SEATTLE, Wash. — The No. 15 Arizona Wildcats (18-7, 6-3) find themselves in the pacific northwest for their second Pac-12 road series of the year, a three-game set against the host Washington Huskies (14-10, 5-4).

Radio coverage of the 2022 Arizona Baseball season begins this weekend on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app, with play-by-play voice Brian Jeffries on the call. All three games will also be live streamed for free.

The Wildcats have won two of their first three conference series, but have not won a three-game set in Seattle since 2012.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST) / Result	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, April 1	Washington	6:05 PM	RHP TJ Nichols (3-1, 2.04)	RHP Jared Engman (2-3, 5.34)
Saturday, April 2	Washington	2:06 PM	LHP Garrett Irvin (3-1, 2.80)	RHP Calvin Kirchoff (2-1, 4.55)
Sunday, April 3	Washington	1:05 PM	RHP Dawson Netz (2-1, 4.76)	RHP Case Matter (0-2, 3.57)

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats continue their five-game road trip with a three-game series against the Washington Huskies in Seattle. All three games will be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona leads the all-time series against Washington, 37-30, with games dating back to 1992. The Wildcats swept their last meeting against the Huskies, a three-game series hosted at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson in 2021.
• Arizona has scored at least one run in 197 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history. They are 35 games away from tying the longest streak in school history.
• The Wildcats rank second in the Pac-12 with 96 extra-base hits this season. Since moving to Hi Corbett Field in 2012, Arizona has swatted 1,757 XBH, nearly 200 more than the next closest team over that decade-plus stretch.
• Arizona's has dominated the seventh and eighth innings this year, outscoring opponents 70-30 and hitting .379 (83x219) with 22 extra-base hits across those frames.
• The Cats remain ranked in every major national poll, including a high mark of No. 12 from Baseball America and a No. 15 ranking from D1Baseball.
• Outfielder Mac Bingham has reached base safely in 13 consecutive games, the longest on-base streak of his career. Over his last 13 games he has posted a .404 OBP and raised his season batting average from .196 to .286.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats roll on with their five-game road trip by visiting the Washington Huskies for a three-game series in Seattle...All three games will be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Arizona leads the all-time series against Washington, 37-30, with games dating back to 1992...The Wildcats swept the Huskies in a three-game series last season in Tucson...The Wildcats have not won a road series at Washington since the 2012 squad took 2-of-3 games in Seattle...Arizona has scored at least one run in 197 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power 5 and 35 games shy of the longest streak in program history...The Cats remain ranked in every major national poll this week, including a high mark of No. 12 from Baseball America and a No. 15 ranking from D1Baseball...Catcher Daniel Susac (.411) and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba (.394) both rank among the top five players in the Pac-12 in batting average this year...Outfielder Chase Davis currently leads the team and ranks tied for third in the conference with eight home runs...Arizona's freshman home runs record is 20, set by Shelley Duncan in 1999.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Mac Bingham has reached base safely in a career-high 13 straight games and hit safely in six consecutive games, both of which are the longest active streaks on the team. During the course of his six-game hit streak, Bingham has posted a .360 (9x25) batting average, three runs scored, three extra-base hits, and seven RBI. Across his 13-game on-base streak, Bingham has logged a .404 on-base percentage, a .365 batting average, nine runs scored, six XBH, 12 and 12 RBI.

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 197 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 197-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 83 more games than the next closest team, Oregon (114 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 193-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 34 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 111 times. Arizona and Oregon are the only programs in the Power Five with scoring streaks longer than 100 games.

POLL POSITION: The Wildcats remain ranked in the Top 25 by every major national outlet, led by a No. 12 ranking from Baseball America. Arizona is also ranked No 14 from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, No. 15 from D1Baseball and the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 19 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 is No. 6 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.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Arizona has dominated the 7th and 8th innings this season, out-scoring their opponents 70-30 and hitting .379 (83x219) with 22 extra-base hits across those frames. Five different players have logged more than 10 at-bats in the 7th inning this year and are hitting .300 or better, led by catcher Daniel Susac at .467 (7x15). Three players have accomplished this feat in the 7th inning, again led by Susac and his .615 (8x13) AVG. Pitching has been strongest for the Wildcats in the 7th, where they have posted a 3.96 ERA and struck out 25 batters in 25.0 IP.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Through just 21 games, the Arizona offense has combined to swat an astounding 86 extra-base hits, the best mark in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are currently averaging 4.1 extra-base hits per game, with catcher Daniel Susac and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba leading the way with 15 and 13 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 1,747 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 1,567). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles six times and triples five times.

GO TJ, THAT'S MY TJ: Sophomore right-hander TJ Nichols has firmly entrenched himself as the Wildcats Friday night ace this season after closing strong during his freshman campaign in 2021. This year he leads all Wildcats qualified pitchers with a 2.04 ERA and paces the staff with 41 strikeouts, both marks that rank top five among Pac-12 pitchers. Beginning with a relief outing on May 4, 2021 versus Grand Canyon and carrying through to the present, Nichols has combined to allow just 12 earned runs on 42 hits (27 singles) across 58.2 IP, good enough for a 1.84 ERA across that span.