TUCSON, Ariz. - For the first time as Big 12 opponents, the University of Arizona baseball team will travel to face TCU in Fort Worth this weekend, as they are set to take on the Horned Frogs in a three-game conference series at Lupton Stadium.

Arizona is coming off one of its most complete performances of the season, a 13-3 run-rule victory over New Mexico State on Wednesday night, and will aim to carry the momentum into the weekend.. 

Friday's contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. (MST) start, while Saturday is slated for 12:00 p.m. (MST), and Sunday's matchup will begin at 12:30 p.m. (MST).

LEADING OFF:

• The Arizona Wildcats travel to face the TCU Horned Frogs for a three-game Big 12 series at Lupton Baseball Stadium.

• Friday and Saturday's contests will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Sunday's game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN2.

• Arizona and TCU have met 15 times previously, with the Wildcats holding a 10-5 advantage in the all-time series.

• Arizona is coming off one of its most complete performances of the season, as they defeated NM State 13-3 in seven innings on Wednesday after recording nine hits and eight walks.

• Jackson Forbes had a career-high three hits against New Mexico State and is now fourth on the team in batting average (.310) and third in RBI (21).

• Tony Lira continues to pace the offense, ranking first on the team in batting average (.351), hits (46), on-base percentage (.441), and extra-base hits (13).

• Carson McEntire hit his team-leading seventh home run on Wednesday and he also leads the team in RBI (24).

• Beau Sylvester enters the weekend on a four-game hit streak and he is 8-16 over his past four games, including a 4-4 performance against ASU last Thursday.

• Starting pitcher Luc Fladda leads the Big 12 in strikeout/walk ratio this season (7.25)

• True freshman Cash Brennan made his return to the lineup on Wednesday and had two hits and the first  multu-RBI performance of his career.

SOME WEEKEND THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and TCU Horned Frogs meet for a critical three-game Big 12 series at Lupton Baseball Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas…TCU was selected as the favorite in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, while Arizona was predicted to finish second in the conference by the league's head coaches…Arizona and TCU met four times last season, with the Wildcats going 3-1 against the Horned Frogs, including defeating TCU 2-1 in 10 innings in the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game…Arizona is yet to win a Big 12 series this season; but five of their nine conference losses have come by two runs or less…The Wildcats are coming one of their best performances of the season, as they earned a 13-3 victory over New Mexico State in seven innings on Wednesday night in Tucson…Six different players recorded at least one hit, led by freshmen Jackson Forbes (three hits) and Cash Brennan (two hits), while senior Maddox Mihalakis had two hits and two walks…Forbes has had a tremendous redshirt-freshman campaign and has solidified his spot in the starting lineup as of late - he enters the weekend hitting .310 and has 21 RBI in just 20 games, while leading the team in slugging percentage (.549)…Senior Beau Sylvester did not play Wednesday, but he had an exceptional weekend series against Arizona State, going a combined 7-for-11, including a 4-for-4 performance last Thursday night which set a new career-high in hits…Tony Lira continues to pace Arizona offensively, as he has started all 32 games and leads the team in hits (46), batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.441), extra-base hits (13), and runs (23)...Lira has recorded a hit in 18 of the past 21 games, and he has collected at least one hit in 24 of 32 contests this season, including 17 multi-hit games…Nate Novitske is second on the squad in batting average (.323) and hits (42), and he has recorded at least one hit in each of the past four games…True freshman Caleb Danzeisen is second on the team in on-base percentage (.435) and he has reached base in 22 of 25 games this season…Starting pitchers Smith Bailey, Luc Fladda, and Owen Kramkowski rank ninth, 13th, and 18th in the Big 12 in ERA this season, respectively…Kramkowski is also 12th in the Big 12 in strikeouts (41), while Bailey is 13th (40)...Relief pitchers Garrett Hicks and Maclain Roberts have not allowed a run in each of their past three outings…Arizona faces a TCU squad that enters the weekend with a record of 20-12 and a mark of 7-5 in Big 12 play…The Horned Frogs are led by fifth-year head coach Kirk Saarloos who holds an overall record of 174-99 at the helm of the program…TCU has been immaculate at home this season, owning a record of 13-3 at Lupton Baseball Stadium…The Horned Frogs are 7-2 over their past nine games entering the weekend.

LIRA LEADING THE WAY: Just as he has done all season long, redshirt-freshman Tony Lira continues to lead the way for Arizona offensively. Lira leads the Wildcats in a multitude of offensive categories, including batting average (.351), hits (46), runs (23), on-base percentage (.441), extra-base hits (13), and he is tied for first in doubles (18), while ranking second in home runs (5), and slugging percentage (.527). Lira has recorded a hit in 18 of the past 21 games, and he has collected at least one hit in 24 of 32 contests this season. He has put together 17 multi-hit performances, and he is batting an exceptional .480 with runners in scoring position this season (12-25). In addition to his stellar play at the plate, Lira has also been a vital piece defensively for Arizona, starting all 32 games at first base for the Wildcats

BULLPEN HOLDING IT DOWN: Arizona's bullpen had a great showing throughout the series against ASU, and on Wednesday night against New Mexico State, as numerous relief pitchers delivered signature performances. Corey Kling got things going on Thursday night, entering the game with two runners on base and one out, before retiring back-to-back batters to end the frame. He went on to throw 2.2 scoreless innings, while allowing just one hit and zero walks. He pitched again on Wednesday, tossing 2.0 innings and allowing one run on one hit. On Friday, the trio of Collin McKinney, Maclain Roberts, and Garrett Hicks combined to pitch 4.0 scoreless innings to help Arizona secure the victory. McKinney tossed 2.1 innings and allowed three hits while also striking out three, before Roberts entered and forced a ground ball double play in the top of the eighth to end the half inning. Hicks pitched the final frame and collected his third save of the season after retiring the side. McKinney started on the mound on Wednesday and delivered another impressive outing, pitching two innings and retiring all six batters that he faced. On Saturday, true freshman Benton Hickman highlighted the pitching for the Wildcats, as he threw 2.0 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out two. Hickman is holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average this season.

MIHALAKIS AND CAIN COMING THROUGH: Veterans Maddox Mihalakis and Andrew Cain had strong weekends for the Wildcats against Arizona State and carried that play into Wednesday, breaking a recent slump. Mihalakis 4-8 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored over the final two games of the series against ASU, and he delivered a critical hit in the second game to help lead Arizona to victory, coming through with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Arizona a lead it would never relinquish. He followed up that performance by walking twice against New Mexico State and scoring two runs. Cain went 3-7 over the final two games of the series against ASU, with two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored. In the second game of the series, Cain delivered a clutch two-RBI single to tie the game at four runs apiece right before Mihalakis put Arizona ahead for good. On Wednesday night, Cain was hit by a pitch twice and scored a run, and he holds an on-base percentage of .381 this season.

SYLVESTER STEPPING UP: Senior catcher Beau Sylvester has significantly elevated his play in Big 12 competition, and has been playing the best baseball of his career as of late. Sylvester leads the team with an exceptional batting average of .405 and an on-base percentage of .476 in conference play, as he is 15-37 at the plate in 10 games. He is coming off his best series of the year, going 7-for-11 while reaching base 9-13 times against ASU last weekend. Overall this season, he ranks third on the team in batting average (.313), and tied for third in on-base percentage (.382).

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 (3/6). 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 1-4 with a 5.93 ERA across 41.0 innings. Kramkowski leads the team and ranks 12th in the Big 12 in strikeouts (41), and he has pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his last five starts. Bailey is in 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 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and an opposing batting average of .268 in eight starts. Earlier this season against Fresno State (3/7), 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 ninth in the Big 12 in ERA (4.36), 13th in strikeouts (40), and 16th in opposing batting average (.268). 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 40.0 innings this year and has issued just four walks while recording 29 strikeouts, and he leads the Big 12 in strikeout/walk ratio. Fladda has an ERA of 5.63 which ranks second on the team. He is holding opposing hitters to a .291 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, and he has pitched 7.0 innings or more in three of six starts.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Arizona has had five separate freshmen start 14 or more games this season, and they have continued to make a noteworthy impact. Redshirt freshman Tony Lira and Nate Novitske and true freshmen Caleb Danzeisen have led Arizona offensively all season. Redshirt freshman Jackson Forbes has started 18 games and he is third on the team in RBI (21) and has been impressive offensively and defensively. True freshman Cash Brennan, the younger brother of UCLA outfielder Payton Brennan, has started 14 contests and has made numerous highlight plays at short stop. He is hitting .245 and coming off a two-hit, two-RBI performance.