Friday, April 9
Tucson, Ariz.
6:00 PM
University of Arizona
vs
California
Photo by: Simon Asher / Arizona Athletics
No. 22 Arizona Faces California this Weekend
04/08/2021 | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. — Fresh off three wins over their in-state rivals, the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats (19-8, 5-4) welcome the California Golden Bears (16-11, 4-2) to Hi Corbett Field for a three-game Pac-12 Conference series this weekend.
All three games will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and the TuneIn app.
The Wildcats are beginning to heat up, having won six of their last eight games. As has become the standard under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats offense is among the best in the nation — Arizona is currently hitting .321 and averaging 9.1 runs per game.
However, it was the bullpen that was the story in the Wildcats last four games against ASU, working 19 innings and allowing just one earned run. Arizona will look to put it all together again this weekend as they go for their third straight Pac-12 series win.
A complete weekend preview is below.
STREAKONOMICS: The longest currently active hit streak on the team belongs to true freshman Jacob Berry, who has hit safely in 12 straight games dating back to March 14. Over that stretch, Berry has posted a .429 (21x49) batting average with 11 runs scored, five doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 17 RBI. Berry's 12-game streak is the second-longest on the team this year, behind only Ryan Holgate's 14-game streak to open the season. Holgate (7 games) and Nik McClaughry (5 games) also both sport extended hit streaks. The two longest currently active on-base streaks belong to Donta' Williams and Berry, who have reached base safely in 13 and 12 straight games, respectively. Kobe Kato (8 games), McClaughry (8 games), and Holgate (7 games) also currently boast extended on-base streaks.
MURPHY PAC-12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Following one of the best outings of his young career Arizona Baseball right-handed pitcher Chandler Murphy was selected as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday. Murphy worked 5.0 hitless innings of relief and earned his third win of the year in the Wildcats series-opening victory over rival Arizona State last Thursday night. Across his five heroic frames, Murphy struck out a career-high eight batters and issued just one walk while the Arizona offense worked to complete a comeback victory. At one point during his dominant performance he struck out six consecutive Sun Devil batters, all against an offense that entered the game hitting nearly .300. It marked the first Pac-12 weekly award of Murphy's career, and the first time an Arizona pitcher has been tabbed as the conference's Pitcher of the Week since Cody Deason earned the honor in May 2018. The Wildcats have now combined to earn three Pac-12 weekly honors this season — Murphy joins teammates Branden Boissiere and Daniel Susac on the prestigous list in 2021. After allowing a one-out walk in his first inning on Thursday, Murphy proceeded to retire the next 12 straight batters he faced. Courtesy of his untouchable relief stint, Murphy lowered his season ERA from 5.26 to 4.40 and picked up his fifth career collegiate win.
THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER: The Wildcats bullpen has been on a tear recently, combining to allow just one earned run across 19.0 innings of work in four games against Arizona State over the weekend and on Tuesday. During that stretch, Arizona relievers allowed just nine hits (all singles) and issued just two walks while striking out 22. Both left-hander Riley Cooper (3 games) and righty Quinn Flanagan (2 games) made multiple appearances over the last four games without allowing a single run. Cooper and Flanagan combined to work 5.1 innings with just four hits and one walk between them. The Wildcats have enjoyed a distinct bullpen advantage this year, posting a 4.71 ERA (60ERx114.2IP) while opponent bullpens have logged an 8.73 ERA (128ERx132.0IP).
RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 136 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 136-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 27 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (109 games). Over the course of their 136-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 22 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 70 times. Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon are the only three programs in the Pac-12 Conference with scoring streaks longer than 50 games. UCLA was last shut out by a pitching staff coached by current Arizona associate head coach Nate Yeskie.
MILESTONE MEN: Several Wildcats are quickly approaching or have recently reached significant career milestones:
POLL POSITION: The Wildcats enter their eighth week of play ranked in all five major national polls. Arizona is currently ranked No. 16 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, No. 19 by the NCBWA, and No. 22 by D1Baseball and the USA Today Coaches Poll. Arizona opened the season ranked by every major poll, and earned a preseason ranking from Collegiate Baseball for the fifth year in a row. The only other Pac-12 Conference programs currently ranked in the D1Baseball poll are Oregon at No. 19, Oregon State at No. 20, and UCLA at No. 21.
CATS COACHES: Head coach Jay Johnson remains at Hi Corbett Field for his sixth season leading the Wildcats. During his time in Tucson, Johnson has steered Arizona Baseball to an impressive 182-104 (.636) overall record and a 67-63 (.515) mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The 182 wins compiled by coach Johnson and the Wildcats since 2016 are the third-most in the Pac-12 over that stretch, behind only Oregon State (208) and Stanford (186). Coach Johnson is joined by second-year associate head coach Nate Yeskie, sixth year assistant coach Dave Lawn, and sixth-year volunteer assistant coach Marc Wanaka. The Arizona coaching staff's credentials are impeccable, with coaches Johnson, Yeskie, and Lawn having combined to develop 15 conference Pitchers of the Year, 12 Players of the Year, 11 Freshmen of the Year, and four Defensive Players of the Year. That same group has combined to steer their team to 20 NCAA Regional appearances, eight NCAA Super Regional berths, and six trips to the College World Series. In addition to their unparalleled success at the collegiate level, Arizona's coaches have steered a staggering number of their players into the professional ranks. Coaches Johnson and Yeskie have combined to produce 58 Major League Baseball Draft picks, 31 of which were taken in the first ten rounds, while coach Lawn alone has developed 22 players who have gone on to make it to MLB.
All three games will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and the TuneIn app.
The Wildcats are beginning to heat up, having won six of their last eight games. As has become the standard under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats offense is among the best in the nation — Arizona is currently hitting .321 and averaging 9.1 runs per game.
However, it was the bullpen that was the story in the Wildcats last four games against ASU, working 19 innings and allowing just one earned run. Arizona will look to put it all together again this weekend as they go for their third straight Pac-12 series win.
A complete weekend preview is below.
| Date | Time (MST) / Result | Arizona Pitcher | California Pitcher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, April 9 | 6:00 PM | RHP Chase Silseth (4-0, 5.05) | RHP Grant Holman (0-0, 1.17) |
| Saturday, April 10 | 6:00 PM | LHP Garrett Irvin (1-1, 3.14) | RHP Sean Sullivan (2-1, 3.82) |
| Sunday, April 11 | 1:00 PM | RHP TJ Nichols (3-2, 5.40) | RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto (3-3, 5.23) |
Leading Off...
- The Wildcats will host the California Golden Bears for a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field this weekend. All three games will be live streamed at ArizonaWildcats.com and broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM.
- Arizona leads the all-time series with California 109-82, with games dating back to 1951. Though the Wildcats lead the all-time series, they have won their annual series with the Golden Bears just four times in the last decade: 2016 (3-0), 2013 (3-0), 2012 (3-0), and 2011 (2-1). Arizona's last home series win over California was a 3-0 sweep in 2013.
- The Wildcats have scored at least one run in 136 straight games. They have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2017. Their 136-game scoring streak is the longest active scoring streak in the Pac-12.
- Arizona right-hander Chandler Murphy was selected as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. Murphy worked 5.0 hitless innings with a career-high eight strikeouts against Arizona State on April 1.
- Arizona leads the nation with 245 runs this year, 64 more than the next-closest Pac-12 program, Oregon State (181).
- As of games played April 6, the Arizona offense leads all Division I programs with 245 runs, 308 hits, and a .438 on-base percentage. They also rank among the Top 10 in the nation in batting average (2nd, .321), triples (2nd, 14), scoring (4th, 9.1), walks (4th, 165), slugging percentage (10th, .499), and doubles (10th, 59).
STREAKONOMICS: The longest currently active hit streak on the team belongs to true freshman Jacob Berry, who has hit safely in 12 straight games dating back to March 14. Over that stretch, Berry has posted a .429 (21x49) batting average with 11 runs scored, five doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 17 RBI. Berry's 12-game streak is the second-longest on the team this year, behind only Ryan Holgate's 14-game streak to open the season. Holgate (7 games) and Nik McClaughry (5 games) also both sport extended hit streaks. The two longest currently active on-base streaks belong to Donta' Williams and Berry, who have reached base safely in 13 and 12 straight games, respectively. Kobe Kato (8 games), McClaughry (8 games), and Holgate (7 games) also currently boast extended on-base streaks.
MURPHY PAC-12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Following one of the best outings of his young career Arizona Baseball right-handed pitcher Chandler Murphy was selected as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday. Murphy worked 5.0 hitless innings of relief and earned his third win of the year in the Wildcats series-opening victory over rival Arizona State last Thursday night. Across his five heroic frames, Murphy struck out a career-high eight batters and issued just one walk while the Arizona offense worked to complete a comeback victory. At one point during his dominant performance he struck out six consecutive Sun Devil batters, all against an offense that entered the game hitting nearly .300. It marked the first Pac-12 weekly award of Murphy's career, and the first time an Arizona pitcher has been tabbed as the conference's Pitcher of the Week since Cody Deason earned the honor in May 2018. The Wildcats have now combined to earn three Pac-12 weekly honors this season — Murphy joins teammates Branden Boissiere and Daniel Susac on the prestigous list in 2021. After allowing a one-out walk in his first inning on Thursday, Murphy proceeded to retire the next 12 straight batters he faced. Courtesy of his untouchable relief stint, Murphy lowered his season ERA from 5.26 to 4.40 and picked up his fifth career collegiate win.
THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER: The Wildcats bullpen has been on a tear recently, combining to allow just one earned run across 19.0 innings of work in four games against Arizona State over the weekend and on Tuesday. During that stretch, Arizona relievers allowed just nine hits (all singles) and issued just two walks while striking out 22. Both left-hander Riley Cooper (3 games) and righty Quinn Flanagan (2 games) made multiple appearances over the last four games without allowing a single run. Cooper and Flanagan combined to work 5.1 innings with just four hits and one walk between them. The Wildcats have enjoyed a distinct bullpen advantage this year, posting a 4.71 ERA (60ERx114.2IP) while opponent bullpens have logged an 8.73 ERA (128ERx132.0IP).
RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 136 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 136-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 27 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (109 games). Over the course of their 136-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 22 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 70 times. Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon are the only three programs in the Pac-12 Conference with scoring streaks longer than 50 games. UCLA was last shut out by a pitching staff coached by current Arizona associate head coach Nate Yeskie.
MILESTONE MEN: Several Wildcats are quickly approaching or have recently reached significant career milestones:
- Jacob Blas recorded his 100th career base hit on April 3 at Arizona State, sneaking a single just inside the bag at first base.
- Ryan Holgate is just one hit shy of his 100th career hit and five games shy of 100 career collegiate games.
- Branden Boissiere is five hits shy of 100 career base hits.
- Vince Vannelle has eight career saves and is one save shy of moving into a tie for 9th on the Wildcats all-time saves leaderboard.
- Quinn Flanagan is one win shy of 10 career wins at Arizona.
POLL POSITION: The Wildcats enter their eighth week of play ranked in all five major national polls. Arizona is currently ranked No. 16 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, No. 19 by the NCBWA, and No. 22 by D1Baseball and the USA Today Coaches Poll. Arizona opened the season ranked by every major poll, and earned a preseason ranking from Collegiate Baseball for the fifth year in a row. The only other Pac-12 Conference programs currently ranked in the D1Baseball poll are Oregon at No. 19, Oregon State at No. 20, and UCLA at No. 21.
CATS COACHES: Head coach Jay Johnson remains at Hi Corbett Field for his sixth season leading the Wildcats. During his time in Tucson, Johnson has steered Arizona Baseball to an impressive 182-104 (.636) overall record and a 67-63 (.515) mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The 182 wins compiled by coach Johnson and the Wildcats since 2016 are the third-most in the Pac-12 over that stretch, behind only Oregon State (208) and Stanford (186). Coach Johnson is joined by second-year associate head coach Nate Yeskie, sixth year assistant coach Dave Lawn, and sixth-year volunteer assistant coach Marc Wanaka. The Arizona coaching staff's credentials are impeccable, with coaches Johnson, Yeskie, and Lawn having combined to develop 15 conference Pitchers of the Year, 12 Players of the Year, 11 Freshmen of the Year, and four Defensive Players of the Year. That same group has combined to steer their team to 20 NCAA Regional appearances, eight NCAA Super Regional berths, and six trips to the College World Series. In addition to their unparalleled success at the collegiate level, Arizona's coaches have steered a staggering number of their players into the professional ranks. Coaches Johnson and Yeskie have combined to produce 58 Major League Baseball Draft picks, 31 of which were taken in the first ten rounds, while coach Lawn alone has developed 22 players who have gone on to make it to MLB.
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