TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (7-3) host the Central Michigan Chippewas (6-4) and Rhode Island Rams (4-5) for a five-game tournament this Friday through Sunday at Hi Corbett Field.

In addition to the three games involving Arizona this weekend, two neutral site games between Central Michigan and Rhode Island will be played on Friday at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Both of those games are free and open to the public.

The Wildcats look to ride their hot pitching to a winning weekend at home. Arizona's pitching staff has posted a 3.12 ERA and limited opposing hitters to a .185 batting average through the first eight games of the year.

A complete tournament preview is below.
 

Date / Time (MST)	Opponent/Result	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday	W, 5-1
Saturday	W, 19-10
Sunday / 12 PM	Rhode Island	TBA	TBA

Leading Off...

• Arizona plays host to the Central Michigan Chippewas and Rhode Island Rams this weekend at the 2020 Arizona Tournament. The three teams will combine to play five games over three days — a complete tournament schedule can be found on the final pages of these game notes.
• This weekend is the first-ever meeting between Arizona and Rhode Island. The Wildcats first-ever matchup against Central Michigan was on Wednesday, a 4-2 Chippewas extra-innings win.
• Central Michigan senior infielder Zach Heeke is the son of Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics, Dave Heeke. 
• Arizona has scored at least one run in 102 straight games — it has not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 102-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12.
• Wildcats starting pitcher Chandler Murphy is the only true freshman in the StatCrew era (since 1998) to open his career throwing 10.1 IP without allowing an earned run.
• Through seven games, the Wildcats pitching staff has posted a 12.75 K/9 rate, the ninth-best mark in the nation and a significant increase from their 2019 mark of 7.52.
• Under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats have posted a record of 97-37 (.724) against non-conference opponents. Additionally, Arizona has gone 56-11 (.836) against non-conference foes while playing at home at Hi Corbett Field.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Wildcats host the 2020 Arizona Tournament at Hi Corbett Field this weekend, featuring five games in three days between Arizona, Central Michigan, and Rhode Island...The complete tournament schedule can be found on the final page of these notes...Saturday will mark the first time in program history that the Wildcats have played Rhode Island, while Friday's game against Central Michigan will be the second-ever meeting between the two clubs...After opening the season with a three-game sweep of Albany, Arizona has gone 2-3 over their last five games...Pitching has shined for the Wildcats this season — the staff has logged an impressive 3.12 ERA and has allowed more than five runs just once through eight games...Arizona's rising pitching staff has struck out batters at an elite rate to open the year, posting a 12.75 K/9 rate that currently ranks second in the Pac-12 and ninth nationally...Sophomores Ryan Holgate and Austin Wells, along with junior Donta Williams, lead the Wildcats offensive efforts, with all three players currently sporting a batting average north of .350...The previously mentioned trio has combined for 35 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 22 RBI so far this season...Central Michigan enters the tournament on a three-game win streak that includes a 4-2 extra-innings victory over Arizona on Wednesday night...The Chippewas won series against UNLV and Jacksonville State to open the season...Central Michigan senior infielder Zach Heeke is the son of Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics, Dave Heeke...Rhode Island has won just two games this year, and currently holds a record of 2-4...The Rams dropped their first two series of the year two games to three against Lamar and Maryland.

STREAKONOMICS: Junior outfielder Donta Williams currently sports the longest hitting streak on the team at four games. Over that four-game strech, Williams has hit .400 (6-for-15) with two runs scored, one double, one triple, one RBI, a .600 slugging percentage, and a .444 on-base percentage. Williams and fellow outfielder Ryan Holgate both sport extended on-base streaks dating back to the 2019 season. Williams has safely reached base in all eight games this year, and in 17 consecutive games. Holgate, who has also reached in all eight of Arizona's games this season, has gotten on base in 12 straight games.

PITCH PERFECT: The early returns through four games on Arizona's 2020 pitching staff have been encouraging. Wildcat pitchers have combined to post a 12.75 K/9 rate, a significant increase from their 2019 mark of 7.52. Arizona's 2019 single-game high in strikeouts was set at 12, a mark the 2020 staff has already broken three times and fallen one shy of twice. At the same time, the staff has dropped their BB/9 rate from 5.33 in 2019 by more than an average of one walk per game in 2020, all the way down to 3.88. The 13 pitchers used by the Wildcats so far this year have combined to limit opposing batters to a paltry .185 batting average and just 13 extra-base hits.
 

Stat	2019	2020
ERA	6.21	3.12
K/9	7.52	12.75
BB/9	5.33	3.88
Opp. AVG	.287	.185
WHIP	1.75	1.10

CHAN THE MAN: Freshman right-handed starting pitcher Chandler Murphy has opened his career with two dazzling starts for the Wildcats. Over two games and 10.1 innings of work, Murphy has gone 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .139 batting average. Murphy is the only Arizona true freshman in the StatCrew era (1998-present) to begin his collegiate career pitching 10.1 innings without allowing an earned run. Currently, his 14 strikeouts are tied for eighth-most in the Pac-12, while his .139 average against him is the 10th-best mark on the circuit. Of the mere five hits allowed by Murphy this year, all five of them have been singles.

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 102 straight games — it has not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 102-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12, 25 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (77 games). Over the course of its 102-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 15 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 44 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	102 games	March 17, 2018 at Washington (0-1)
UCLA	77 games	May 24, 2018 at Oregon State (0-2)
USC	68 games	May 18, 2018 vs. Oregon State (0-4)
Stanford	55 games	March 7, 2019 vs. Texas (0-4)
Oregon	25 games	April 20, 2019 vs. Stanford (0-10)
Utah	21 games	April 26, 2019 at UCLA (0-5)
Washington St.	16 games	May 11, 2019 vs. UCLA (0-10)
Washington	10 games	May 18, 2019 at UCLA (0-4)
Oregon St.	9 games	May 25, 2019 vs. USC (0-5)
Arizona St.	7 games	Feb. 15, 2020 vs. Michigan (0-5)
California	6 games	Feb. 15, 2020 vs. Long Beach State (0-4)

BULLPEN BULLIES: Right-handers Vince Vannelle and Preston Price have been spectacular out of the Arizona bullpen this season. The dynamic duo have combined to make seven appearances without surrendering a run while striking out 18 over 9.2 innings of work. Vannelle has been nearly perfect to open the year, working 6.0 innings across three outings while giving up zero hits and just one walk to 11 strikeouts. Overall, the Arizona bullpen has combined to post a 15.00 K/9 rate and allow just four extra-base hits (three doubles, one home run).