TUCSON, Ariz. — Fresh off the largest shutout win in program history over their in-state rivals, the Arizona Wildcats (19-15, 6-12) play host to a three-game series against the Utah Utes (14-21-1, 4-13-1) this weekend at Hi Corbett Field.

All three games will be available to view via live stream and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM plus The Varsity app.

It's Little League Weekend at Hi Corbett Field, the highlight of this series' promotions. The full promo schedule for the 2023 season can be found here. Tickets for the weekend can be secured by visiting ArizonaWildcats.com/BSB.

The Wildcats offense has ascended towards elite status in the NCAA, with their .318 batting average pacing the Pac-12 and ranking 14th nationally. First baseman Kiko Romero has driven in 52 runs, the best mark in the conference and 10 clear of the second place run producer.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, April 21	Utah	6:00 PM	LHP Jackson Kent (0-0, 5.01)	LHP Bryson Van Sickle (2-4, 3.70)
Saturday, April 22	Utah	6:00 PM	LHP Bradon Zastrow (3-2, 5.31)	RHP Merit Jones (2-1, 6.31)
Sunday, April 23	Utah	12:00 PM	RHP Aiden May (3-2, 6.28)	TBA

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats continue their homestand with a three-game series against the Utah Utes this weekend at Hi Corbett Field. All three games will be live streamed and broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with Brian Jeffries providing play-by-play.
• Arizona and Utah have squared off 83 times in program history, with the Wildcats holding a commanding 63-20 edge in the all-time series. Arizona leads the series over the last five years, 7-5, while Utah leads over the last decade, 14-13.
• The Utes took the most recent series, winning 2-of-3 games in Utah last season. The Wildcats have not dropped a home series to the Utes since 2017, a 3-0 Utah sweep at Hi Corbett Field.
• Outfielder Chase Davis hit his 13th home run of the season on Wednesday against Arizona State, giving him 31 career home runs. He is currently tied with Todd Trafton (1983-86) and Bill Rhinehart (2004-07) for the ninth most home runs in program history. He is one home run shy of eighth and two shy of a tie for sixth.
• Arizona's .976 fielding percentage currently ranks third in the Pac-12 behind only Oregon State (.979) and Washington (.979). Their 30 errors are third-fewest in the conference. The Wildcats finished 2022 ninth in the Pac-12 in fielding percentage. They have committed more than two errors in a game just twice this year.
• First baseman Kiko Romero currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks tied for 15th nationally with 52 RBI. He is averaging 1.5 RBI per game and on pace to finish the regular season with 81 RBI, which would rank tied for 4th in a single season in program history.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats push on with their current homestand with a three-game series against the Utah Utes at Hi Corbett Field this weekend...All three games will be available to watch via live stream and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM, with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries available on both options...Arizona and Utah have squared off 83 times in program history, with the Wildcats holding a commanding 63-20 edge in the all-time series...Arizona leads the series over the last five years, 7-5, while Utah leads over the last decade, 14-13...The Utes took the most recent series, winning 2-of-3 games in Utah last season...The Wildcats have not dropped a home series to the Utes since 2017, a 3-0 Utah sweep at Hi Corbett Field...Arizona enters the series fresh off a 20-0 midweek victory over in-state rival Arizona State on Wednesday...The 20-0 rout marked the most runs scored by the Wildcats over the Sun Devils since scoring 22 in 1986, and Arizona's first shutout of ASU since a 1-0 win in 2012...The final score of 20-0 was also the Wildcats largest shutout victory over the Sun Devils in program history...Arizona has won four straight home games, having taken the final two games of their last home series against Washington, and midweek games against New Mexico State and Arizona State...The Wildcats are 14-6 in 20 home games at Hi Corbett Field this year...Utah is led by second-year head coach Gary Henderson, who took over the program after serving as the Utes Associate Head Coach the two seasons prior...Over 12 seasons as a head coach at Chapman (1993), Kentucky (2009-16), Mississippi State (2018), and Utah (2022-current) he has posted a record of 359-305-2 (.541).

STREAKONOMICS: Four Wildcats currently sport 10-game hit streaks: Outfielders Chase Davis, Emilio Corona, and Mac Bingham, along with infielder Mason White. Over the course of their respective streaks Bingham is hitting .543 (25x46), Davis is hitting .432 (16x37), White is hitting .405 (17x42), and Corona is hitting .400 (16x40). The longest hit streak on the team this year belongs to outfielder Chase Davis, who strung together an 11-game streak from Feb. 28 – March 21. Davis (33 games) currently sports the longest on-base streak on the team. Dating back to the end of the 2022 campaign, Davis has reached base safely in 47 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career. Mason White (12 games), Brendan Summerhill (12 games), Mac Bingham (10 games), and Emilio Corona (10 games) all sport active, extended on-base streaks.

MLB WILDCATS: Seven former Wildcats currently find themselves on MLB rosters rosters: Cesar Salazar (Houston Astros), Kevin Newman (Cincinnati Reds), Andrew Nardi (Miami Marlins), Rob Refsnyder (Boston Red Sox), Kevin Ginkel (Arizona Diamondbacks), Tylor Megill (New York Mets), and Mark Melancon (Arizona Diamondbacks). Salazar made the Astros Opening Day roster and made his Major League debut on Sunday, April 12 against the White Sox, becoming the 93rd Wildcat in MLB history. In addition to the seven Wildcats currently in MLB there are eight other former Wildcats currently playing organized baseball who have already made their Major League debuts, along with 17 more who are working hard to earn their first shot.

CRUSH DAVIS: Outfielder Chase Davis has proven himself to be a prolific power hitter during his collegiate career. After swatting 18 during his sophomore campaign, he has followed up with 13 so far this year to give him 31 career long balls. Davis enters the weekend tied for ninth place on the Wildcats career leaderboard. His 18 home runs last year led the team, ranked third in the Pac-12, and were tied for the sixth most in a single season in program history.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Arizona Baseball moved to Hi Corbett Field for the 2012 season, the Wildcats have enjoyed a tremendous home field advantage. Over those 11+ seasons, Arizona has posted a record of 263-112, winning games at a .701 clip. Their home winning percentage over that stretch is the third best mark in the conference.

NO FREE RIDES: The Arizona pitching staff has excelled at limiting walks this season, allowing an average of just 3.18 BB/9. Thirteen times this season the Wildcats pitching staff has issued two or fewer walks in a game, highlighted by a zero-walk performance against Arizona State on March 24. Arizona's mark of 3.18 is the second-best mark in the Pac-12 — behind only UCLA (2.81) — and the 14th best mark among all NCAA Division I programs. It also marks a significant improvement from their 2019 mark of 5.33 BB/9.

STARTING STRONG: The Wildcats have more than doubled up opponents through the first two innings of games this year, currently hold a 86-39 scoring advantage across the first and second innings. In the first two innings this year the Wildcats offense has combined to post a .371 batting average with 47 extra-base hits, while the pitching staff has limited opposings offenses to a .285 batting average with just 17 extra-base hits. Overall, Arizona has out-scored their opponents by a margin of 281-206 this year.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Through 34 games, the Arizona offense has combined to swat 165 extra-base hits, the best mark in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are currently averaging 4.9 extra-base hits per game. Arizona has taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move off campus the Wildcats hold the Pac-12 lead with 2,048 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 1,919). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles six times and triples six times.