The Cats are riding a three-game win streak after having swept the Washington Huskies over the weekend at Hi Corbett Field. Catchers Austin Wells and Matthew Dyer were among the many standout performers at the plate during the sweep. Arizona also got strong appearances on the mound from Vince Vannelle, Andrew Nardi, Avery Weems, Quinn Flanagan, and others. Now the Wildcats will look to keep the momentum rolling against the Antelopes in the first game between the two schools this season.
A complete game preview is below.
| Date | Time (MST) | Live Stats | Wildcats Pitcher | Antelopes Pitcher |
| Tuesday, April 9 | 6:00 PM | Live Stats | TBA | TBA |
Live Stream: Available on GCU.tv
Radio: None
All-Time Series: Arizona leads 63-22
Last Meeting: Arizona beat Grand Canyon, 20-6, on May 8, 2018 in Tucson, Ariz.
Leading Off...
- Arizona takes a quick jaunt up to Phoenix for a midweek contest against the Grand Canyon Antelopes on Tuesday night at GCU Ballpark.
- The Wildcats and Antelopes have played each other 85 times in program history, with Arizona holding a commanding 63-22 all-time lead over Grand Canyon. Last time the two teams met, the Wildcats took a 20-6 victory on May 8, 2018 at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.
- Arizona ranks top three in the Pac-12 in 15 different offensive categories, including batting average (2nd, .309), slugging percentage (2nd, .497), and on-base percentage (2nd, .422).
- Wildcats catcher Austin Wells current batting average of .393 is the second-best mark among freshmen in the entire nation, and the best mark posted by any freshman in a Power Five conference. It's also the fourth best mark among Power Five catchers.
- Austin Wells has reached base safely in 24 straight games, while Donta Williams has gotten on base in each of his last 22 games. Arizona's longest on-base streak in 2018 was 25 games, set by Cesar Salazar.
- Arizona has logged 68 consecutive games scoring at least one run, giving the Cats the longest active scoring streak in the Pac-12. The Wildcats were last shut out March 17, 2018 at Washington.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Grand Canyon enters the weekend with an overall record of 17-14 and a Western Athletic Conference record of 5-4...They currently sit tied for fourth in the WAC...The Antelopes are led by head coach Andy Stankiewicz, who has steered the team to a record of 233-178-1 in his seven plus years in Phoenix...Grand Canyon made the move up to Division I beginning with the 2014 season, and has since posted a record of 149-122-1...The Antelopes are led on offense by the trio of Kona Quiggle (.341), Cuba Bess (.330), and Quin Cotton (.320), all of whom are hitting well above the .300 mark on the year...Grand Canyon's pitching staff is led by starting pitcher Kade Mechals, who has a 7-1 record and a 2.23 ERA (12ERx48.1IP) in eight starts, and reliever Coen Wynne, who has logged a 1.69 ERA (4ERx21.1IP) through 15 relief appearances.
SINCE LAST TIME: Since the last set of game notes the Wildcats have gone 3-0 after sweeping the Washington Huskies...Matthew Dyer led the offense over the weekend, hitting .643 (9x14) with seven runs scored, two doubles, one triple, and one RBI...Cameron Cannon and Austin Wells both hit .538, combining to go 14-for-26 with 10 runs scored and 13 RBI...Pitching and fielding clicked for the Wildcats last weekend too, with the team posting a 3.00 ERA (9ERx27.0IP) and only two errors in three games...Andrew Nardi struck out a career-high 10 batters on Sunday in a winning effort, Quinn Flanagan allowed just two runs in 7.0 innings on Saturday, and Vince Vannelle (3.0 IP) and Avery Weems (3.1 IP) both earned saves while combining to limit the Huskies to just three hits.
DOONEY DINGERS: Freshman infielder Dayton Dooney has hit four home runs in his last six games, two against Arizona State and two against Washington...He has hit five dingers this year, four of which have come in Pac-12 play; the Wildcats program record for conference home runs from a freshman was set at 8 by Shelley Duncan in 1999...All five of Dooney's home runs have come in games televised on Pac-12 Network...Dooney, a switch hitter, has swatted all five of his home runs from the left side of the plate.
FRESH PRINCE OF WELLS-AIR: Arizona catcher Austin Wells is putting together one of the best freshman seasons in Wildcats history...Through 30 games, Wells has hit .393 with 39 runs scored, 14 extra-base hits, 30 RBI, and nearly as many walks (23) as strikeouts (24)...His .393 batting average is currently ranked first among all Power Five conference freshmen, second among all Division I freshmen (first: INF Craig Larsen, Penn, .395), and fourth among all Division I catchers...Wells' 39 runs scored are tied for the most among all Division I freshmen, 12th most in the nation, and third most in the Pac-12...His 44 base hits are tied for third most among all Division I freshman...His .486 on-base percentage is the fourth most among Division I freshmen with at least 80 at-bats this year...His 30 RBI are 10th most among all Division I freshmen...The Arizona freshman record for batting average was set at .374 by Dave Page in 1981...Wells' success has continued well into Pac-12 play as well, with his conference batting average currently sitting at .417, the sixth best conference mark in the Pac-12...Arizona's freshman conference record for batting average was set at .418 by T.J. Steele in 2006...Wells has hit safely in 24-of-30 games this year, with 14 multi-hit games...Across the last five contests, Wells has logged four multi-hit games and a .500 batting average (11x22) to go with 11 runs scored, nine RBI, and four walks.
Austin Wells on the Leaderboards
| CATEGORY | STAT | Pac-12 Rank | Div. I Fr. Rank | Div. I C Rank |
| AVG | .393 | 5th | 2nd | 11th |
| Runs scored | 39 | 3rd | 1st | 1st |
| Hits | 44 | T-5th | T-3rd | T-8th |
| OBP | .486 | 6th | 7th | 15th |
| RBI | 30 | T-9th | T-10th | 21st |
BACKSTOP BASHERS: Arizona's catching tandem of Matthew Dyer and Austin Wells are currently first and second on the team in batting average at .396 and .393, respectively...Dyer and Wells hit back-to-back in the Wildcats lineup all weekend against Washington and combined to hit a combined .593 (16x27) with 14 runs scored, three doubles, three triples, one home run, and eight RBI...Among all Division I catchers, Dyer and Wells rank 10th and 11th in batting average, respectively, and those rankings jump up to 3rd and 4th when looking at Power Five conference catchers...Combined, Dyer and Wells have accounted for 25.2% of the Wildcats runs, 20.2% of the club's RBI, 22.3% of the extra-base hits, and 26.8% of the hits this season.
BUSTER POSEY AWARD: Last week Wildcats catcher Matthew Dyer was named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list...This award was formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, and is presented annually to the nation's top division one collegiate catcher...Dyer is currently first on the team and 4th in the Pac-12 with a .396 (44x111) batting average, while his 44 hits are tied for fifth most in the conference and his 65 total bases rank eighth on the circuit...Dyer has hit safely in all but eight games this year, with 15 multi-hit performances, and has logged a .989 fielding percentage in 190 chances.
FAMILIAR FACES: Four Wildcats players - Austin Wells, Cameron Cannon, Donta Williams, and Nick Quintana - have played in all 30 of Arizona's games this season...Wells, Cannon, and Quintana are the only three to have started in every game...Both Quintana and Cannon played and started in every game (56) for the Wildcats in 2018 as well...Quintana has started in 89 consecutive games for Arizona, dating back to June 2, 2017 against Sam Houston State, and has missed just one game in his Arizona career (May 28, 2017 against California)...Cannon has started in 86 straight games for Arizona, dating back to the first game of 2018 (February 17 vs. Bryant, GM1).
RUN, FOREST, RUN!: The Wildcats currently rank second in the Pac-12 and third nationally with 282 runs scored this season...Arizona's average output of 9.4 runs per game is the fourth-best mark in the country...The Wildcats have scored at least three runs in all but two games this year, and have plated 10+ runs 13 times, including once against UCLA and their pitching staff that had the best team ERA in the conference at the time...When Arizona scores more than five runs in a game this year they have posted a winning record of 16-5 (.762)...The Wildcats are currently on pace to score 526 runs this year, which would be the most in a single-season since the 1998 squad scored 546 runs...The Wildcats have out-scored their opponents in 7-of-9 innings this season (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th).
STREAKONOMICS: Catcher/first baseman Austin Wells and outfielder Donta Williams both have on-base streaks that have reached double digits...Wells has reached base safely in 24 games, while Williams has gotten on base in each of his last 22 games...During Wells' streak, dating back to February 23 at Houston, he has hit .398 (35x88) with 29 runs scored, five doubles, three triples, two home runs, 20 RBI, 20 walks, and a .500 on-base percentage...Over the course of Williams' streak, stretching back to February 27 against New Mexico, he has hit .298 (25x84) with 26 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples, 13 RBI, 13 walks, and a .417 on-base percentage...As far as hitting streaks go, catcher Matthew Dyer currently leads the team with an active seven-game hit streak...During Dyer's streak, going back to March 23 at San Diego State, he is hitting .594 (19x32) with nine runs scored, five doubles, two triples, two RBI, and one walk.
EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Wildcats have excelled at hitting to the gaps this year, and as a result are currently second in the Pac-12 with 121 extra-base hits on the year (first: Arizona State, 126)...No other team has reached triple digits, with the next closest team after the Wildcats being UCLA with 90...Arizona's offense has hammered out a league-leading 72 doubles and 20 triples to go with 29 home runs, which stands as the third-best mark on the circuit...Infielder Cameron Cannon leads the Wildcats in doubles (17), and extra-base hits (22) - the next closest players on the team are outfielder Donta Williams and catcher Austin Wells with 14 extra-base hits...Williams and Matthew Dyer both have four triples, tied for the most in the Pac-12.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Infielder Cameron Cannon has smacked 17 doubles through the first 30 games of the season...As of games played April 7, Cannon's 17 two-baggers are tied for first among all NCAA Division I baseball players...Cannon has registered multiple doubles in a game three times this year, and has swatted at least one double in 13-of-30 games...Cannon smacked a team-best 21 doubles in 56 games last season...The Arizona single-season record for doubles is 30, set by Dave Stegman in 1976 and tied by JJ Matijevic in 2017...Cannon is currently on pace for 32 doubles through the remainder of the regular season...He is 11 doubles shy of breaking into the Top 10 of Arizona's career doubles leaderboard.
ON THE BOARD: The Wildcats have scored at least one run in 68 straight games, with their last shutout loss coming all the way back on March 17, 2018 at Washington...The Cats 68-game scoring streak is the longest active streak among Pac-12 teams (next: Oregon, 38 games)...Even more impressive is the club's ability to avoid being shut out at home, with the Cats last blanking at Hi Corbett coming on April 25, 2015 against Cal - they have registered 118 straight home games without being kept off the scoreboard...During that 118 game stretch the Wildcats have been held to just one run twice, while posting 5+ runs 84 times...The Cats haven't been limited to just one run at home since May 15, 2016 against Arizona State.
Pac-12 Active Scoring Streaks
| SCHOOL | SCORING STREAK | LAST SHUTOUT LOSS (Score) |
| Arizona | 68 games | March 17, 2018 at Washington (0-1) |
| Oregon | 38 games | May 8, 2018 vs. Oregon St. (0-10) |
| USC | 36 games | May 18, 2018 vs. Oregon St. (0-4) |
| UCLA | 35 games | May 24, 2018 at Oregon St. (0-2) |
| Arizona St. | 30 games | May 26, 2018 vs. California (0-3) |
| Oregon St. | 14 games | March 15, 2019 at UCLA (0-8) |
| Stanford | 13 games | March 7, 2019 vs. Texas (0-4) |
| California | 6 games | March 26, 2019 at Sacramento State (0-6) |
| Washington | 6 games | March 29, 2019 vs. Oregon State (0-1) |
| Washington St. | 2 games | April 5, 2019 at California (0-6) |
| Utah | 0 games | April 6, 2019 at Oregon State (0-11) |