LEADING OFF 

• The Arizona Wildcats host the reigning Mountain West Champions Fresno State for a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field. 

• All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ featuring play-by-play from Brody Dryden.  

• Arizona and Fresno State have played 16 times previously throughout history, with the Wildcats holding an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series. 

• Arizona lost the most recent meeting between the two programs, as Fresno State earned a 5-0 victory in 2023 at the MLB Desert Invitational. 

• Arizona dropped their midweek contest against GCU on Tuesday; however, they had a strong showing last weekend, going 2-1 at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas CBC. The Wildcats lost to Oregon, before earning a 5-1 win over Vanderbilt and a 7-1 victory against UC Irvine. 

• Nate Novitske was named the MVP of the Tournament and is a combined 11-19 at the plate over Arizona's past four games. 

• Caleb Danzeisen was named to the All-Tournament Team of the Live Like Lou Las Vegas CBC after going 3-11 with a triple, while also drawing three walks and being hit by a pitch to reach base seven times. 

• Tony Lira is coming off a 3-5 night at the plate against GCU and leads the team in total hits this season (16). 

• Starting pitchers Smith Bailey and Luc Fladda have been sensational this season. They are coming off exceptional performances in which Bailey threw 6.0 innings against Vanderbilt allowing just one run, while Fladda tossed seven scoreless innings against UC Irvine. 

SOME WEEKEND THEMES 

The Arizona Wildcats (3-9) are set to host the Fresno State Bulldogs (7-4) for a three-game series this weekend at Hi Corbett Field...All three games between the Wildcats and Bulldogs will be broadcast on ESPN+ featuring play-by-play from Brody Dryden...Arizona and Fresno State have played each other 16 times previously, with the Wildcats holding an 11-5 advantage over the Bulldogs...Arizona and Fresno State are two of the most successful programs West Coast college programs all-time, with Arizona winning four National Championships and reaching the NCAA Tournament 44 times, while Fresno State won the 2008 National Championship and has made the NCAA Tournament 34 times...Arizona had a stellar weekend at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic last weekend, as they earned dominant victories over Vanderbilt (5-1) and UC Irvine (7-1)...Starting pitchers Smith Bailey and Luc Fladdahave been phenomenal, with Bailey owning a 2.65 ERA across three starts and 17.0 total innings and Fladda posting a 1.29 ERA in three appearances (two starts) and 14.0 total innings thrown...Redshirt freshmen Nate Novitske and Tony Lira have led the way for the Wildcats offensively, with Novitske recording two or more hits in each of the past four games and Lira leading the team in hits this season (16)...Arizona's pitching staff has recorded 142 strikeouts in 12 games, which currently ranks first in the Big 12 and 28th in the country...Arizona's pitching staff also ranks 40th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8)...Fresno State is led by fourth-year head coach Ryan Overland who has a 101-89 record at the helm of the program and he has taken the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons. 

CATS COACHING STAFF 

The Wildcats are led this season by fifth-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired on July 5, 2021, and signed an extension this past offseason that will keep him at the helm of the program through 2030. 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 coming off his best season leading the Wildcats, as Arizona compiled an overall record of 44-21. The Cats had an exceptional postseason run, kicking it off by winning the 2025 Big 12 Tournament in their inaugural season as a member of the conference. Arizona then proceeded to go undefeated to win the Eugene Regional; and, after dropping the first game of the Chapel Hill Super Regional to North Carolina, the Cats bounced back to beat UNC in consecutive games and advance to the College World Series. Hale is once again joined by assistant coaches Toby DeMello and Trip Couch. 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 added a new pitching coach this season after former assistant coach Kevin Vance departed to take the head coaching job at San Diego State. Hale tabbed 29-year collegiate coaching veteran Sean Kenny as the man to oversee Arizona's pitching staff. Kenny made his way to Tucson from Iowa this past December. A seasoned veteran, Kenny has spent the past 16 years working with Power 5 programs, including stops at Michigan, Georgia, and Houston. Former Wildcat player Garen Caulfield joined the staff as a Graduate Assistant Coach ahead of the 2026 season following a tremendous four-year career at Arizona. As a player, Caulfield had one of the most successful four-year careers on the field in recent history for the Wildcats, as he competed for Arizona from 2022-25. He ranks second in program history behind Chip Hale in games played, appearing in 231 contests across his four seasons with the Wildcats. Caulfield also ranks second in career at-bats (877) and sixth in sacrifice flies (17). He will serve as Arizona's first base coach. Bill Ralston also joined the staff as a Hitting Analyst for the 2026 season. Ralston played four years of collegiate baseball, concluding his career at Saint Mary's. During his senior year, he batted .272 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs, and 31 RBI. 

NOVITSKE ON A HOT STREAK 

Redshirt Freshman Nate Novitske has been on an exceptional run at the plate for the Wildcats as of late, and he has recorded 2+ hits in each of Arizona's past four games. His streak began with an outstanding weekend at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic, and he earned Tournament MVP honors at the conclusion of the event. Novitske went 9-15 at the plate throughout the weekend, recording three hits in all three of Arizona's games. He followed up the weekend with a 2-5 performance with two RBI on Tuesday against Grand Canyon, as he is 11-19 at the plate over the past four games. Novitske currently ranks first on the team in batting average (.417), on-base percentage (.447), OPS (.947), slugging percentage (.500), and RBI (7), while ranking second in total hits (15). Novitske has recorded at least one hit in eight of the nine games that he has played in this season, and he will aim to stay hot over the weekend. 

BULLPEN HOLDING IT DOWN 

Despite losing 2025 NCBWA Stopper of the Year, Tony Pluta, to injury before the start of the season, Arizona has had a multitude of pitchers step up and make a significant impact out of the bullpen. Senior relief pitcher Patrick Morris has been outstanding for the Wildcats this season. Morris, a transfer from Western Kentucky, has allowed just one earned run across 10.2 innings of work, while limiting opposing hitters to an average of .237. Matthew Martinez has also been highly impressive for Arizona this season. Martinez made his debut in the season opener against Stanford, pitching three innings and allowing just one hit and zero runs, while striking out seven batters. He had another superb outing on Tuesday against GCU, throwing 2.0 innings and allowing one hit and no runs while posting four strikeouts. Overall this season, Martinez has appeared in five games, throwing 9.0 innings and posting an ERA of 2.00, while recording 16 strikeouts and limiting opposing hitters to a .138 average. Junior Maclain Roberts has made three appearances recently and has been dominant in each outing. He made his Arizona debut on February 20 against UConn and pitched 1.2 innings while striking out all five batters that he faced. Roberts entered the game in relief against Oregon this past Friday and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, limiting Oregon to just one hit over that stretch and striking out five batters. He pitched again this past Tuesday against GCU and allowed just one hit and zero runs across 2.2 innings, while striking out three batters. He is holding opposing hitters to a measly average of 0.91, and he has struck out 12 of the 22 batters that he has faced with zero walks. 

FRESHMEN SHOWING OUT 

Arizona has had four different freshmen start at least seven games apiece the season, and they have continued to make a notable impact. Redshirt freshman Tony Lira has started all 12 games for the Wildcats and has been phenomenal both offensively and defensively to start the season. Lira is first on the team in hits (16) and second in batting average (.320). True freshman Caleb Danzeisen has started nine straight games for Arizona, and he is second on the team with an on-base percentage of .444. Fellow true freshman Cash Brennan, the younger brother of current UCLA starting right-fielder Payton Brennan, has started seven games and is batting .269 with an on-base percentage of .321. Redshirt freshman Nate Novitske has started eight contests this season and has been the most reliable batter at the plate for the Wildcats.  

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 return 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. 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 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA and an opposing batting average of .190 in three starts. In his most recent outing against Vanderbilt, he threw 6.0 innings and allowed just three hits and one run, while striking out six batters to help propel Arizona to a marquee victory. Bailey is yet to allow more than two runs this season. 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 14.0 innings this year, and allowed just two runs, as he has an ERA of 1.29 and is holding opposing hitters to a paltry .191 average at the plate. Fladda had one of the best performances of his career this past Sunday against UC Irvine, as he pitched 7.0 innings and allowed no runs on four hits and no walks, while matching a career-high with nine strikeouts. Fladda will make his third start for the Wildcats this Sunday, as he aims to maintain his outstanding play.