OMAHA, Neb. — The No. 5 Arizona Wildcats (45-16) kick off their 18th trip to the College World Series with a Saturday night matchup against the No. 4 Vanderbilt Commodores (45-15).

First pitch for the Cats CWS opener is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. MST with a television broadcast on ESPN and a radio broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM in Tucson.

Saturday's Arizona-Vanderbilt matchup has been pegged by many as the most intriguing early matchup of the 2021 College World Series, pitting the Wildcats top ranked offense against the Commodores pitching.

The Wildcats practiced at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha on Friday afternoon, learning the lay of the land in a ballpark built similarly to Arizona's home at Hi Corbett Field.

More information on Arizona's CWS opener can be found below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST) / TV	Arizona Pitcher	Vanderbilt Pitcher
Saturday, June 19	Vanderbilt	4:00 PM / ESPN	TBA	TBA

Leading Off...

• This marks the 18th College World Series appearance in program history, tied for seventh most in the nation along with Cal State Fullerton and LSU.
• Arizona reached their 18th College World Series by sweeping through the Tucson Regional and taking the Tucson Super Regional 2-1 from Ole Miss. The Wildcats now sport 20 all-time Regional/District championships and four Super Regional championships.
• The Wildcats have made the College World Series twice in five opportunities under head coach Jay Johnson. Since his hiring in 2016, only nine other coaches in the country have logged multiple CWS appearances.
• Arizona boasts an all-time winning record of 43-30 in their 18 trips to the College World Series. The program's 43 wins are fifth most in CWS history, five behind fourth place Miami (48).
• Saturday's matchup versus Vanderbilt marks the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
• Arizona has scored at least one run in 170 straight games. They have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2017. Their 170-game scoring streak is the longest active scoring streak in the Pac-12.
• True freshmen Jacob Berry (17) and Daniel Susac (12) have combined for 29 home runs this year. They are the first pair of Arizona freshmen to both hit double-digit home runs in program history.

SOME GAME THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats kick off their 2021 College World Series journey with a game one matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday night...The Cats CWS opener will be televised on ESPN with Karl Ravech, Kyle Peterson, and Eduardo Perez on the call...It will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 with Brian Jeffries on the call...This marks the 18th College World Series appearance in program history, tied for seventh most in the nation along with Cal State Fullerton and LSU....Arizona reached their 18th College World Series by sweeping through the Tucson Regional and taking the Tucson Super Regional 2-1 from Ole Miss...The Wildcats now sport 20 all-time Regional/District championships and four Super Regional championships...The Wildcats have made the College World Series twice in five opportunities under head coach Jay Johnson...Since his hiring in 2016, only nine other coaches in the country have logged multiple CWS appearances...Arizona boasts an all-time winning record of 43-30 in their 18 trips to the College World Series...The program's 43 wins are fifth most in CWS history, five behind fourth place Miami (48)...Arizona is currently competing in their 40th NCAA Baseball Championship, tied for the sixth-most postseason appearances among all Division I programs (also: Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State)...The Wildcats finished the regular season with an overall record of 40-15 and a Pac-12 mark of 21-9...Arizona compiled 40 regular season wins for the 13th time in program history, while their 21 Pac-12 victories were the second-most conference wins in program history...Since the final stretch of the 2019 season, which ended on a 10-game win streak, Arizona has rolled to the tune of an impressive 65-21 (.756) record with 19 winning weekends...Arizona's offense continued it's years-long trend of dominating the Pac-12 — the Wildcats wrapped up the regular season leading the conference in runs, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases, and extra-base hits while placing tied for third on the circuit in home runs...Their dominance extends beyond the Pac-12; Arizona is currently fifth in the nation in scoring with an average of 8.6 runs per game while their 526 runs lead all Division I programs...Saturday's matchup versus Vanderbilt marks the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

POSTSEASON POINTS:

• Arizona is participating in their 40th NCAA Tournament in 2021, tied for the sixth most in Division I history with Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State.
• The Wildcats sport an all-time winning record of 43-30 (.589) in the College Worls Series, with four National Championships (1976, 1980, 1986, 2012).
• Since 2016, Arizona is one of only two Pac-12 program to advance to the College World Series multiple times (also: Oregon State).
• Since the NCAA Baseball Championship format change in 1999, Arizona has advanced to four College World Series, with one National Championship in 2012 and one runner-up placement in 2016.
• Under head coach Jay Johnson, the Wildcats have made the NCAA Tournament in 3-of-5 full seasons (not including COVID-shortened 2020 campaign).
• The Wildcats have made the College World Series twice in five opportunities under head coach Jay Johnson. Since his hiring in 2016, only nine other coaches in the country have logged multiple CWS appearances.
• Arizona's postseason record under coach Johnson is 17-7 (.708). The Cats have gone 8-3 in NCAA Regionals, 4-1 in NCAA Super Regionals, and 5-3 at the College World Series under coach Johnson's direction.
• Outfielder Tanner O'Tremba is the only current Wildcat that had NCAA Tournament experience heading into the 2021 championship. The sophomore made five postseason appearances with Texas Tech in 2019, including a start against Michigan in the College World Series.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Donta' Williams has reached base safely in 47 consecutive games, the longest on-base streak of his career and the second longest streak of the StatCrew era. During his streak, dating back to March 13 versus Air Force, Williams has posted a .526 on-base percentage to go alongside a .376 (65x173) batting average, 63 runs, 40 RBI, 24 extra-base hits, 41 walks, and 15 HBP. Tony Bullard (9 games), Ryan Holgate (8 games), and Williams (7 games) all currently sport extended hit streaks longer than five games. Bullard has hit .486 (18x37) with 10 runs, two doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 15 RBI over his streak. Holgate has posted a .414 (12x29) batting average, six runs, two doubles, two home runs, and six RBI during his streak. Williams has hit .484 (15x31) and compiled 12 runs, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, and eight RBI during his streak.

PAC-12 POSTSEASON AWARDS: Nine Arizona Wildcats were honored with twelve Pac-12 postseason awards this year, highlighted by the selection of Daniel Susac as Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and head coach Jay Johnson as Pac-12 Coach of the Year. In addition to Arizona's two major award winners, Chase Silseth, Donta Williams, Susac, Jacob Berry, and Branden Boissiere were selected to the Pac-12 All-Conference team. Williams and Susac were also tabbed to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Finally, Ryan Holgate, Vince Vannelle, and Kobe Kato all earned Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONS: This year, the Arizona Wildcats secured the 2021 Pac-12 Championship outright. Arizona finished the conference slate with a record of 21-9 and a win percentage of .700 to earn their first outright Pac-10/12 Championship since 1992. The outright championship for Arizona was the program's first since division play ended in 1999. With the outright conference title in hand, the Wildcats have now won 10 league titles in program history, five of which have been Pac-10/12 Championships. Arizona's 21 conference wins this season are the second-most in program history, behind only the 1989 squad's 23 Pac-10 victories.

BABY BOMBERS: True freshmen Jacob Berry (17) and Daniel Susac (12) have combined to hit 29 home runs this year. They are the first pair of Arizona freshmen to both hit double digit home runs in a single season in program history. On top of that, Berry and Susac are the most prolific true freshman power duo in the nation this season. Just one other school in the country (Texas Tech) has two players classified as freshmen each with 12+ home runs, but both of their players are not first-year freshmen. Susac and Berry's eight home runs in Pac-12 play tied Shelley Duncan's conference freshman HR record set in 1999.

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 170 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 170-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 29 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (141 games). Over the course of their 170-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 27 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 92 times. Arizona and UCLA are the only two programs in the Pac-12 Conference with scoring streaks longer than 100 games. UCLA was last shut out by a pitching staff coached by current Arizona associate head coach Nate Yeskie.

THE BIG FOUR-OH: With two wins over Dixie State the final weekend of the regular season, Arizona reached 40 regular season wins for the first time since going 40-15 in 2007 and for just the 13th time in program history. In those 12 previous 40+ win regular seasons, twice the Wildcats went on to win the College World Series (1976, 1986). Andy Lopez posted one 40+ win season (2007), Frank Sancet notched four (1956, 1961, 1962, 1970), and Jerry Kindall accomplished the feat seven times (1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1989).

THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER: The Arizona bullpen has made significant strides since the calendar turned over to April 1 — in 38 games since then, the Wildcats pen has gone 17-3 with a 3.00 ERA (60ERx180.0IP) while allowing opposing batters to hit just .219 off them. In the 23 games prior to April 1, Arizona's bullpen had logged a 5.55 ERA (59ERx95.2IP) and allowed opposing batters to hit .265. Four key pieces of the Wildcats bullpen turnaround have been Quinn Flanagan, Dawson Netz, TJ Nichols, and Chandler Murphy, who have combined to make 42 relief appearances and log a 2.31 ERA (22ERx85.2IP) and an 10.61 K/9 since April 1.

CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS: With a record of 21-9 in Pac-12 contests, the Wildcats handily secured a winning conference record. Arizona's 21 Pac-12 wins are five more than the previous Jay Johnson era record of 16 wins the 2016 and 2017 teams captured. The Wildcats will have posted a winning Pac-12 record for the fourth time in five tries under coach Johnson. Prior to his arrival in 2016, Arizona had finished above .500 in conference play three times in 10 years.

MILESTONE MEN: Several Wildcats are quickly approaching or have recently reached significant statistical milestones:

• C, DANIEL SUSAC
  • 21 doubles: Tied for Arizona freshman record (Jett Bandy, 21, 2009)
• DH, JACOB BERRY
  • 40 XBH: Breaks Arizona freshman record (Shelley Duncan, 33, 1999)
  • 85 hits: Breaks Arizona freshman record (Brad Boyer, 83, 2003)
  • 70 RBI: Breaks Arizona freshman record (Shelley Duncan, 68, 1999)
  • .692 SLG: Currently on pace to break Arizona freshman record (Shelley Duncan, .640, 1999)
• OF, DONTA' WILLIAMS
  • 40 career hit by pitch: 4th most all-time in program history. Two HBP shy of tying Brad Glenn (2006-09) for 3rd all-time
• RHP, VINCE VANNELLE
  • 12 career saves: 8th all-time on Arizona's career saves leaderboard. One save shy of moving into a tie for 6th all-time with Joe Estes (1983-86) and Carlos Rico (1991-92)
  • Eight saves in 2021: Tied for 7th most in a single season in program history. One more save would move him into a tie for 6th all-time

CAST AWAY: Arizona's bullpen has excelled at stranding inherited baserunners this year — as a group they have combined to inherit 199 baserunners and allowed only 68 of them (34.2%) to come around and score. Three relievers — senior right-hander Preston Price, freshman righty Dawson Netz, and freshman southpaw Riley Cooper — have been particularly adept at leaving baserunners longing. Price has inherited 24 baserunners and only allowed four (16.6%) of them to score. Price has inherited at least one baserunner in 11-of-15 appearances this year and has been saddled with multiple inherited runners in 8-of-14 outings. Three times this season — Feb. 19 vs. Ball State, March 5 vs. Oklahoma, and March 26 vs. Oregon — Price has inherited a bases-loaded situation and did not allow a single run to score. Cooper's 34 inherited runners lead the team and only seven (20.6%) of them have scored. Netz has picked up 22 inherited baserunners through his 22 appearances and allowed just six (27.3%) of them to score.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Over the course of the season, the Wildcats offense once again proved to be one of the most explosive run-scoring threats in the nation. Arizona currently either leads or ranks among the top three teams in the Pac-12 in nearly every statistical category and is averaging 8.6 runs per game, the fifth-best mark in the nation. There are numerous carryovers in the Wildcats lineup from the 2019 team that averaged 9.8 runs per game and five returning regular starters from the 2020 squad that all were hitting above .300 before the season was cut short. Branden Boissiere (.374), Jacob Berry (.359), Ryan Holgate (.356), Donta' Williams (.352), Kobe Kato (.352), and Daniel Susac (.329) all currently rank among the top 15 players in the Pac-12 Conference in batting average.    

PITCH PERFECT: Arizona's pitching staff has worked their way into the program record books this year, logging near historic marks in both saves and strikeouts. The Wildcats pitchers have fanned 572 opposing batters this year, tied for the best mark in school history (2008) and second-best in the Pac-12 this season. The Cats staff is also close to first place in saves, where they have 17, the second-most in program history and just one behind the 2016 team's high-water mark of 18. Vince Vannelle (8), Quinn Flanagan (4), Preston Price (3), Gil Luna (1), and Randy Abshier (1) have all contributed to the effort with saves. Vannelle's eight saves this year are the seventh-most in school history.

RECORD WRECKERS: True freshmen Daniel Susac and Jacob Berry have spent the 2021 season dominating their competition and thoroughly rewriting large portions of the Arizona record books as a result. A complete list of records broken or tied by the Baby Bombers can be found below.

Daniel Susac                

• FR Pac-12 hits: Broken, 45 (Damon Mashore, 43, 1989)
• FR Pac-12 doubles: Broken, 12 (Damon Mashore, 10, 1989)
• FR Pac-12 home runs: Tied, 8 (Shelley Duncan, 8, 1999)
• FR Pac-12 RBI: Tied, 34 (Austin Wells, 34, 2019)
• FR Pac-12 XBH: Broken, 21 (Mashore/Wells, 17, 1989/2019)
• FR Pac-12 total bases: Broken, 83 (Damon Mashore, 72, 1989)
• FR Pac-12 SLG: Broken, .669 (Austin Wells, .597, 2019)

Jacob Berry                

• FR Pac-12 hits: Broken, 45 (Damon Mashore, 43, 1989)
• FR Pac-12 home runs: Tied, 8 (Shelley Duncan, 8, 1999)
• FR XBH: Broken, 40 (Shelley Duncan, 33, 1999)
• FR hits: Broken, 85 (Brad Boyer, 83, 2003)
• FR RBI: Broken, 70 (Shelley Duncan, 68, 1999)

CATS COACHES: Head coach Jay Johnson is again calling Hi Corbett Field home for his sixth season leading the Wildcats in 2021. During his time in Tucson, Johnson has steered Arizona Baseball to an impressive 208-112 (.650) overall record and an 82-67 (.550) mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The 208 wins compiled by coach Johnson and the Wildcats since 2016 are the second-most in the Pac-12 over that stretch, behind only Oregon State (224). Coach Johnson is assisted 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, 12 Freshmen of the Year, and four Defensive Players of the Year. That same group has combined to steer their team to 21 NCAA Regional appearances, nine NCAA Super Regional berths, and seven 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.