TUCSON, Ariz. - For the first time in Arizona baseball history, the Wildcats will face UCF this weekend, as they are set to take on the Golden Knights in a three-game series in Orlando, Florida.

Arizona has narrowly lost their first two Big 12 series; but, they are coming off a 5-4 victory over Grand Canyon on Tuesday and will aim to carry the momentum into the weekend as they face UCF. 

Friday and Saturday's contests are scheduled for a 3 p.m. (MST) start, while the series finale on Sunday will begin at 10 a.m. (MST). 

LEADING OFF:

• The Arizona Wildcats face the UCF Golden Knights for a three-game Big 12 series in Orlando, Florida at John Euliano Park. 

• All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• Friday night's contest will mark the first ever matchup on the diamond between Arizona and UCF, as the two teams have not played previously throughout history. 

• Arizona is 2-4 in conference play; however, they had an even run differential in their first series against Utah and +2 run differential in the series against Texas Tech. 

• Last weekend against the Red Raiders, Arizona scored a combined 29 runs and recorded 44 hits across three games.

• After getting off to a 1-8 start, Arizona is 8-7 over its past 15 games.

• Over the same stretch, the Wildcats are hitting .303 as a team and scoring 7.2 runs and recording 10.8 hits per game.

• Nate Novitske and Tony Lira continue to set the tone offensively for Arizona, as Novitske is batting a team-high .376 while Lira is hitting .374.

• Caleb Danzeisen leads the team in on-base percentage (.472), and he has reached base in 19 of 21 games this season, including reaching base two or more times in 13 contests.

• Andrew Cain has elevated his play at the plate as of late, and in Big 12 play he is batting .348 (8-23) with six walks, as he has reached base 14 times across six games. 

• Arizona' pitching staff is fourth in the Big 12 in strikeouts (231) and fifth in ERA (5.13), with starting pitchers Luc Fladda and Smith Bailey ranking seventh and ninth in ERA respectively

SOME WEEKEND THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and UCF Golden Knights meet for a three-game series this weekend at John Euliano Park  in Orlando, Florida…All three games this weekend will be available to subscribers on ESPN+…Arizona and UCF have never played previously…After a slow start to the season, Arizona has gone 8-7 over their past 15 games…The Wildcats opened Big 12 play on the road, going 1-2 at Utah; however, Arizona was walked off Saturday and Sunday, as they lost each game by one run…Arizona then faced Texas Tech at home last weekend where they went 1-2 in a high-powered offensive series, dropping the first game 9-5, before earning a dominant 14-6 victory. The Wildcats narrowly fell in the series finale 12-10…Arizona's starting pitching staff has been superb this season, with Owen Kramkowski, Smith Bailey, and Luc Fladda set to start on the mound once again this weekend…Kramkowski enters with an ERA of 5.65 and a record of 1-2 across 28.2 innings - he had a solid outing last Friday, limiting an exceptional Texas Tech offense to four runs, three of which earned in 5.2 innings of action…Earlier this season, Kramkowski was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (3/9) after an outstanding performance against Fresno State in which he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings while striking out 12 and issuing no walks…Smith Bailey has been phenomenal for the Wildcats, entering the game with 3.93 ERA and 3-0 record throughout 34.1 innings…Bailey's ERA ranks as the ninth best in the Big 12 and he is 10th in the league in strikeouts (32)...Fladda has also been stellar for Arizona, and he is seventh in the Big 12 in ERA (3.60) and owns a record of 2-0 with 27 strikeouts and has issued just three walks…The Wildcats have had a multitude of relief pitchers make a significant impact this season, led by Maclain Roberts who boasts an ERA of 1.98 across 13.2 innings and had 18 strikeouts to two walks, while holding opposing batters to a .167 average at the plate…After struggling offensively to start the season, Arizona has significantly elevated their play at the plate…Across the first nine games of the season, the Wildcats were hitting .218 as a team and averaging 7.5 hits and 3.1 runs per game; however, over the past 15 games - Arizona is batting .303 while averaging 10.8 hits and 7.2 runs per contest…Redshirt freshmen Nate Novitske and Tony Lira continues to set the tone offensively for the Wildcats…Novitske ranks first on the team in batting average (.376), tied for first in doubles (7), second in hits (35), and third in on-base percentage (.420), and he has recorded a hit in 17 of 21 games this season, including collection multiple hits in 10 contests…Lira leads the team in hits (37), home runs (5), and slugging percentage (.586), while ranking second in RBI (17) and on-base percentage (.461)...Lira has recorded a hit in seven straight games and he has four consecutive games with multiple hits…True freshman Caleb Danzeisen has continued to impress at the plate, as he leads the team in on-base percentage (.472) and has reached base in 19 of 21 games this season, including reaching base two or more times in 13 games…Veterans Maddox Mihalakis and Andrew Cain struggled to start the season; but, both players have been impressive as of late for the Wildcats…Over the past 12 games, Cain is hitting .350 while Mihalakis is batting .340 with 16 RBI…The Golden Knights are led by third year head coach Rich Wallace who boasts a record of 81-55 at the helm of the program…UCF has gotten off to a strong start this season, as they enter the weekend with an overall record of 15-8, including a mark of 5-1 in Big 12 play after sweeping Oklahoma State and winning two of three games against TCU…UCF has been impressive both offensively and defensively, and they rank second on the Big 12 in batting ERA (4.43) and sixth in batting average (.291).

NOVITSKE AND LIRA SETTING THE TONE: After struggling at the plate to start the season, Arizona has significantly elevated their offensive play, and Redshirt Freshmen Nate Novitske and Tony Lira have led the way. Over the past 15 games, Arizona has hit .303 as a team, while averaging 10.8 hits and 7.2 runs per game. Arizona has gotten off to a hot start offensively in Big 12 play, hitting .303 while averaging 7.8 runs per contest across six conference games so far. Novitske leads the team and ranks 13th in the Big 12 with a .376 batting average. Novitske has 10 multi-hit games this season, including seven games with three or more hits. He has recorded at least one hit in 17 of 21 contests. Earlier this season, he was named the MVP of the Live Like Lou Las Vegas Classic after going 9-14. Lira has also been outstanding for the Wildcats, as he ranks first on the team in hits (35) and extra-base hits (11), while ranking second in batting average (.374) and on-base percentage (.461). Lira had his fifth career home run on Tuesday against Grand Canyon, and he has hit a home run in two consecutive games. Lira has started all 24 games for the Wildcats this season and has recorded a hit in 18 of 24 contests, including posting two or more hits in 15 games. He enters the weekend on a seven-game hit streak, and over the past 13 games dating back to Arizona's first contest against Grand Canyon (3/3), Lira is batting .444 with a .531 on-base percentage. He is hitting. 545 with runners in scoring position.

MIHALAKIS AND CAIN FINDING THEIR RHYTHM: Senior Maddox Mihalakis and Junior Andrew Cain entered the season with high expectations after each player started over 65% of games for last year's College World Series team. After struggling at the plate to start the season, Mihalakis and Cain have both hit their stride offensively as of late. Over Arizona's last 12 games, Mihalakis is batting .340 with a team-high six doubles, and 16 RBI. Over the same stretch, Cain is hitting .350 with seven RBI and he has walked 12 times to post an on-base percentage of .500. Over last weekend's series against Texas Tech, Cain was 7-13 with two walks, one double, one triple, and three RBI. Mihalakis delivered five RBI last weekend and he leads the team in RBI this season with 19. On Tuesday against Grand Canyon, Cain was 1-3 with a double and a walk.

DANZEISEN GETTING IT DONE AT THE PLATE: True freshman Caleb Danzeisen was thrust into a starting role early in the season due to injuries and has been exceptional during his first collegiate campaign, particularly at the plate. Danzeisen leads the team and ranks 20th in the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.472). He is also third on the team in batting average (.299) and has 20 hits and 21 walks, while striking out just 15 times. Danzeisen has also been impressive in right field, as he is yet to make an error this season. His breakthrough came at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas Classic where he was named to the All-Tournament Team after going 3-11 with three walks.

STARTING ROTATION ON LOCK: Arizona brought back a large portion of its pitching from the 2025 season, as six of 11 pitchers who threw at least 18 innings last season returned for the 2026 campaign, highlighted by returning starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey. Kramkowski has been the Friday night starter so far, while Bailey has served as the Saturday starter. Both pitchers were ranked in D1 Baseball's Preseason Top-200 Starting Pitcher rankings. Bailey led the way coming in at #16, while Kramkowski landed at #39. Kramkowski is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in which he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after starting 18 games and posting a record of 9-6 throughout the season. He compiled an ERA of 5.48 across a team-high 92.0 innings of work and recorded 90 strikeouts to just 18 walks. The Sahuarita, Arizona native garnered All-Big 12 Preseason honors and was tabbed a Preseason Third Team All-American by Perfect Game. Kramkowski did not have a great start to the season; however, he had a tremendous performance against Fresno State to get back into form, in which he struck out a career-high 12 batters in six innings to help lead Arizona to a shutout victory over Fresno State this past Friday. It was the first time all season that Fresno State had been shutout, and Kramkowski was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following the superb performance. Overall, this season he is 1-2 with a 5.65 ERA across 28.2 innings. Kramkowski leads the team and ranks seventh in the Big 12 in strikeouts (35). Bailey enters his sophomore season after an exceptional freshman campaign in which he was named a First Team Freshman All-American by D1Baseball, a Second Team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and Perfect Game and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. During the 2025 season, Bailey started 18 games on the mound, compiling a record of 3-3. He recorded an ERA of 3.94 across 89.0 innings of work and struck out 80 batters. Bailey also limited opposing hitters to just a .267 average at the plate. Bailey has been tremendous for the Wildcats this season, as he is 3-0 with a 3.93 ERA and an opposing batting average of .234 in six starts. Earlier this season against Fresno State, he threw a career best 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits and no runs, while striking out a career-high nine batters to help propel Arizona to a victory. Bailey is seventh in the Big 12 in ERA (3.93), 10th in strikeouts (32), and 12th in opposing batting average (.202). Senior transfer Luc Fladda has emerged as the Sunday starter for the Wildcats and has been exceptional this season. The Tulane transfer started 30 games across two seasons for the Green Wave the past two years, before joining Arizona ahead of the 2026 campaign for his final collegiate season. Fladda has tossed 30.0 innings this year and has issued just three walks while recording 27 strikeouts. Fladda has an ERA of 4.20 which ranks second on the team. He is holding opposing hitters to a .278 average at the plate. Fladda had one of the best performances of his career against UC Irvine (3/1), as he pitched 7.0 innings and allowed no runs on four hits and no walks, while matching a career-high with nine strikeouts. 

FORBES FINDING HIS ROLE: Redshirt freshman Jackson Forbes has solidified his spot in the starting lineup as of late, and has been highly impressive both offensively and defensively for the Wildcats. Forbes is hitting .298 this season and he ranks tied for second on the team in RBI with 17 in just 13 games. He has produced 14 hits, six of which were extra-base hits, including three home runs, and he is batting .353 with runners in scoring position. In the field, he has played second base, left field, right field, and short stop and has just one error this season. All three of his home runs this year have come on the first pitch of the at-bat.