TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (16-4, 3-0) venture east for their first-ever Big 12 road series this weekend, a three-game set against the West Virginia Mountaineers (18-1, 1-0) at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown.

Arizona is fresh off a perfect 9-0 homestand that included a sweep in their debut Big 12 series against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Wildcats will play Friday at 3:30 p.m. MST, Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MST, and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. MST.

All three games this weekend will be available to subscribers on ESPN+ and feature play-by-play from Lanny Frattare; he is joined by analyst Tyler Barnette and reporter Anjelica Trinine.

The Wildcats pitching has been spectacular of late, with the staff posting a remarkable 1.25 ERA across their current nine-game win streak. 

For more, a complete series preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, March 21	Cincinnati	3:30 PM	RHP Collin McKinney (0-1, 1.29)	LHP Griffin Kirn (3-0, 3.42)
Saturday, March 22	Cincinnati	1:00 PM	RHP Owen Kramkowski (3-1, 4.84)	RHP Gavin Van Kempen (2-0, 3.78)
Sunday, March 23	Cincinnati	9:00 AM	RHP Smith Bailey (1-1, 1.80)	RHP Carson Estridge (2-0, 0.96)

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats hit the road for their first true road series of the season, a three-game set against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
• All three games will be broadcast to subscribers on ESPN+ with play-by-play from Lanny Frattare. They are joined by analyst Tyler Barnette and reporter Anjelica Trinine.
• The Wildcats and Mountaineers have met three times previously, with all three games coming in a series played in Tucson in 2023. West Virginia won the series, 2-1, on final scores of 5-15, 5-1, and 6-5 (11 inn.).
• Outfielder Brendan Summerhill currently leads the nation with six triples, a mark that also ties his career-high from last season. As a team, the Wildcats have swatted 16 triples, the most among all 299 Division I programs.
• Arizona's 9-game win streak is tied for fifth longest active streak in the nation. Over the course of the streak, the Wildcats pitching staff has posted a 1.25 ERA (11ERx79.0IP).
• With three home runs so far this season and 32 in his career, infielder Mason White currently sits tied for ninth on the Wildcats career leaderboard. White is tied with Moises Duran (2001-04) and is one homer shy of moving into a tie for 7th.
• Head coach Chip Hale — a standout alumni and Arizona's all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases — enters his fourth year leading his alma mater. Hale has led the Wildcats to NCAA Tournament berths and 30+ wins in each of his first three seasons in charge in Tucson.
• INF Garen Caulfield, INF Tommy Splaine, RHP Casey Hintz, and RHP Matthew Martinez were selected by their teammates as captains for the 2025 Wildcats.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats travel east for their first-ever Big 12 Conference road series, a three-game set against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown...All three games this weekend will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and feature Lanny Frattare (PxP) Tyler Barnette (Analyst) and Anjelica Trinine (Reporter)...The Wildcats and Mountaineers have met three times previously, with all three games coming in a series played in Tucson in 2023. West Virginia won the series, 2-1, on final scores of 5-15, 5-1, and 6-5 (11 inn.)...Arizona's current 9-game win streak is tied for fifth longest active streak in the nation....Over the course of the streak, the Wildcats pitching staff has posted a 1.25 ERA (11ERx79.0IP)....Outfielder Brendan Summerhill currently leads the nation with six triples, a mark that also ties his career-high from last season...As a team, the Wildcats have swatted 16 triples, the most among all 299 Division I programs...With three home runs so far this season and 32 in his career, infielder Mason White currently sits tied for ninth on the Wildcats career leaderboard; he is tied with Moises Duran (2001-04) and is one homer shy of moving into a tie for 7th...INF Garen Caulfield, INF Tommy Splaine, RHP Casey Hintz, and RHP Matthew Martinez were selected by their teammates as captains for the 2025 Wildcats...The Wildcats enter the weekend unranked by D1Baseball, but landing at No. 23 on the NCBWA Top 25 and No. 25 in the Baseball America poll...Arizona opened their inaugural Big 12 campaign with a sweep of the Cincinnati Bearcats last weekend; the Wildcats have now won their first conference games as members of the Western Athletic Conference, the Pac-10/12 Conference, and the Big 12 Conference...West Virginia is led by first-year head coach Steve Sabins, who has steered the Mountaineers to a 17-1 record to kick off his time in Morgantown...Sabins took over the head coach role at WVU after nine seasons as an assistant coach, the final three of which he served as associate head coach...The Mountaineers were at Hi Corbett Field last season for the Tucson NCAA Regional which they won without ever facing the host Wildcats.

STREAKONOMICS: Two Wildcats enter this weekend's action sporting extended hit streaks; infielder Garen Caulfield leads the way with an 11-game hit streak, with outfielder Brendan Summerhill not far behind with a 9-game hit streak. Caulfield's 11-game streak is the second-longest of his career, trailing only a 15-game hit streak he strung together from May 1–June 4, 2022 in his first season with the Wildcats. Over the course of his 11-game hit streak, Caulfield is batting .350 (14-for-40) with four runs scored, four doubles, two triples, on home run, and 15 RBI. Summerhill's 9-game streak is three games shy of his career-best 12-game streak, posted last season, that was the Wildcats longest streak of 2024. Summerhill has also reached base safely in all 20 of Arizona's game this season. Caulfield (11 games), outfielder Aaron Walton (9 games) and outfielder TJ Adams (5 games) also sport extended active on-base streaks. The Wildcats longest hit streak and on-base streak last season both belonged to Summerhill, who posted a 12-game hit streak and a 33-game on-base streak during the 2024 campaign.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!: Senior infielder Garen Caulfield, senior infielder Tommy Splaine, junior right-handed pitcher Casey Hintz, and senior right-handed pitcher Matthew Martinez have been named Arizona Baseball's 2025 Team Captains. They were all voted on by their teammates to lead the clubhouse this season. The quartet of upperclassmen have all been major contributors on the field, leaders in the clubhouse, and exemplary men off the field during their time in Tucson.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led this season by fourth-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired 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, brought 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 once again joined by assistant coaches Toby DeMello, Trip Couch, and Kevin Vance. DeMello, who joined the Wildcats from Sacramento State in 2022, was promoted from volunteer assistant into a full-time coaching role after his second season in Tucson. Since arriving, he has helped craft one of the most dangerous offenses in America, one that has averaged 7.15 runs per game and batted .289 under his guidance. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joined the Wildcats in the same role in 2022 after splitting the previous 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 14 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 15 All-Americans, and directly coached 42 MLB Draft selections. The Wildcats newest full-time staff addition was assistant coach Kevin Vance, who arrived in Tucson prior to the 2024 season to develop the Arizona pitching staff. Vance's staff led the entire nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and BB/9 rate last year while dropping their ERA over a run and a half, the 20th best improvement in the country. 

TUCSON'S OWN: Infielder and Tucson native Mason White has put together back-to-back successful seasons for his hometown Wildcats, and has already slugged his way into the Arizona Baseball record books. With 10 home runs as a true freshman, a team-leading 19 last year as a sophomore, and three more so far this year, White is now tied for ninth in program history with 32 dingers. In two-plus years he has averaged one home run every 16.3 at-bats, putting him on pace to finish with approximately 41 career home runs and rank third all-time for his hometown program.

3,000 CLUB: Arizona Baseball is one of just 10 programs in the history of college baseball to win 3,000 games. As it currently stands, Arizona is the 10th all-time winningest program in the history of the sport. The Wildcats logged their 3,000th victory with a 3-2 win over UCLA on March 29, 2024. Across time as a player (1984-87) and as a coach (2022-present), Arizona head coach Chip Hale has contributed to over 9% (276) of the program's all-time wins.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION: Arizona infielder Mathis Meurant, who was born and raised in France, is the lone player on the Wildcats roster from outside the United States. With assistance from Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24 on Twitter) and the French Baseball and Softball Federation it has been confirmed that, upon his Wildcat debut on opening weekend in Arlington, Meurant became the first French player at the Power Conference level in NCAA history. Meurant originally hails from Vaires-sur-Marne, a small town just east of Paris. Following a breakout performance in week two against San Diego in which he posted a 2.200 OPS, Meurant was selected as the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, making him the first Arizona Baseball player to receive a Big 12 weekly award.

TRIPLES ARE BEST, TRIPLES ARE SAFE: Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill enters this weekend's action leading all Division I players with six triples. The mark matches his career-high mark set as a sophomore last season and gives him 12 for his career. As a team, the Wildcats 16 total triples also pace the nation — Arizona is one of just 13 teams in Division I with double-digit triples this season.

THE AMERICANS: Two Wildcat juniors, outfielder Brendan Summerhill and infielder Mason White, have both earned Preseason All-America nods from multiple outlets. The two combined to produce an outsized majority of the Arizona offense last season, and both are primed to feature heavily in what looks to be a veteran lineup in 2025. Since 2023, Summerhill and White have combined for 206 runs scored, 290 hits, 125 extra-base hits, and 210 RBI. White also earned Freshman All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball following his debut campaign in 2023.

0-2, 1-2, OR DIE TRYING: Under assistant coach Kevin Vance the Wildcats pitching staff has excelled at limiting walks; last year, Arizona led the entire nation in both BB/9 (2.56) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.46). Five weeks into the 2025 season and the Arizona staff has come close to replicating both of those marks and ranks inside the nation's top five programs in each metric. Through 20 games, the Wildcats BB/9 of 2.72 is the best in Division I, while their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.71 ranks third.

MIDAS TOUCH: Arizona Baseball outfielder Brendan Summerhill was honored with one of 55 spots on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, USA Baseball announced earlier this month. Summerhill is the first Wildcat to earn a spot on the preseason watch list since outfielder Chase Davis landed on the 2023 edition. He is the 12th Arizona player to be named to the preseason watch list since its inclusion in the awards process in 2008, and the third developed by head coach Chip Hale (Davis 2023, Daniel Susac 2022). Summerhill, a junior, has logged two-plus seasons and 100 games in an Arizona uniform and posted a .336 career batting average. The Chicago native enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign last year, leading the team in both batting average (.324) and on-base percentage (.399) en route to earning Pac-12 All-Conference honors. Summerhill contributed to the Wildcats 2024 Pac-12 Championship season in all facets of the game, scoring 50 runs, slugging 32 extra-base hits, driving in 59 RBI, stealing seven bases, and playing strong defense.

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER: Arizona's bullpen has posted impressive performances over the last month, helping to lead the team to 16 wins in their last 17 games. Not counting the opening weekend of the season, the Wildcats bullpen has posted a 3.18 ERA as a group, allowing just 26 earned runs across 73.2 innings of work. During that same stretch, they have limited opposing hitters to a .262 batting average and struck out 85 while surrendering just 16 extra-base hits. Leading the charge out of the bullpen have been the trio of Tony Pluta, Casey Hintz, and Garrett Hicks; over the last four weeks they have combined to make 21 relief appearances and posted a 1.24 ERA (5ERx36.1IP).

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 have swatted 2,429 extra-base hits. Over that stretch, only two current members of the Big 12 Conference have tallied more extra-base hits: Texas Tech (2,613) and Oklahoma State (2,430). Across 13 seasons at Hi Corbett Field as members of the Pac-12 Conference, Arizona paced the league in doubles seven times and triples eight times.

BIG CONFERENCE, BIG HONORS: Arizona infielder Mason White and outfielder Brendan Summerhill both earned spots on the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Players are nominated for, and voted onto, the Preseason All-Big 12 team by the league's 14 head coaches. At the same time, the Wildcats were selected to finish second in the 2025 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll with four first place votes, marking their highest selection since the 2021 team was picked to finish second in the 2021 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll. Arizona will face the teams that finished ranked directly ahead of (Oklahoma State) and behind (TCU) them in the poll at home this season. The complete 2025 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll can be found on the right side of page three of these notes.