Thursday, May 24
Eugene, OR
7:00 PM
University of Arizona
at
Oregon
Photo by: Arizona Athletics
Cats Set for Final Regular Season Game Against Ducks
05/23/2018 | Baseball
EUGENE, Ore. -- The Arizona Wildcats are set to close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series at Oregon. The Wildcats opened the series with a 10-2 victory Thursday night. Cesar Salazar hit a pair of home runs and Cody Deason tossed six strong innings.
Oregon evened the series up at one game apiece on Friday with a 2-1 win. The Cats loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but couldn't get the tying run home.
Arizona will now go for the series win Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Below is a full preview of the series:
Date Time (MST) Location (Ballpark) Probable Starters/Results
Thu. May 24 7 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) Arizona 10, Oregon 2
Fri. May 25 7 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) RHP Kenyon Yovan vs. RHP Michael Flynn
Sat. May 26 3 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) TBA vs. TBA
TV: Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk (play-by-play) and Donnie Marbut (analyst) on the call
Radio: Arizona IMG Network with Brian Jeffries on the call
Live Stats: Available through StatBroadcast.com
All-Time Series: Arizona leads 21-14-1
Last Meeting: Arizona took two of three from Oregon last season at Hi Corbett Field
Leading Off...
• The Arizona Wildcats will close out their regular season with a three-game road trip at Oregon. The Cats haven't won a series at PK Park since sweeping the Ducks in 2009.
• Coach Jay Johnson is 3-3 against Oregon in his Arizona career. The Cats took two of three from the Ducks last season in Tucson.
• Catcher Cesar Salazar was named a Johnny Bench Award semifinalist last week. He's one of 16 catchers to make the cut and one of two in the Pac-12 Conference. Salazar is batting .330 this season and has thrown out 14 of 26 potential base stealers.
• First baseman Alfonso Rivas went eight for 13 against the Ducks last season in Tucson, and is batting better than .400 for his career against Oregon pitching. Rivas leads the team in batting average and is second in RBI with 50 on the season.
• Arizona currently sits at No. 48 in the RPI and has a nonconference RPI of 11. The Wildcats won their final 15 nonconference games this season and went 10-1 in midweek contests.
• Freshman middle infielder Jacob Blas is hitting .382 over his last 20 games, which leads the team. He has a seven-game hitting streak.
• Nick Quintana has 14 home runs, which is the most by an Arizona underclassman since 2015.
Some Series Themes: The Arizona Wildcats will head to Eugene, Oregon to close out the regular season with a three-game series against the Oregon Ducks…The Wildcats enter the final series 32-21 on the season and 12-15 in Pac-12 play with an RPI of 48…Coach Jay Johnson's club is looking for a strong finish to the season to boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament…The Cats have a nonconference RPI of 11 and a strength of schedule of 40…The Wildcats have an opportunity to boost their stock with three road games at the Ducks, who sit inside the Top 100 in the RPI at No. 90…Oregon enters the series with an overall record of 25-27 and a 11-16 mark inside league play…Arizona took two of three from Oregon last season at Hi Corbett Field after dropping the opener of the series…The year before, the Ducks took two of three from the Wildcats at PK Park with the Wildcats salvaging the finale in the second-to-last weekend of regular season play…The Wildcats have won just one series at PK Park, sweeping the Ducks in 2009…Oregon took two of three in 2011, swept the Wildcats in 2013 and 2014 and earned the series win in 2016…This season, the Ducks have been led by Jakob Goldfarb, who is hitting .311 in 50 starts this year with 13 doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI…Goldfarb has also stolen 14 bases on the season…Kenyon Yovan and Matt Mercer have been the horses of the pitching staff for the Ducks…Yovan is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 75 2/3 innings…He began the season as the team's closer and has five saves…Yovan has 92 strikeouts this season, which leads the team…Mercer has a 2.95 ERA in 84 1/3 innings, striking out 83 and compiling a 5-6 record…Some of Arizona's best hitters have experienced success against the Oregon pitching staff…Alfonso Rivas went 8 for 13 last season against Oregon with a double, two RBI and six runs scored…For his career, Rivas is 9 for 21 against the Ducks for a .429 average…Junior catcher Cesar Salazar is 8 for 22 lifetime against the Ducks with a pair of doubles and two RBI…In his first series against Oregon, Nick Quintana went 4 for 13 with a double and a home run, driving in five…Thursday night starter Cody Deason has thrown just three career innings against Oregon, but hasn't allowed a run and has struck out two…Jay Johnson is 3-3 in his Arizona career against the Ducks…This is the second time in the last three years the Wildcats have closed out their Pac-12 schedule at Oregon.
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.
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 .330 batting average. He has 11 doubles, 34 RBI and an on-base percentage of .421. 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 14 of 26 potential base stealers this season. He's posted a .993 fielding percentage with three errors in 401 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 earlier this month at homer, going 3 for 5 with five RBI and three runs scored against Grand Canyon on May 8. He's batting .362 at home this season in 27 starts. Salazar has been a mainstay behind the plate for the Wildcats throughout his three-year career. He's batting .296 in 167 career games for the Wildcats with 30 doubles, 96 RBI and 77 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 .330 on the season. Salazar has also seen his on-base percentage improve from .329 as a freshman to .421 as a junior.
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 14 home runs on the year, which is the most by an Arizona underclassman since Bobby Dalbec has 15 in 2015. He's tied for fifth in the conference with his 14 home runs and tied for seventh in the league with 16 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 51 RBI, which ranks ninth in the league with teammate and leads the Wildcats. On the season, Quintana is hitting .313 with an on-base percentage of .408. He's also scored 46 runs on the season, which is second-most on the team. Quintana has hit all 14 of his home runs in the past 31 games and has 10 of the 14 at Hi Corbett Field. Last week, in four games against Sacramento State and Arizona State, Quintana was 10 for 15 total with three home runs and five RBI. He homered in the Monday matchup against Sacramento State and then had a two-home run game in Saturday's thrilling 10-9 win over Arizona State in 11 innings. Quintana reached base six times in Saturday's win and scored four runs, which established a new season high. He also has three multi-hit games in his last four contests. Quintana has started all 53 games at third base for the Wildcats this season.
Praise for Fraiz: Nick Quintana wasn't the only sophomore to see his play improve over recent weeks. Sophomore right fielder Matt Fraizer batted .417 with a home run and 7 RBI last week in four games and is batting .342 over his last 12 games. Last week, Fraizer hit a two-run home run against Sacramento State for his second long ball of the season. He then tied a career high in RBI with three in the series opener versus Arizona State, going 2 for 4 with three RBI. The following night he drew three walks and reached base four times, going 1 for 1. In the finale against ASU, he was 1 for 4 with an RBI. Fraizer has raised his batting average 20 points over the last 12 games and enters the Oregon series with a .272 batting average on the season. Fraizer has a modest four-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in five straight.
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 (.347), hits (74), on-base percentage (.426) and is second in RBI (50). He's third in slugging percentage (.526) and doubles (14) and second in triples (three). Over his three-year Arizona career, Rivas has established himself as one of the best hitters in the Pac-12. In 166 career games, Rivas is batting .325 with exactly 200 hits, 36 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 139 RBI. He hit .371 as a sophomore after batting .247 as a freshman in 2016. Rivas had three multi-hit games in four contests on the Utah swing last month. 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 .365 in 85 at-bats. He's batting .382 with runners in scoring position to lead the team and has 23 two-out RBI, which also leads the squad.
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 2.86 ERA. In 85 innings, he's given up just 62 hits and 37 walks, while striking out 82 and holding opponents to a .205 batting average against. He's allowed just two home runs 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 eighth in the Pac-12 in ERA, third in opposing batting average and fifth in strikeouts with 82. He's also fifth in innings pitched at 85. Deason has gone at least 5 1/3 innings in each start this year and has never had an ERA higher of 2.86 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 13th 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 3.15 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. He has a 39 to 11 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 three appearances last week against Sacramento State and Arizona State, Stone picked up two wins and a save. He pitched 9 1/3 innings, allowing just one run and striking out 10. He started and earned the win against Sacramento State on May 14. He then closed out Arizona's 6-4 win over ASU on May 17, and then earned the win, pitching 4 1/3 innings in relief in Arizona's 10-9 11-inning win over the Sun Devils. In a 7-6 win at Utah Valley last month, Stone came in the third inning and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out on a then 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 is 3-1 on the season with two saves. 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 Blossoming: 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 .316 in 114 at-bats. He has 36 hits, 27 RBI, 26 runs scored, six doubles and two home runs. Blas has been one of Arizona's best hitters with runners in scoring position, going 15 for 41 to post a .366 average. He's hitting .365 (22 for 59) with runners on base. Blas is Arizona's leading hitter over the last 20 games. He's batting .382 in that span, going 21 for 55 with 12 RBI. 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 30 games since, Arizona has hit 33 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 10th and 11th 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 37 home runs on the season, after hitting five on the Cal and Sacramento State road trip and two against Arizona State. 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 14 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 .317 through 53 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 third on the team in RBI with 48, just three behind leader Nick Quintana. He leads the team in doubles with 19 and is second on the squad in slugging percentage at .546. His 19 doubles rank third in the Pac-12. He also leads the team in walks with 33, and is ninth 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 fourth in runs scored (54) and 12th in RBI. The sophomore from Glendale has 17 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 17 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 18 innings this season, Sherman has a 2.50 ERA and has allowed just 12 hits and four walks to 24 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 .146 against him this season, going 6 for 41 total. Batters are just 6 for 33 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 12.00 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the most by a qualifying pitcher on the roster.
Oregon evened the series up at one game apiece on Friday with a 2-1 win. The Cats loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but couldn't get the tying run home.
Arizona will now go for the series win Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Below is a full preview of the series:
Date Time (MST) Location (Ballpark) Probable Starters/Results
Thu. May 24 7 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) Arizona 10, Oregon 2
Fri. May 25 7 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) RHP Kenyon Yovan vs. RHP Michael Flynn
Sat. May 26 3 p.m. Eugene, Ore. (PK Park) TBA vs. TBA
TV: Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk (play-by-play) and Donnie Marbut (analyst) on the call
Radio: Arizona IMG Network with Brian Jeffries on the call
Live Stats: Available through StatBroadcast.com
All-Time Series: Arizona leads 21-14-1
Last Meeting: Arizona took two of three from Oregon last season at Hi Corbett Field
Leading Off...
• The Arizona Wildcats will close out their regular season with a three-game road trip at Oregon. The Cats haven't won a series at PK Park since sweeping the Ducks in 2009.
• Coach Jay Johnson is 3-3 against Oregon in his Arizona career. The Cats took two of three from the Ducks last season in Tucson.
• Catcher Cesar Salazar was named a Johnny Bench Award semifinalist last week. He's one of 16 catchers to make the cut and one of two in the Pac-12 Conference. Salazar is batting .330 this season and has thrown out 14 of 26 potential base stealers.
• First baseman Alfonso Rivas went eight for 13 against the Ducks last season in Tucson, and is batting better than .400 for his career against Oregon pitching. Rivas leads the team in batting average and is second in RBI with 50 on the season.
• Arizona currently sits at No. 48 in the RPI and has a nonconference RPI of 11. The Wildcats won their final 15 nonconference games this season and went 10-1 in midweek contests.
• Freshman middle infielder Jacob Blas is hitting .382 over his last 20 games, which leads the team. He has a seven-game hitting streak.
• Nick Quintana has 14 home runs, which is the most by an Arizona underclassman since 2015.
Some Series Themes: The Arizona Wildcats will head to Eugene, Oregon to close out the regular season with a three-game series against the Oregon Ducks…The Wildcats enter the final series 32-21 on the season and 12-15 in Pac-12 play with an RPI of 48…Coach Jay Johnson's club is looking for a strong finish to the season to boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament…The Cats have a nonconference RPI of 11 and a strength of schedule of 40…The Wildcats have an opportunity to boost their stock with three road games at the Ducks, who sit inside the Top 100 in the RPI at No. 90…Oregon enters the series with an overall record of 25-27 and a 11-16 mark inside league play…Arizona took two of three from Oregon last season at Hi Corbett Field after dropping the opener of the series…The year before, the Ducks took two of three from the Wildcats at PK Park with the Wildcats salvaging the finale in the second-to-last weekend of regular season play…The Wildcats have won just one series at PK Park, sweeping the Ducks in 2009…Oregon took two of three in 2011, swept the Wildcats in 2013 and 2014 and earned the series win in 2016…This season, the Ducks have been led by Jakob Goldfarb, who is hitting .311 in 50 starts this year with 13 doubles, six home runs and 28 RBI…Goldfarb has also stolen 14 bases on the season…Kenyon Yovan and Matt Mercer have been the horses of the pitching staff for the Ducks…Yovan is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 75 2/3 innings…He began the season as the team's closer and has five saves…Yovan has 92 strikeouts this season, which leads the team…Mercer has a 2.95 ERA in 84 1/3 innings, striking out 83 and compiling a 5-6 record…Some of Arizona's best hitters have experienced success against the Oregon pitching staff…Alfonso Rivas went 8 for 13 last season against Oregon with a double, two RBI and six runs scored…For his career, Rivas is 9 for 21 against the Ducks for a .429 average…Junior catcher Cesar Salazar is 8 for 22 lifetime against the Ducks with a pair of doubles and two RBI…In his first series against Oregon, Nick Quintana went 4 for 13 with a double and a home run, driving in five…Thursday night starter Cody Deason has thrown just three career innings against Oregon, but hasn't allowed a run and has struck out two…Jay Johnson is 3-3 in his Arizona career against the Ducks…This is the second time in the last three years the Wildcats have closed out their Pac-12 schedule at Oregon.
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.
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 .330 batting average. He has 11 doubles, 34 RBI and an on-base percentage of .421. 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 14 of 26 potential base stealers this season. He's posted a .993 fielding percentage with three errors in 401 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 earlier this month at homer, going 3 for 5 with five RBI and three runs scored against Grand Canyon on May 8. He's batting .362 at home this season in 27 starts. Salazar has been a mainstay behind the plate for the Wildcats throughout his three-year career. He's batting .296 in 167 career games for the Wildcats with 30 doubles, 96 RBI and 77 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 .330 on the season. Salazar has also seen his on-base percentage improve from .329 as a freshman to .421 as a junior.
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 14 home runs on the year, which is the most by an Arizona underclassman since Bobby Dalbec has 15 in 2015. He's tied for fifth in the conference with his 14 home runs and tied for seventh in the league with 16 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 51 RBI, which ranks ninth in the league with teammate and leads the Wildcats. On the season, Quintana is hitting .313 with an on-base percentage of .408. He's also scored 46 runs on the season, which is second-most on the team. Quintana has hit all 14 of his home runs in the past 31 games and has 10 of the 14 at Hi Corbett Field. Last week, in four games against Sacramento State and Arizona State, Quintana was 10 for 15 total with three home runs and five RBI. He homered in the Monday matchup against Sacramento State and then had a two-home run game in Saturday's thrilling 10-9 win over Arizona State in 11 innings. Quintana reached base six times in Saturday's win and scored four runs, which established a new season high. He also has three multi-hit games in his last four contests. Quintana has started all 53 games at third base for the Wildcats this season.
Praise for Fraiz: Nick Quintana wasn't the only sophomore to see his play improve over recent weeks. Sophomore right fielder Matt Fraizer batted .417 with a home run and 7 RBI last week in four games and is batting .342 over his last 12 games. Last week, Fraizer hit a two-run home run against Sacramento State for his second long ball of the season. He then tied a career high in RBI with three in the series opener versus Arizona State, going 2 for 4 with three RBI. The following night he drew three walks and reached base four times, going 1 for 1. In the finale against ASU, he was 1 for 4 with an RBI. Fraizer has raised his batting average 20 points over the last 12 games and enters the Oregon series with a .272 batting average on the season. Fraizer has a modest four-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in five straight.
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 (.347), hits (74), on-base percentage (.426) and is second in RBI (50). He's third in slugging percentage (.526) and doubles (14) and second in triples (three). Over his three-year Arizona career, Rivas has established himself as one of the best hitters in the Pac-12. In 166 career games, Rivas is batting .325 with exactly 200 hits, 36 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 139 RBI. He hit .371 as a sophomore after batting .247 as a freshman in 2016. Rivas had three multi-hit games in four contests on the Utah swing last month. 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 .365 in 85 at-bats. He's batting .382 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 2.86 ERA. In 85 innings, he's given up just 62 hits and 37 walks, while striking out 82 and holding opponents to a .205 batting average against. He's allowed just two home runs 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 eighth in the Pac-12 in ERA, third in opposing batting average and fifth in strikeouts with 82. He's also fifth in innings pitched at 85. Deason has gone at least 5 1/3 innings in each start this year and has never had an ERA higher of 2.86 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 13th 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 3.15 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. He has a 39 to 11 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 three appearances last week against Sacramento State and Arizona State, Stone picked up two wins and a save. He pitched 9 1/3 innings, allowing just one run and striking out 10. He started and earned the win against Sacramento State on May 14. He then closed out Arizona's 6-4 win over ASU on May 17, and then earned the win, pitching 4 1/3 innings in relief in Arizona's 10-9 11-inning win over the Sun Devils. In a 7-6 win at Utah Valley last month, Stone came in the third inning and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out on a then 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 is 3-1 on the season with two saves. 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 Blossoming: 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 .316 in 114 at-bats. He has 36 hits, 27 RBI, 26 runs scored, six doubles and two home runs. Blas has been one of Arizona's best hitters with runners in scoring position, going 15 for 41 to post a .366 average. He's hitting .365 (22 for 59) with runners on base. Blas is Arizona's leading hitter over the last 20 games. He's batting .382 in that span, going 21 for 55 with 12 RBI. 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 30 games since, Arizona has hit 33 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 10th and 11th 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 37 home runs on the season, after hitting five on the Cal and Sacramento State road trip and two against Arizona State. 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 14 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 .317 through 53 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 third on the team in RBI with 48, just three behind leader Nick Quintana. He leads the team in doubles with 19 and is second on the squad in slugging percentage at .546. His 19 doubles rank third in the Pac-12. He also leads the team in walks with 33, and is ninth 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 fourth in runs scored (54) and 12th in RBI. The sophomore from Glendale has 17 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 17 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 18 innings this season, Sherman has a 2.50 ERA and has allowed just 12 hits and four walks to 24 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 .146 against him this season, going 6 for 41 total. Batters are just 6 for 33 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 12.00 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the most by a qualifying pitcher on the roster.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballMonday, September 28
Friday, August 14
Wednesday, May 06
Wednesday, April 29
