TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats wrap up their season-opening series against the Albany Great Danes on Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field. First pitch as the Cats go for the sweep is set for 1:00 p.m. MST.

The Cats carry a 12-game win streak extending from the end of last year, the longest active win streak in the nation. Seven Arizona position players that made at least 20 starts as part of last year's historic offense return to power the Cats offense in 2020. They are headlined by Preseason All-Americans Austin Wells and Matthew Dyer, along with 2019 Freshman All-American Dayton Dooney and many others.

Arizona's pitching staff — which includes 11 returners and 9 newcomers — will be led by first-year associate head coach Nate Yeskie, who joined the Wildcats staff last summer. 

A complete series preview is below.
 

Date	Time/Result	Arizona Pitcher	Albany Pitcher
Friday, Feb. 14	W, 12-7
Saturday, Feb. 15	W, 15-0
Sunday, Feb. 16	6:00 PM	TBA	TBA

Leading Off...

• The Wildcats open the 2020 season with a three-game series against the Albany Great Danes. This will be the first-ever meeeting between the two programs.
• Arizona head coach Jay Johnson is entering his fifth season with the Wildcats. He has compiled a 153-91 (.627) record at Arizona. Johnson is the only active Pac-12 coach to win 30+ games in each of his first six Division I seasons.
• The Cats 153 wins since 2016 are the third most in the Pac-12 Conference over that stretch, behind only Oregon State (182) and Stanford (164).
• Arizona has not lost a home opener since 2003, when they fell 6-3 to BYU. Under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats have combined to out-score their home opener opponents 24-4.
• The Wildcats 10-game win streak dating back to last season is the longest active win streak in the nation (next: Yale, 7). They are also winners of 13 of their last 14 games.
• Sophomore catcher Austin Wells and junior catcher Matthew Dyer both picked up Preseason All-America nods. Wells from Collegiate Baseball (2nd), D1Baseball (2nd), Baseball America (2nd), Collegiate Baseball (2nd), and the NCBWA (3rd). Dyer from the NCBWA (1st).
• Associate head coach Nate Yeskie is the only new member of the Wildcats coaching staff. The 2017 D1Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year spent the last 11 seasons with Oregon State.

SOME SERIES THEMES: Arizona begins the fifth season of the Jay Johnson era with a three-game weekend series against the Albany Great Danes...This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs, making Albany one of three teams the Wildcats will square off against this season for the first time (also: Central Michigan, Rhode Island)...Arizona currently rides a 10-game win streak from the end of the 2019 season that included series sweeps of USC (2 games), Sam Houston State (2 games), Penn State (3 games), and Washington State (3 games); it is the longest active win streak in the nation (next: Yale, 7)...The Wildcats return numerous pieces of their 2019 lineup that produced the second-highest scoring offense in the country last year at an average of 9.8 R/game...Key contributors returning from that potent offense are sophomore catcher Austin Wells (.353/.462/.552), junior catcher/utility player Matthew Dyer (.393/.480/.571), sophomore infielder/first baseman Dayton Dooney (.323/.417/.596), sophomore outfielder/first baseman Branden Boissiere (.336/.430/.464), and sophomore outfielder Ryan Holgate (.240/.378/.437), among others...Wells, a consensus Freshman All-American after last season, has been tabbed a Second Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game, and Collegiate Baseball heading into 2020...In addition to the returning letterwinners, the Cats added 13 newcomers to the roster in what was tabbed as the No. 11 class in the country by Collegiate Baseball...Albany — skipped by head coach Jon Mueller in his 21st season with the program — finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 28-23 and an America East Conference mark of 14-9...Mueller was named the conference Coach of the Year after their 2019 performance, his second such honor at Albany...Heading into 2020, the Great Danes were picked to finish fourth in the America East Coaches Poll...Headlining the Albany roster is senior right-handed pitcher Joe Kruszka, who was selected as an All-Conference honoree in 2019 and a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball heading into 2020...Kruszka went 2-2 with a conference-leading 10 saves and a 2.16 ERA in 23 games for the Great Danes.

LID LIFTER: The Wildcats have won 11 consecutive season openers, dating back to 2009. Under head coach Jay Johnson, Arizona has gone 4-0 and out-scored their opponents by a combined score of 24-4 in the opening game of the year. The Cats last lost a season-opening game on a final score of 9-7 at Georgia in 2008. Arizona's home opener streak is even more impressive, boasting a string of 16 straight home opener wins. Three of the Wildcats home-opening victories under coach Johnson have been shutouts: 4-0 over Bryant in 2018, 6-0 over Eastern Kentucky in 2017, and 2-0 over Cal State Fullerton in 2016. Arizona's last home opener defeat came at the hands of BYU, a 6-3 loss in 2003. Finally, the Wildcats have won 25 consecutive season-opening series — the last time Arizona lost their first series of the season came in 1994 when they went 1-2 at home against New Mexico. During that same stretch, the Cats have collected 13 series sweeps.
 

Year	Opponent	Opening Day	Opening Series
2019	UMass Lowell	W, 12-4	W, 4-0
2018	Bryant	W, 4-0	W, 3-0
2017	Eastern Kentucky	W, 6-0	W, 4-0
2016	at Rice	W, 8-1	W, 2-1

CATS COACHES: Arizona head coach Jay Johnson returns to lead the Wildcats for his fifth season. Since being hired in June 2015, Johnson has led Arizona to a record of 153-91 (.627) with a Pac-12 Conference mark of 62-59 (.512). Coach Johnson is joined by first-year associate head coach Nate Yeskie, fifth-year assistant coach Dave Lawn, and fifth-year volunteer assistant coach Marc Wanaka. Yeskie, the only new addition to the Wildcats coaching staff, joined Arizona after spending the last 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon State — he replaces Sergio Brown, who departed for Cal State Fullerton last summer. Coaches Johnson, Yeskie, and Lawn have combined to produce 15 conference Pitchers of the year, 12 Players of the Year, 11 Freshmen of the Year, and four Defensive Players of the Year. They have also combined for 20 NCAA Regional appearances, eight NCAA Super Regional berths, and six trips to the College World Series.

OPENING NIGHT ACES: The Wildcats have enjoyed a long run of dominant Opening Day starting pitching performances, dating back to the 2010 season. Over that 10-year stretch, Arizona starting pitchers have posted nine quality starts and struck out 76 opposing batters across 66.2 innings of work.
 

Year	Opponent	Starting Pitcher	Final Line
2019	UMass Lowell	Randy Labaut	5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 K
2018	Bryant	Cody Deason	7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 K
2017	Eastern Kentucky	J.C. Cloney	7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 K
2016	at Rice	J.C. Cloney	7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 9 K
2015	Eastern Michigan	Austin Schnabel	6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 8 K
2014	Kent State	James Farris	7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 9 K
2013	Coppin State	Konner Wade	6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 8 K
2012	North Dakota State	Kurt Heyer	7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 7 K
2011	North Dakota State	Kurt Heyer	7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 8 K
2010	Utah Valley	Kurt Heyer	6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 13 K
TOTALS			66.2 IP, 37 H, 10 R, 76 K

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 94 straight games — it has not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 94-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12, 25 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (69 games). Over the course of its 94-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 11 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 40 times. UCLA and USC — the teams with the second- and third-longest scoring streaks, respectively — were both last shut out by pitching staffs coached by current Arizona associate head coach Nate Yeskie.
 

School	Scoring Streak	Last Shutout Loss (Score)
Arizona	94 games	March 17, 2018 at Washington (0-1)
UCLA	69 games	May 24, 2018 at Oregon State (0-2)
USC	61 games	May 18, 2018 vs. Oregon State (0-4)
Arizona State	57 games	May 26, 2018 vs. California (0-3)
Stanford	47 games	March 7, 2019 vs. Texas (0-4)
California	30 games	March 26, 2019 at Sacramento St. (0-6)
Oregon	18 games	April 20, 2019 vs. Stanford (0-10)
Utah	14 games	April 26, 2019 at UCLA (0-5)
Washington State	8 games	May 11, 2019 vs. UCLA (0-10)
Washington	3 games	May 18, 2019 at UCLA (0-4)
Oregon State	2 games	May 25, 2019 vs. USC (0-5)

POLL POSITION: The Wildcats currently find themselves ranked in three preseason releases of the five major national polls. Arizona is ranked No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 22 by Baseball America, and No. 26 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Arizona has been ranked in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll, and their highest mark from the outlet since entering the 2017 season ranked No. 7. The Cats are also the third-highest team receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, effectively giving them a No. 28 ranking. Arizona is scheduled to play three teams that are currently ranked inside the D1Baseball Top 25: No. 9 Arizona State (4 games), No. 14 UCLA (3 games), and No. 17 Stanford (3 games).

THE OTHER GUYS: Under the direction of head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats have posted a sparkling record of 92-33 (.736) against non-conference opponents. At home, the record is even better, with the Cats having posted a mark of 53-10 (.841) at Hi Corbett against non-conference foes. Arizona's last non-conference series loss came at Houston Feb. 22-24, 2018 (1-2). They have not lost a home non-conference series while Johnson has been head coach — their last home home series loss to a non-Pac-12 team came against Rice Feb. 20-22, 2015 (1-2). In the weeks leading up to their first Pac-12 series each year under coach Johnson, Arizona has combined to go 45-19 (.703). Against non-conference opponents in 2019, the Wildcats combined to hit .335 with an average offensive output of 10.6 runs per game. Arizona's pitching took a step forward in non-conference play last year as well, posting a 5.33 ERA with 209 strikeouts across 238.0 innings of work.
 

School	W-L	Win Pct.
Oregon State	98-23	.810
Stanford	84-26	.764
Arizona	92-33	.736
Oregon	64-38	.627
Arizona State	67-40	.626
California	59-36	.621
UCLA	71-45	.612
Washington	61-43	.587
USC	52-49	.515
Washington State	37-49	.430
Utah	37-53	.411

HOME SWEET HOME: Since 2016, under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats have protected their home field of Hi Corbett to the tune of a 94-30 (.758) record. During that four year stretch, they have never lost more than 10 home games in a single season. Arizona's home winning percetnage of .758 is the third-best mark in the Pac-12 since 2016, behind only Oregon State (.791) and Stanford (.771). The Wildcats hitters and pitchers have both taken advantage of the friendly confines of Hi C during the Jay Johnson era: the offense has hit .326 with an average of 8.7 runs per game (road: .276 AVG and 6.4 R/G), while the pitching staff has posted a 3.82 ERA at home (road: 5.19 ERA).
 

School	W-L	Win Pct.
Oregon State	91-24	.791
Stanford	101-30	.771
Arizona	94-30	.758
UCLA	89-40	.690
California	71-35	.670
Washington	70-42	.625
Arizona State	81-54	.600
Oregon	66-46	.589
Utah	45-42	.517
USC	61-58	.513
Washington State	45-49	.479

THE FRESH PRINCE OF WELLS-AIR: Sophomore catcher Austin Wells took the country by storm last season and summer, posting outstanding performances on a consistent basis and earning national recognition. After hitting .353 with 73 runs scored, 27 extra-base hits, 60 RBI, and more walks (46) than strikeouts (43) as a freshman last year, he was named Arizona's first-ever Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, earned consensus Freshman All-America honors from five national outlets, and was tabbed to the Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention squad. He was the only Arizona freshman (1976-current) to log 60+ runs and 60+ RBI in their debut season and set Arizona freshman records in runs scored, and on-base percentage (.462). Wells followed up his sterling freshman campaign with a strong summer in the Cape Cod League with the Y-D Red Sox, hitting .308 with 23 runs scored, 20 extra base hits, and 26 RBI to earn the circuit's Outstanding Pro Prospect Award. Since then, Wells has been honored as a Second-Team Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game, D1Baseball, and Baseball America, while the NCBWA placed him on their Third-Team Preseason All-America list.

D'YER MAK'ER: Junior catcher/utility player Matthew Dyer posted one of the best seasons at the plate in the country in 2019, and looks to build on it this season. After transferring from Oregon and sitting out the 2018 season, Dyer took the field for the Cats in 2019 and hit .393 with 46 runs scored, 18 extra-base hits, 28 RBI, and a .480 on-base percentage. He was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention team and earned inclusion on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list. Dyer's .393 batting average last year was the second-best mark on the team and the third-best mark in the Pac-12, while his .480 on-base percentage checked in at fourth in the conference. The highlight of his season was a 20-game hit streak that lasted from March 25 – May 4 and is still active. Dyer was one of only 19 Division I players to log a 20+ game hit streak in 2019. Heading into the season, Dyer was named a First-Team Preseason All-American at designated hitter by the NCBWA.

DOONEY TUNES: Sophomore infielder/first baseman Dayton Dooney is one of seven Wildcats position players with at least 20 starts in 2019 to return to the Arizona lineup. In his debut year with the Cats last season, Dooney hit .323 with 43 runs scored, 14 doubles, 10 home runs, and 53 RBI. His .596 slugging percentage was the 10th best mark among all Division I freshmen in 2019. Dooney swatted double-digit home runs in his first crack at collegiate baseball, making him the first Arizona freshman to hit 10+ home runs since Brad Glenn accomplished the feat in 2006. After his standout 2019 season, Dooney earned Freshman All-America recognitions from Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA, Perfect Game, D1Baseball, and Baseball America.

MORE LIKE WINN FLANAGAN: Sophomore right-handed pitcher Quinn Flanagan figures to help bolster the Wildcats rotation again in 2020. As a freshman last year, Flanagan made 17 appearances (13 starts) and posted an 8-3 record with one save and a 4.92 ERA (37ERx67.2IP). His eight wins were the most logged by an Arizona freshman since 2001, when Marc Kaiser led the Wildcats with an 8-6 record on the mound. In addition to his sparkling play, Flanagan also excelled in the classroom last year, earning a selection to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team. 

SUMMER STANDOUTS: After outstanding performances on their respective circuits last summer, head coach Jay Johnson named sophomore catcher Austin Wells the Wildcats Summer Player of the Year, while sophomore left-handed pitcher Randy Abshier was tabbed as the Summer Pitcher of the Year. Wells spent the summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the prestigious Cape Cod League, where he played in 42 regular season games and hit .308 with 23 runs scored, 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 26 RBI. He ranked tied for third in the league in home runs and placed seventh on the circuit in RBI while leading the team in doubles, home runs, and RBI. This outstanding production earned Wells a starting spot in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game and the league's Outstanding Pro Prospect Award at the end of the season. Abshier turned in a dominant summer up north for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League. Across 10 games (eight starts) the southpaw worked a 3-1 record and a 1.52 ERA while striking out 42 batters over 47.1 innings of work. Abshier finished the season ranked second in the league in ERA, tied for third in wins, and fourth in strikeouts. Like his fellow summer award winner, Abshier was tabbed as a starter in the Alaska League All-Star Game while also earning First Team All-League honors at the conclusion of the summer.