johnson took over in 2016…This marks San Diego State's first visit to Tucson since 2008 when the Aztecs came for a two-game midweek series in late April…Arizona won both games, topping the Aztecs 3-2 in the first game and 13-4 in the series finale…Several Arizona hitters have gotten off to hot starts at Hi Corbett this season…Cal Stevenson is 6 for 12 on his home field with a pair of doubles…Cesar Salazar is 5 for 10 with a double and Cameron Cannon is batting .429 at Hi Corbett, having started the season 6 for 14 with three runs scored…Arizona also has a 1.25 staff ERA at home, allowing just five earned runs in 36 total innings…Opposing pitchers, meanwhile, have a 5.06 ERA at Hi Corbett.
 
No Runs for You: Arizona hasn't quite gotten off to the start it was hoping for, but that doesn't mean its run prevention hasn't been special. Through 11 games, the Wildcats have surrendered just 30 total runs. That's the fewest runs allowed through 11 games since giving up just 18 runs to start the 1974 season. That year, Arizona went 58-6 and won the WAC Championship. In 2012, when Arizona won the National Championship, the Wildcats gave up 31 runs through their first 11. 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 seven of 11 games. Arizona pitching has been especially good at the start of games. Pitchers have combined to just give up five of the 30 runs in the first three innings of the game, giving up three in the first, two in the second and none in the third.

Fewest Runs Allowed Through 11 Games Since 1974

Year	Runs Allowed
1974	18
2018	30
2012	31
2011	36
2005	37
2007	38

 
 
What a Start: Arizona pitching has set the tone for the season thus far. Arizona has a staff ERA of just 2.24 so far this season, allowing just 82 hits in 100 2/3 total innings. Wildcat pitchers have combined to strike out 82, while allowing 43 walks. Opposing batters are hitting just .232 against Arizona pitching with 17 extra-base hits in eight 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 20 2/3 innings and has a 2.18 ERA, giving up just five runs on the season. Labaut has walked just one, compared to 14 strikeouts. Cody Deason, who has had the Friday night honors so far this season, has just a 0.93 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. Michael Flynn and Avery Weems have also logged 12 or more innings. Weems has a 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 innings, while Flynn was stellar in Minneapolis and has a 3.75 ERA.
 
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 .212 against Arizona pitching, combining to go 32 for 151 so far. Right-handed starters Cody Deason and Michael Flynn have been especially tough on lefties, allowing them to go just 8 for 57 for a .140 average. Another area where Arizona pitchers have excelled is with runners on base. Opposing hitters are just 35 for 159 with runners on for a .220 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 19 for 103 (.184) with two outs against Arizona pitching. With runners in scoring position, it's not much better with the opposition hitting 18 for 93 in that situation.
 
Dominant Deason: Through three starts, junior right-hander Cody Deason has looked a lot like a Friday night starter in the Pac-12 should look. Deason is 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. He's given up just two earned runs on the season and has opposing batters hitting just .194 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 tonight's opponent 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.  The junior has lefties hitting 5 for 37 against him, and batters are just 2 for 18 against him with two outs, showing he knows how to shut down an inning. With runners on, Deason is limiting hitters to a .160 average, seeing hitters go 4 for 25. He's yet to allow an extra-base hit.
 
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 20 2/3 innings, giving up 19 hits and five runs. He's walked just one, compared to 14 strikeouts and has hitters batting .247 against him this season. Labaut appeared out of the bullpen for his first two appearances of the season, but has started three straight. In that span, Labaut has gone 19 1/3 innings, giving up 15 hits, five runs, no walks and 13 strikeouts. 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. Last weekend 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. Hitters are just 3 for 21 against him with two outs. The one walk on the season has 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 four extra-base hits this season.
 
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 as Yavapai Junior College in Prescott.
 
Haug Does it All: Senior Ryan Haug has patiently waited to become an everyday player for the Wildcats, and this year it has paid off. Haug is leading the team in hitting at .292 and has started seven games. Haug has started the past six games for Arizona, and had three-straight multiple-hit games last weekend in Minneapolis. Against Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan State, Haug went 6 for 12 total with a pair of runs scored and a double. He was named to the Dairy Queen Classic-Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge. 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.
 
Former Arizona Wildcats in Spring Training
 
With Spring Training in full-go mode right now, it's a good time to check in on former Wildcats playing professional baseball. Currently, there are 27 former Arizona players in spring training right now. Of those 27, 15 are currently in Major League camp as either roster players or non-roster invitees, such as Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman. Here's a look at the list:
Major Leagues
Jett Bandy, Milwaukee Brewers
Dan Butler, Boston Red Sox
Brandon Dixon, Cincinnati Reds
James Farris, Colorado Rockies
Johnny Field, Tampa Bay Rays
Preston Guilmet, St. Louis Cardinals
Nick Hundley, San Francisco Giants
Scott Kingery, Philadelphia Phillies
Alex Mejia, St. Louis Cardinals
Seth Mejias-Brean, Seattle Mariners
Mark Melancon, San Francisco Giants
Kevin Newman, Pittsburgh Pirates
Rob Refsnyder, Cleveland Indians
Joey Rickard, Baltimore Orioles
Steve Selsky, Boston Red Sox
 
Minor Leagues:
Ryan Aguilar, Milwaukee Brewers
Nathan Bannister, Seattle Mariners
Louis Boyd, Seattle Mariners
JC Cloney, Kansas City Royals
Bobby Dalbec, Boston Red Sox
Zach Gibbons, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Kevin Ginkel, Arizona Diamondbacks
Rio Gomez, Boston Red Sox
JJ Matijevic, Houston Astros
Cameron Ming, Baltimore Orioles
Jared Oliva, Pittsburgh Pirates
Konner Wade, Baltimore Orioles