DURHAM, N.C. — The Arizona Wildcats (42-18) continue their postseason run with a matchup against the No. 5 national seed North Carolina Tar Heels (45-13) in the Chapel Hill Super Regional this weekend at Boshamer Stadium.

The first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday will be televised on ESPN2 with Eric Frede and Jensen Lewis on the call. The games will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.

Arizona earned their spot on the Super Regionals, their first since 2021, by sweeping through the Eugene Regional last weekend. This marks the Wildcats sixth Super Regional appearance, and the first under head coach Chip Hale.

The winner of this weekend's series will advance to the Men's College World Series next week.

For more, a complete Super Regional preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, June 6	#1 North Carolina	9:00 AM	RHP Owen Kramkowski (9-5, 4.73)	RHP Jake Knapp (13-0, 1.98)
Saturday, June 7	#1 North Carolina	9:00 AM	RHP Raul Garayzar (2-0, 2.54)	RHP Jason DeCaro (9-3, 3.50)
Sunday, June 8*	#1 North Carolina	TBA	RHP Smith Bailey (3-3, 3.97)	TBA

*if necessary

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats head east to continue their NCAA Tournament run with a Super Regional matchup against the No. 5 national seed North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
• The first two games will be televised on ESPN2 with Eric Frede (PxP) and Jensen Lewis (Analyst) on the call. Game three coverage, if necessary, is TBA. The entire Super Regional will be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• The Wildcats advanced to the Super Regional round after sweeping through the Eugene Regional and out-scoring their opponents 31-6. This weekend marks the sixth Super Regional in program history since the format was introduced in 1999. Arizona has won 4-of-5 previous Super Regionals.
• Arizona and North Carolina have played five times previously, with games dating back to 1985 and the Wildcats holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. Arizona is 1-1 all-time against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Wildcats won the most recent matchup, 3-2, on May 19, 1990 at the Carolina Invitational in Chapel Hill.
• Shortstop Mason White currently ranks second in program history with 48 career home runs. He now sits seven home runs shy of a tie for the Arizona record. Of his 48 career home runs, 35 have been hit away from Hi Corbett Field at road/neutral venues.
• Reliever Tony Pluta, the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, currently leads the conference and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 13 saves. His 13 saves are the single-season program record, even with Jason Stoffel's 13 saves in 2008.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats venture east for their NCAA Super Regional matchup against the No. 1 ranked and No. 5 national seed North Carolina Tar Heels...This marks the sixth Super Regional appearance in Arizona program history, and the first since 2021 when the Wildcats defeated Ole Miss, 2-1, to advance to the College World Series...The Wildcats are 4-1 with a 9-4 (.629) record in their previous five Super Regional series...The first two games will be televised on ESPN2 with Eric Frede (PxP) and Jensen Lewis (Analyst) on the call...Game three coverage, if necessary, is TBA...The entire Super Regional will be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...The Wildcats advanced to the Super Regional round after sweeping through the Eugene Regional and out-scoring their opponents 31-6...Arizona enters the weekend ranked No. 11 in the NCBWA Top 25, the only poll that updated this week...Shortstop Mason White currently ranks second in program history with 48 career home runs; he now sits seven home runs shy of a tie for the Arizona record...Of White's 48 career home runs, 35 have been hit away from Hi Corbett Field at road/neutral venues...Closer Tony Pluta, the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, leads the conference and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 13 saves; his 13 saves are the single-season program record, even with Jason Stoffel's 13 saves in 2008...North Carolina is led by fifth-year head coach Scott Forbes, who has steered the Tar Heels to a record of 199-102 (.661), five NCAA Tournament appearances, three Super Regionals, and one College World Series appearance during his tenure in Chapel Hill.

MATCHUP HISTORY: The Arizona Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels have faced each other five times in program history, with games dating back to 1985 and the Wildcats holding a narrow 3-2 edge in the all-time series. Two of the five games in the all-time series have been played in Chapel Hill; the two program have split those two games, 1-1. Arizona won the most recent matchup against North Carolina, a 3-2 final, on May 19, 1990 at the Carolina Invitational in Chapel Hill.

POSTSEASON POINTS:

• Arizona is participating in their 44th NCAA Tournament, the sixth most in Division I history.
• The Wildcats are participating in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, marking the second longest streak in program history. The program's longest streak was 14 consecutive tournament appearances from 1950-63.
• Head coach Chip Hale is only the second coach in program history to lead their team to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four years, joining Frank Sancet, who made 14 stright tournament appearances from 1950-63.
• Arizona has advanced to the Super Regional round six times since the format's inception in 1999. This weekend marks their first appearance since 2021.
• The Wildcats have won four of their previous five Super Regional series.
• Arizona's current roster features a combined 207 at-bats and 38.1 innings of NCAA Tournament experience.

STREAKONOMICS: The longest active hit streak on the team belongs to infielder Tommy Splaine, who has hit safely in five consecutive games. During his 5-game streak, Splaine is hitting .476 (10-for-21) with four runs scored, one triple, two home runs, and five RBI. The longest hit streak of the year belongs to Garen Caulfield, who put together a 15-game hit streak from March 1–29. Three Wildcats enter this weekend's action in Chapel Hill with extended on-base streaks: Infielder Mason White (8 games), outfielder Aaron Walton (5 games), and infielder Tommy Splaine (5 games). Outfielder Brendan Summerhill and fellow outfielder Aaron Walton have both posted 25-game on-base streaks this year, tied for the longest on the team.

TUCSON'S OWN: Infielder and Tucson native Mason White has 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 19 more so far this year, White is now second in program history with 48 dingers. He has also piled up 110 career extra-base hits, tied for the most in program history. He passed his current head coach, Chip Hale, with two XBH on May 22 against BYU.

BIG 12 AWARDS: Seven Wildcats picked up recognition last month with the announcement of the Big 12 Conference's end of year baseball awards, highlighted by right-handed pitcher Tony Pluta who was selected as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Pluta, the first conference Scholar-Athlete of the year in program history, was also named to the All-Big 12 Second Team along with infielder Mason White. Additionally, first year right-handed pitcher Smith Bailey was voted onto the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Arizona's recognitions were rounded out by catcher Adonys Guzman, right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski, and outfielders Brendan Summerhill and Aaron Walton all earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention nods. 

SAVING PRIVATE PLUTA: Reliever Tony Pluta has been a rock-solid force out of the Arizona bullpen this season and has quickly risen up the program's single-season and career saves leaderboards. With 13 saves this year and 15 for his career, Pluta finds himself ranked tied for first on the Wildcats single-season charts and tied for third on the Arizona career leaderboard. Pluta leads the Big 12 and ranks tied for seventh nationally with 13 saves this year. With his accomplishments on the mound this season, Pluta was recently named one of 13 finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award, making him the first finalist for the award in program history.

ALWAYS BE CATCHING: Arizona catcher Adonys Guzman was selected as one of 13 semifinalists for the Buster Posey Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced last month. The award has been presented annually since 2000 to the nation's most outstanding catcher; it was previously known as the Johnny Bench Award until renaming it after the famous Florida State and San Francisco Giants catcher, Buster Posey, in 2019. Through 57 games, Guzman has posted a .308 batting average (66-for-214) with 39 runs scored, 10 doubles, eight home runs, and 40 RBI, all of which are career-high marks. In addition to his contributions at the plate, Guzman has started 51 games behind the plate and posted an impressive 4.44 catcher's ERA. The junior backstop has thrown out 17 would-be base stealers and registered a .987 fielding percentage on a team-high 522 total chances. Guzman's 17 baserunners caught stealing are the eighth most in a single season by a Wildcat during the StatCrew era (1998-current).

IRON MAN: Wildcat infielder Garen Caulfield has logged nearly four full seasons in an Arizona uniform and has cemented himself among some of the most prolific players in program history. Since 2022, Caulfield has seen time in 226 games (218 starts) and tallied 858 at-bats, marks that rank t-4th and 3rd in Arizona Baseball history, respectively. With a minimum of two games remaining in the Wildcats season, Caulfield could move into third all-time in games played and challenge for second all-time in at-bats.

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% (300) of the program's all-time wins.

PLUTA NAMED STOPPER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Arizona Baseball closer Tony Pluta has been selected as one of 13 finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, the organization announced on Wednesday. The award, in its 20th year, is given annually to the nation's top Division I relief pitcher. Pluta is the first Arizona player to be honored as a finalist. Pluta, a junior right-hander, has tallied 13 saves this year, a mark that ties the Arizona single-season record, leads the Big 12 Conference, and ranks tied for seventh nationally. The Illinois native boasts a minuscule 1.39 ERA and 31 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .185 batting average. Pluta has appeared in 26 games for the Wildcats this season and has allowed runs in only two of those outings. As the Wildcats closer he has punctuated numerous highlight wins for the program this season, including their win over then No. 1 ranked Texas A&M in February and their victory in the Big 12 Championship title game. A standout student-athlete, Pluta has excelled both on the field and in the classroom during his time as a Wildcat. He was recently selected to the CSC Academic All-District team for the second time in his career and last month was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, making him the first player in program history to earn the honor.