TUCSON, Ariz. — The No. 16 Arizona Wildcats (10-3) kick off their 2022 Pac-12 conference schedule with a three-game series against the California Golden Bears (6-6) in Berkeley this weekend. All three games will be available to view via free live stream.

Arizona, the defending Pac-12 Champions from 2021, were picked to finish third in the conference this year by the league's coaches. 

The Wildcats are fresh off a 12-5 comeback victory over the New Mexico Lobos on Tuesday. This weekend will mark the first true road test of the year for Arizona, who opened the season in a neutral-site tournament in Arlington, Texas before returning home to Tucson for a 10-game homestand.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST) / Result	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, March 11	California	6:05 PM	RHP TJ Nichols (2-0, 1.08)	RHP Josh White (0-0, 1.10)
Saturday, March 12	California	4:05 PM	LHP Garrett Irvin (1-1, 2.87)	TBA
Sunday, March 13	California	1:05 PM	RHP Dawson Netz (1-0, 3.65)	TBA

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats open their 2022 Pac-12 conference schedule with a three-game road set against the California Golden Bears. All three games will be broadcast via Cal Live Stream-2.
• This weekend will mark the first taste of Pac-12 competition for first-year head coach Chip Hale. As a player at Arizona from 1984-87 he went 59-61 in Pac-10 play, including two second-place finishes in 1985 and 1986.
• Arizona leads the all-time series against California, 111-83. The Wildcats took the most recent series against the Golden Bears 2-1 in Tucson last season. They last squared off in Berkeley in 2018, a three-game series swept by California.
• Arizona has scored at least one run in 185 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history. They are 47 games away from tying the longest streak in school history.
• The Wildcats are ranked in every national poll, with their highest ranking being a No. 14 placement from the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA. Arizona checked in at No. 16 in the D1Baseball poll this week.
• Arizona's pitching staff has lowered their walk rate in each of the last three seasons. From 2019's mark of 5.33 BB/9 they have improved to 4.67 in 2020, 3.90 in 2021, and 3.13 through 13 games this season.
• Catcher Daniel Susac is tied for the national lead with nine doubles this season. He and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba have combined for 16 doubles, more than 86 different DI programs.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats open the Pac-12 conference play portion of their 2022 schedule this weekend with a three-game road series against the California Golden Bears...The Wildcats are the defending Pac-12 Champions after posting a conference record of 21-9 last season to win their 10th conference title...This weekend marks the first taste of Pac-12 play for first-year head coach Chip Hale...As a player at Arizona from 1984-87, Hale went 59-61 in Pac-10 play, including two second-place finishes in 1985 and 1986...The Wildcats lead the all-time series against the Golden Bears, 111-83...Arizona took the most recent series between the two programs, 2-1, in Tucson last season...They won the first two games 5-1 and 4-3 before dropping the finale 1-9...The last time Arizona and California squared off in Berkeley in 2018, the Golden Bears swept the three-game series on final scores of 9-3, 16-6, and 12-11...Arizona has scored at least one run in 185 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history...The Wildcats remain ranked in every national poll, with their highest ranking being a No. 14 placement from the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA...Arizona has lowered their walk rate in each of the last three seasons, down to 3.13 from 5.33 in 2019...Outfielder Tanner O'Tremba currently ranks among the top three players in the Pac-12 in batting average (.480), on-base percentage (.578), slugging percentage (.780), hits (24), doubles (7), RBI (19), total bases (39), and extra-base hits (10).

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 185 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 185-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 31 more games than the next closest team, UCLA (154 games). It is also the longest active streak among all Power Five programs, and the third-longest streak in program history. Over the course of their 185-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 31 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 103 times. Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon are the only programs in the Power Five with scoring streaks longer than 100 games.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Tanner O'Tremba (6 games) and infielder Nik McClaughry (5 games) currently sport the two longest active hit streaks for Arizona. This is O'Tremba's second six-game hit streak of the season, after opening the year with a streak of half a dozen games. During his current streak, O'Tremba is hitting .550 (11x20) with three runs scored, nine RBI, and three doubles. Across his current five-game hit streak, McClaughry is hitting .381 (8x21) with seven runs, one RBI, and one triple. O'Tremba has also reached base safely in all 13 games this season — his .578 on-base percentage is the second-best mark in the Pac-12 and tied for the 28th best mark among all Division I players.

NO FREE RIDES: The Arizona pitching staff has excelled at limiting walks this season, allowing an average of just 3.13 BB/9. Twice this year the Wildcats have issued just one walk — Feb. 26 vs. Milwaukee and March 8 vs. New Mexico. Arizona's mark of 3.13 is down significantly from their 2019 mark of 5.33 BB/9.

POLL POSITION: The Wildcats remain ranked in the Top 25 by every major national outlet, led by a No. 14 ranking from the USA Today Coaches Poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association. Arizona is also ranked No. 16 from D1Baseball, No. 17 from Baseball America, and No. 18 from Collegiate Baseball. Arizona opened the season ranked in every poll, marking the sixth consecutive year they earned a preseason ranking from Collegiate Baseball and the ninth time they were selected to the USA Today Coaches Poll (since 2004). The only other Pac-12 programs currently ranked in the D1Baseball poll are No. 5 Stanford and No. 7 Oregon State.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led into the 2022 season by first-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired by Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke on July 5, 2021. Hale, the Wildcats all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases during his time in Tucson from 1984-87, brings nearly two decades of professional coaching experience to Arizona. During his collegiate career Hale helped steer the 1986 Arizona Wildcats to their third NCAA National Championship. His professional coaching career was highlighted by a stint as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-16) and a World Series championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Hale is assisted by associate head coach Dave Lawn, in his seventh season with the Wildcats, and first-year assistant coaches Trip Couch and Toby DeMello. Lawn has made four College World Series appearances with three different Pac-12 programs, sent 23 players to the Major Leagues, and won five conference championships. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joins the Wildcats in the same role after splitting the last 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 11 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 12 All-Americans, and directly coached 37 MLB Draft selections. DeMello, the Wildcats volunteer assistant, will work with Arizona's hitters and catchers after serving in a similar role at Sacramento State, where he helped guide the Hornets to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2019. Arizona's staff is rounded out by director of baseball operations Will Gaines, director of player development Tyler Coolbaugh, and undergraduate assistant Brian Anderson.

DAN THE MAN: Sophomore catcher Daniel Susac leads the way for Arizona on offense in 2022. A unanimous Freshman All-American and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2021, Susac entered this season as a unanimous First Team Preseason All-American and likely first round draft pick. As a true freshman, Susac hit .335 with 48 runs, 12 home runs, and 65 RBI. He set an Arizona freshman record with 24 doubles and set program freshman conference records in hits (45), doubles (12), extra-base hits (21), total bases (83), and slugging percentage (.669). He wrapped up his first Arizona campaign by accepting an invite to play for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team, where he earned time in nine games and collected a pair of hits in their season finale against the USA Baseball Olympic Team.

CALIFORNIA CONNECTION: Sophomore catcher Daniel Susac and sophomore right-handed pitcher TJ Nichols, both hailing from the Sacramento area, have played baseball together since they were seven years old. The two figure to feature prominently into the Wildcats plans in 2022, with Daniel leading the offense and Nichols set to be a centerpiece in Arizona's pitching staff. While the two attended different high schools — Susac Jesuit HS, Nichols Oakmont HS — the two have shared the field as battery mates for hundreds of games and thousands of pitches.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Joining Daniel Susac this season is freshman right-handed pitcher Anthony Susac, Daniel's younger cousin — both attended Jesuit High School in Sacramento. The younger Susac made his collegiate debut on the mound on Feb. 18 versus Kanses State, throwing to his older cousin at catcher. Anthony was a four-year letterwinner who finished his prep career ranked as the No. 4 right-handed pitcher and No. 15 overall prospect in California in the 2021 class according to Perfect Game. The Susac's baseball bloodlines run deep, with Daniel's oldest brother, Andrew, boasting a six-year Major League career and his next oldest brother, Matt, playing Division I baseball at Nevada.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Through just 13 games, the Arizona offense has combined to swat an astounding 55 extra-base hits, the best mark in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are currently averaging 4.2 extra-base hits per game, with catcher Daniel Susac and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba leading the way with 11 and 10 XBH, respectively. Arizona has taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move the Wildcats lead the Pac-12 with 1,704 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 1,535). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles six times and triples five times.

HOLD 'EM CHRISTIAN: Senior left-handed pitcher Holden Christian, a transfer from Loyola Marymount, is set to take up the mantle as Arizona's closer in 2022. A four-year letterman with the Lions, Christian posted a career ERA of 3.34 with five saves across 102.1 innings. As a senior in 2021 he found tremendous success, notching a 0.97 ERA and four saves en route to earning First Team All-WCC and ABCA Second Team West All-Region honors. The southpaw picked up a D1Baseball Second Team Preseason All-America selection leading into his first Power Five campaign.

LEFT SIDE, STRONG SIDE: Arizona's presumptive 2022 starting third baseman, Tony Bullard, and shortstop, Nik McClaughry, became two of the Wildcat's most important contributors late in the 2021 season. McClaughry took over as Arizona's everyday starting shortstop in late March of last season while the Wildcats hosted Oregon — he finished the year hitting .316 with 37 runs, 10 extra-base hits, 32 RBI, and a sparkling .967 fielding percentage. Bullard played in 47 of Arizona's 63 games, with 39 starts — his star exploded in the postseason when started every game and hit .382 with nine runs, two triples, four home runs, and nine RBI.