Tucson, Ariz. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to conclude the home portion of their schedule this weekend with a three-game series against in-state foe Arizona State. The series opened Thursday night at Hi Corbett Field with Arizona taking Game 1, 6-4. 

Cal Stevenson, Matt Fraizer and Cesar Salazar all had multi-hit games in the win with Fraizer tying his career high with three RBI. Zach Stone tossed a perfect ninth to earn his second save of the season. 

On Friday, Arizona State evened up the series with a 10-5 win, scoring three times in the sixth to break a 5-5 tie. 

The rubber match in the series is set for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Fireworks are scheduled for after the game.

Below is a full preview:

Date                Time (MST)    Location (Ballpark)                        Probable Starters/Results
Thu. May 17    6 p.m.            Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)        Arizona 6, Arizona State 4
Fri. May 18    7 p.m.              Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)        Arizona State 10, Arizona 5
Sat. May 19    4:30 p.m.        Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)        LHP Eli Lingos vs. TBA

TV: Pac-12 Network with Matt McConnell (play-by-play) and Ben Francisco (analyst) on the call
Radio: Arizona IMG Network with Brian Jeffries on the call
Live Stats: Available through ArizonaLiveStats.com

All-Time Series: Arizona leads 251-216-1
Last Meeting: Arizona topped host Arizona State on March 13 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium

Leading Off...
•    The Arizona Wildcats return to Hi Corbett Field for their final three games at home this season. The Wildcats are 21-5 at home this season and 68-19 total in three seasons under Coach Jay Johnson.
•    Johnson is 7-4 in his career against Arizona State and has won five of the past six meetings against the Sun Devils.
•    Catcher Cesar Salazar was named a Johnny Bench Award semifinalist on Wednesday. He's one of 16 catchers to make the cut and one of two in the Pac-12 Conference. Salazar is batting .339 this season and has thrown out 12 of 23 potential base stealers. 
•    First baseman Alfonso Rivas went 10 for 17 against Arizona State last season in five games. He's Arizona's leading hitter this year, batting .359 in 50 games. He also leads the team in RBI with 50. Rivas is batting .397 over his last 20 games.
•    Arizona currently sits at No. 43 in the RPI and has a nonconference RPI of 15. The Wildcats won their final 15 nonconference games this season and went 10-1 in midweek contests.
•     Sophomore middle infielder Cameron Cannon is hitting .398 at Hi Corbett Field this season to lead the team.  
• Nick Quintana has 12 home runs, which is the most by an Arizona  underclassman since 2015. He's hit eight of them at home.

Some Series Themes: Riding a four-game winning streak in the rivalry, Arizona will host in-state foe Arizona State for three games this weekend at Hi Corbett Field…Arizona swept Arizona State last season in Tucson, which marked the Cats' first sweep of the Sun Devils since 1992…It was the first road sweep of ASU since 1989…Arizona then beat ASU 6-2 earlier this season in Phoenix in a nonconference midweek matchup…Since arriving at Arizona, coach Jay Johnson is 7-4 against Arizona State and has won five of the last six meetings against Arizona State…The Sun Devils did manage to hand Johnson his first series loss at Hi Corbett Field in 2016, taking two of three in a weekend series against Arizona…In the game earlier this season, sophomore third baseman Nick Quintana went 2 for 4 against the Sun Devils with an RBI and two runs scored…Fellow sophomore Matt Fraizer was 2 for 4 with an RBI…Preston Price earned the win, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Avery Weems…Tylor Megill tossed two shutout innings in the end to earn a save…In five games against Arizona State last year, Alfonso Rivas was 10 for 17 with six runs scored and 10 RBI…Cal Stevenson was 7 for 18 with eight runs scored, two doubles, one home run and five RBI…Cesar Salazar was 4 for 12…Cody Deason, who will get the ball Thursday night for the Wildcats, earned a win against ASU last year, tossing six innings of one-run ball, walking one and striking out four…Arizona last earned back-to-back series wins against Arizona State in 2012 and 2013, winning two of three each season…Arizona State enters with a 21-28 record on the season and an 11-13 mark in Pac-12 play…The Sun Devils have had an impressive season offensively…Gage Canning is batting .392 with 16 doubles, 10 triples, eight home runs and 42 RBI…Freshman Spencer Torkelson is tied for the national lead with 22 home runs and is hitting .326 in his debut season for the Sun Devils…Sophomore catcher Lyle Lin is batting .320 with 15 doubles…Thursday night starter Alec Marsh started against Arizona earlier this year in Phoenix and took the loss, going 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, three earned and walking two…Marsh is 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 62 innings this season…The Sun Devils haven't announced a starter for Friday…Saturday starter Eli Lingos is 7-5 with a 3.61 ERA on the season in 82 1/3 innings…In 11 games against in-state opponents, Arizona coach Jay Johnson is 11-4.
 
 
No More Non-Con: The Arizona Wildcats have completed the nonconference portion of their schedule this season, and it was impressive body of work that Coach Jay Johnson's club put together. The Cats went 20-6 in nonconference games this season and put together a nonconference RPI of 15. Since Johnson's arrival at Arizona prior to the 2016 season, the Wildcats have gone 63-17 against nonconference competition.
Nonconference Numbers to Know
15: Nonconference RPI
15: The Cats have won 15 straight against nonconference opponents this season
10-1: Arizona's record in midweek games this year
10: Arizona has won 10 straight midweek games after falling to Arkansas 1-0 in the first midweek this season
14-0: Arizona's nonconference record at home this season
212-78: Arizona has outscored its nonconference opponents 212-78 this season
 
Home Cookin': For the third straight season under Jay Johnson, Arizona has excelled at Hi Corbett Field. The Cats are 21-5 at home this season and have outscored opponents 204-90 in 26 games. The Wildcats have posted a 3.00 ERA at home, while opponents have posted a 7.30 ERA. Cameron Cannon has been Arizona's leading hitter at Hi Corbett. The sophomore middle infielder is hitting .398 (39-98) with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 33 RBI in 26 home games. He's posted an on-base percentage of .487. Right behind Cannon is Alfonso Rivas, who is hitting .396 at Hi Corbett this season. Rivas is 40 for 101 at home with six doubles, one triple and three home runs. Others who have thrived at Hi Corbett this season offensively: Nick Quintana (.326, eight home runs, 27 RBI), Cesar Salazar (.388, 6 doubles, 23 RBI), Jacob Blas (.354, 13 RBI) and Cal Stevenson (.350, 5 triples, 13 RBI). On the mound, Juan Aguilera is 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA at home in 34 1/3 innings. Cody Deason is 4-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. Arizona pitchers are allowing opponents to hit just .237 against them at home this season.
Arizona at Home Under Jay Johnson
-- 68-19 overall record
-- Have outscored opponents 689-346
-- .319 batting average this season
 
All Hail, Cesar: Junior catcher Cesar Salazar has been named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top catcher in the country. Salazar is one of 16 semifinalists and one of two Pac-12 backstops selected to the list, joining Oregon State's Adley Rutschman. Salazar is enjoying his finest season as a Wildcat this year as an upperclassmen. He's second on the team with a .339 batting average. He has 10 doubles, 33 RBI and an on-base percentage of .438. He has 15 multiple-hit games and 8 multiple-RBI games on the season. Known for his defensive ability, Salazar has backed up that reputation as well this season. He's thrown out 12 of 23 potential base stealers this season. He's posted a .992 fielding percentage with three errors in 367 total chances. Salazar had an 11-game hitting streak snapped Monday at Sacramento State when he went 0 for 3 with a walk. He had a career night in Arizona's most recent home game, going 3 for 5 with five RBI and three runs scored against Grand Canyon on May 8. He's batting .388 at home this season in 24 starts. Salazar has been a mainstay behind the plate for the Wildcats throughout his three-year career. He's batting .298 in 164 career games for the Wildcats with 29 doubles, 95 RBI and 76 runs scored. He has a career fielding percentage of .992. Offensively, he has seen his batting average improve each season as a Wildcat, with the biggest jump coming this season. Salazar hit .284 last year and is currently batting .339 on the season. Salazar has also seen his on-base percentage improve from .329 as a freshman to .438 as a junior.
 
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. Rivas is living up to the preseason expectations and having a banner season as a junior. Rivas leads the team in batting average (.359), hits (71), on-base percentage (.438) and RBI (50). He's third in slugging percentage (.535) and doubles (11) and second in triples (three). Rivas has picked it up even more so lately. In his last 20 games, Rivas is batting .397 with 21 RBI. He also has nine extra-base hits in that span, including four home runs and an on-base percentage of .462. Over his last 10, Rivas is batting .400 with 13 RBI, 16 hits and six extra-base hits. He also has five multi-hit games in his last 10 contests. Rivas had three multi-hit games in four contests on the Utah swing. He went 2 for 4 in the opener against the Utes with an RBI. He then went 0 for 4 in the Saturday game to break an 11-game hitting streak, but bounced back in a big way in the series finale. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of home runs. He drove in five and scored three times to lift Arizona to a critical 18-12 win over Utah. Then on Monday against Utah Valley, he went 2 for 4 with an RBI, a triple and a run scored. Rivas went 5 for 11 against UCLA and is now 17 for 35 against the Bruins for his career. Rivas has been a pain for left-handed pitchers, batting .392 in 79 at-bats. He's batting .406 with runners in scoring position to lead the team and has 23 two-out RBI, which also leads the squad.
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

 
Dominant Deason: Junior right-hander Cody Deason is having one of the best seasons by a Pac-12 pitcher this season for the Wildcats. Through 12 starts, Deason is 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA. In 78 1/3 innings, he's given up just 57 hits and 33 walks, while striking out 75 and holding opponents to a .206 batting average against. He's allowed just one home run on the season. Deason turned it up a notch two starts ago against No. 7 UCLA in the series opener. Deason, who earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors along with being named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week for his effort against UCLA, tossed a five-hit shutout against the Bruins. He allowed just one walk and struck out a career best 11 in Arizona's 2-0 series-opening win. He allowed just one runner to reach third base and tossed Arizona's first shutout since JC Cloney blanked Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the 2016 College World Series finals. It was Arizona's first shutout of a conference opponent since blanking Cal on April 22, 2016. Deason's complete game was the first by an Arizona pitcher this year and first since Cameron Ming went all nine against Arizona State last year in Phoenix. Deason is fifth in the Pac-12 in ERA, second in opposing batting average and tied for fourth in strikeouts with 75. He's also seventh in innings pitched at 78 1/3. Deason has gone at least 5 1/3 innings in each start this year and has never had an ERA higher of 2.70 on the season.
 
Stoning Hitters: Senior Zach Stone has proven to be a critical piece of the Arizona pitching staff; especially over the past two months of the season. The graduate transfer, who played at UC-Davis before transferring to Arizona, didn't appear in a game until Arizona's 13^th game of the season on March 9 against North Dakota State. His role has increased as the season has gone on, as he's also earned five starts. On the season, Stone has a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings. He has a 32 to 6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He didn't allow a walk in April, and struck out 17 in 14 innings. He's proven to be versatile as well. He's appeared at the end of games, he's drawn starting assignments and he's shined in middle relief. In a 7-6 win at Utah Valley, Stone came in the third inning and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out on a season-high 52 pitches. His effort allowed Arizona to come back from a 5-0 deficit and earn a critical road midweek win over the Wolverines. On Friday against UCLA, Stone tossed the final two innings to earn the first save of his Arizona career. He didn't give up any hits and struck out two. Stone started against Sacramento State on Monday and tossed four innings, allowing just one run to earn his second win of the season. Stone was an All-Big-West second-team selection in 2015, compiling 13 saves to finish second on the school's single-season list. His 22 saves at UC-Davis are the most ever by an Aggie.
 
Blas Half Full: Jacob Blas has wasted no time in his Arizona career making an impact on the diamond for the Wildcats. Blas took over the starting shortstop role in Mid-March when the Wildcats were in Washington, and has been an offensive threat ever since, while playing stellar defense at short and recently, second base. On the season, Blas is hitting .314 in 102 at-bats. He has 32 hits, 25 RBI, 23 runs scored, six doubles and two home runs. Blas has been one of Arizona's best hitters with runners in scoring position, going 14 for 38 to post a .368 average. He's hitting .373 (22 for 59) with runners on base. The infielder from Carlsbad, California has been a run-producing machine, and has primarily hit out of the nine spot. He has 22 RBI in his last 22 games, including seven multi-RBI games. Against Stanford, Blas showed how clutch he is with a three-run inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning with the game tied at three apiece. He went 4 for 10 total against the Cardinal. Since taking over as a regular on March 18, Blas has seen his season batting average rise from .176 to .314. In the Sunday series finale versus Utah, Blas reached base five times. He went 3 for 4 with a pair of walks. He drove in one run and scored twice. Blas had a pair of three-hit games in the series at Cal. He went 3 for 5 with an RBi in the opener, and then 3 for 5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
 
Power Surge: Arizona entered the late-March Nicholls State series with just four home runs on the season through 23 games. In the 27 games since, Arizona has hit 31 home runs and had an eight-game home run streak, hitting multiple home runs four times in that span. Against Oregon State, the Wildcats added four more home runs, getting two apiece from Nick Quintana and Cameron Cannon. Against Grand Canyon, Quintana added two more homers. Cannon hit another home run in the series opener against USC to extend the streak to eight games. Arizona then got two home runs over the weekend against Stanford with Alfonso Rivas connecting on his third of the season and Jacob Blas hitting an inside-the-park home run for his second homer of the season. Against Utah, Arizona got a home run from Cannon in the second game and then tied a season high with three long balls in the finale with Rivas hitting two and Quintana hitting one. The next night against Utah Valley, Matt Fraizer hit his first homer of the season. Rivas and Quintana each went deep against UCLA, as well. Tuesday against Grand Canyon, Quintana had a multi-home run game for the second time in two contests against the Antelopes, slugging his 10^th and 11^th home runs of the season. Cannon added his seventh of the year against Grand Canyon and catcher Cesar Salazar went deep for the first time this year and third time of his career. The Cats now have 35 home runs on the season, after hitting five on the Cal and Sacramento State road trip. Arizona hit five home runs in the three-game sweep of Nicholls, getting two home runs from Quintana and one apiece from Cannon, Blas and Donta Williams. Cannon then hit his second of the year against the Lobos, before hitting two more against Oregon State. Quintana, who hit six last year as a freshman, has 12 home runs after not having any in his first 22 games of the season.
 
The Cambino: Sophomore second baseman Cameron Cannon is having a strong sophomore season for Arizona. Cannon is hitting .321 through 50 games, having started every game this season. He started the first 42 at second base, but moved to shortstop for the UCLA series and has stayed there since. He is tied for second on the team in RBI with 47, just three behind leader Alfonso Rivas. He leads the team in doubles with 17 and is second on the squad in slugging percentage at .554. His 17 doubles rank tied for fourth in the Pac-12. He also leads the team in walks with 30, and is tied for 11^th most in the league. Cannon, who had just 84 at-bats last season, has already surpassed his freshman season total in every offensive category this year. In the Pac-12 Conference, Cannon is third in runs scored (52) and ninth in RBI. The sophomore from Glendale has 16 multi-hit games on the season and 11 multi-RBI contests. The 11 multi-RBI games are second on the team to Alfonso Rivas and the 15 multi-hit games are third behind Nick Quintana and Rivas. Cannon had a pair of multi-hit games at Utah. He went 2 for 5 in the opener with a double and a run scored. In the series finale, He was 2 for 5 again with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. He had reached base in 10 straight prior to the series finale against UCLA. Against Grand Canyon, Cannon slugged his seventh home run of the season when he went deep in the second inning for a three-run homer. He had four RBI total against the Antelopes. Cannon hit three doubles in the series finale against Cal and hit a two-run home run in Monday's win at Sacramento State.
 
He's a Sure-Man: Redshirt freshman reliever Zach Sherman has been a force out of the bullpen for the Wildcats this season and has secured a late-game role for Coach Dave Lawn's staff. In 17 2/3 innings this season, Sherman has a 2.55 ERA and has allowed just 12 hits and four walks to 23 strikeouts. Sherman earned the first save of his career Monday at Sacramento State. He pitched the final two innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out three. In the outing before that, Sherman tossed 2 2/3 innings against UCLA, allowing two hits and one run, while striking out five to secure a 6-3 win over the Bruins and a series sweep of the seventh-ranked team in the country. Right-handed hitters are batting just .128 against him this season, going 5 for 39 total. Batters are just 6 for 32 against him with runners on base and 6 for 27 with two outs in an inning. He's gotten 19 groundball outs to 10 fly ball outs, showing he knows how to keep the ball down in the zone and let his defense go to work. He's also averaging 11.72 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the most by a qualifying pitcher on the roster.
 
More Flow, More Go: Sophomore third baseman Nick Quintana has seen his power numbers increase this year in his second season in Tucson. Quintana has 12 home runs on the year, which is the most by an Arizona underclassman since Bobby Dalbec has 15 in 2015. He's sixth in the conference with his 12 home runs and tied for ninth in the league with 15 doubles. He hit six home runs and drove in 38 last year as a freshman and was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. This year, he already has 47 RBI, which ranks tied for ninth in the league with teammate and roommate Cameron Cannon. On the season, Quintana is hitting .291 with an on-base percentage of .386. He's also scored 40 runs on the season, which is third-most on the team. Quintana has hit all 12 of his home runs in the past 28 games and has eight of the 12 at Hi Corbett Field.