IRVINE, Calif. — The Arizona Wildcats (5-6, 0-0) and USC Trojans (3-9, 0-0) both kick off their final seasons of Pac-12 Conference play this weekend in Irvine, California at Great Park.

All three games will be streamed for free and are available to view here.

Arizona returns to action following their 12-1 run-rule victory over then No. 20 Indiana at the Frisco Classic. The Wildcats have played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country in preparation for their Pac-12 slate.

Due to construction at Dedeaux Field, this weekend's game will be played at OC Great Park in Irvine. All three games will be free and open to the public.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, March 9	USC	7:30 PM	LHP Jackson Kent (1-0, 3.12)	RHP Caden Aoki (0-2, 3.94)
Saturday, March 10	USC	7:30 PM	RHP Clark Candiotti (0-0, 4.50)	RHP Tyler Stromsborg (0-2, 4.30)
Sunday, March 11	USC	1:00 PM	RHP Cam Walty (3-0, 1.84)	TBA

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats and USC Trojans kick off their final seasons of Pac-12 Conference play this weekend at Great Park in Irvine.
• Arizona and USC have played nearly to a tie in the all-time series, with the Trojans holding a narrow 125-121-1 edge in the matchup history. Games between the two programs date back to 1921.
• The Wildcats won the most recent series against the Trojans, two games to one, to close out the regular season in Tucson last year. Arizona won games one and two on final scores of 13-4 and 6-3 before dropping the finale 14-6.
• Arizona is looking for their first road series win over USC since taking 2-of-3 from the Trojans in 2018 (14-2, 2-12, 4-2).
• Infielder Mason White (19) and outfielder Brendan Summerhill (18) currently rank 1st and t-2nd in the Pac-12 in RBI. White's 19 RBI also rank t-19th among all Division I players.
• Sophomore infielder Mason White and senior right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz were selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team, the first such honor for both players.
• RHP Dawson Netz, INF Garen Caulfield, and OF Emilio Corona were selected by their teammates as captains for the 2024 Wildcats.
• Netz, a fifth-year senior, has made 76 career appearances for the Wildcats, a mark that ranks ninth in program history. He is one appearance shy of tying Joe Estes (1983-86) and Mark Melancon (2004-06) for seventh most games pitched in Arizona history.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and USC Trojans meet for three games this weekend at Great Park in Irvine, California, kicking off the final season of Pac-12 Conference play for both programs...USC will split home games in 2024 between Great Park and other venues in the region due to a complete rebuild of their usual home ballpark, Dedeaux Field...Arizona and USC have played 247 times since 1921 and have played the all-time series to a near tie, with the Trojans holding a narrow 125-121-1 edge in the matchup's history...The Wildcats won the most recent series against the Trojans, two games to one, to close out the regular season in Tucson last year...Arizona won games one and two on final scores of 13-4 and 6-3 before dropping the finale 14-6...Arizona is looking for their first road series win over USC since taking 2-of-3 from the Trojans in 2018 (14-2, 2-12, 4-2)...Arizona will play 30 conference games across 10 weekend series this year, their final campaign in the Pac-12 before moving to the Big 12 beginning with the 2024-25 academic year...The Wildcats have gone 599-652 all-time in Pac-10/12 play...Head coach Chip Hale has steered Arizona to a record of 28-32 in conference play; Hale's Wildcats have gone 34-36 overall against Pac-12 competition, counting midweek games and Pac-12 Tournament play...Infielder Mason White (19) and outfielder Brendan Summerhill (18) currently rank 1st and t-2nd in the Pac-12 in RBI...Fifth-year senior right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with 76 games pitched...Arizona and USC are both unranked in all five major national college baseball polls...The Wildcats enter the weekend No. 30 in the RPI, while the Trojans sit at No. 127...The Trojans are led by second-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz, who has led USC to a record of 37-32 during his time in Los Angeles.

STREAKONOMICS: Freshman outfielder Easton Breyfogle has reached base safely in all 11 games the Wildcats have played this season, the longest active streak on the team. Infielder Garen Caulfield (8 games) and outfielder Brendan Summerhill (6 games) also sport extended on-base streaks going into the weekend. No Wildcats currently carry hit streaks longer than five games; the longest active streak belongs to infielder Mason White, who has hit safely in three straight contests. Breyfogle holds the longest streak on the team this season, at seven games; White led the team last season with a 17-game hit streak.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!: Senior right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz, junior infielder Garen Caulfield, and senior outfielder Emilio Corona have been named Arizona Baseball's 2024 Team Captains. The trio of upperclassmen were voted into their captain roles by their teammates. All three captains have been major contributors on the field, leaders in the clubhouse, and exemplary men off the field.

NOTHING BUT NETZ: Fifth-year senior Dawson Netz has established himself as one of the most experienced pitchers in Arizona Baseball history. Going into this weekend, Netz has logged 76 appearances in his collegiate career — 14 starts and 62 relief — the ninth mostgames pitched in Wildcat history. He is just one appearance shy of moving into a tie for seventh place with Joe Estes (1983-86) and Mark Melancon (2004-06). If he were to match his team-leading 32 appearances from last season, he would move into sole possession of first place with 106 games pitched.

EASTON GOES WEST: True freshman outfielder Easton Breyfogle has enjoyed a red hot start to his collegiate career, having earned the start in all 11 of the Wildcats games so far this season. The Minnesota native has made three starts in left field, three starts in center field, and five starts at designated hitter. Breyfogle's approach at the plate has been crucial to Arizona's offensive success, having reached base safely in all 11 games. In addition to his on-base streak, Breyfogle has hit safely in 9-of-11 games with four multi-hit performances. His success has extended to defense as well, where he has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Arizona has consistently 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 2,200 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 2,095). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles seven times and triples seven times.

STATE 48: The Wildcats 2024 roster features 14 players hailing from the state of Arizona. Other states represented on Arizona's roster include California (11), Illinois (6), Texas (2), Minnesota (2), New York (1), Colorado (1), New Mexico (1), and Florida (1). The Wildcats 14 Arizonans represent nearly 36% of the roster. Among the 14 Arizona natives on the roster, five current Wildcats also played their high school baseball in or near Tucson: Andrew Cain (Ironwood Ridge HS), Mason White (Salpointe Catholic HS), Jaeden Swanberg (Salpointe Catholic HS), Alessandro Castro (Pusch Ridge Christian HS), and Caid Bergthold (Catalina Foothills HS).

ROAD FROM THE SHOW: Arizona Baseball, a program that proudly boasts 280 Major League Baseball Draft selections and 94 alumni MLB players, also currently has five players on the roster with MLB ties in their bloodlines. Between those five players, the Wildcats relatives have logged 44 years and 1,357 games worth of Major League service time.

GOLD GLOVES: The Wildcats defensive prowess has improved and continued to increase every season under the direction of head coach Chip Hale. Prior to his arrival, during the 2021 season, Arizona's defensive unit combined to post a .967 fielding percentage on 78 errors. In Hale's first season in charge of his alma mater in 2022, the Wildcats improved those numbers to a .972 fielding percentage on 66 errors. They again showed improvement in 2023, earning a .977 fielding percentage on just 52 errors.

PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 TEAM: Arizona Baseball infielder Mason White and right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz both earned spots on the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team. Players are nominated for, and voted onto, the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team by the league's head coaches. The Pac-12 also released their annual Preseason Coaches Poll, where the Wildcats were selected to finish ninth in the conference standings. Arizona will face the teams selected to finish first through third place in the conference at home this season — the complete 2024 Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page three of these notes.

CHASING MILESTONES: Arizona Baseball is just seven wins shy of registering 3,000 all-time victories. The Wildcats would join the ranks of just nine other programs to boast 3,000 program wins. As it currently stands, Arizona is the 10th all-time winningest program in the history of college baseball. Four of the winningest programs in college baseball history are current members of the Pac-12 Conference.