TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Arizona baseball team (10-21) will close a five-game home stretch on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field against New Mexico State (14-16). 

Wednesday night's game is slated for 6 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase and can be secured HERE.

LEADING OFF:

• The Arizona Wildcats host the New Mexico State Aggies Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field.

• Wednesday night's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ featuring play-by-play from Chris Harris.

• Arizona and NMSU have met 72 times previously, with the series dating  back to 1917. The Wildcats hold a 63-9 advantage in the series and won both meetings between the two programs last season

• Arizona is coming off a 1-2 weekend against #25 Arizona State.

• The Wildcats are expected to start Collin McKinney on the mound, who is coming off one his best outings of the season, earning the victory after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief on Friday against ASU.

• Arizona ended its recent offensive slump over the weekend, as they averaged 10 hits and 5.7 runs per game, while collecting three home runs and six extra-base hits.

• Andrew Cain and Maddox Mihalakis each had impressive weekends for the Wildcats. Over the last two games of the series, Mihalakis batted .500 (4-8) with a home run and three RBI, while Cain hit .429 (3-7) with two home runs and five RBI.

• Beau Sylvester had potentially the best series of his career, as he started all three games and went 7-11 with a walk and hit by a pitch, as he reached base nine times. 

• Arizona received stellar performances from its bullpen, as Benton Hickam (2.0 IP), Corey Kling (2.2 IP), Collin McKinney (2.1 IP), Maclain Roberts (1.1 IP), and Garrett Hicks (1.0 IP) each produced scoreless outings over the weekend.

SOME GAME THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and New Mexico State Aggies meet for a lone midweek game at Hi Corbett Field on Wednesday night…Wednesday night's contest will mark the 73rd all-time meeting between the two teams, with the series dating back to 1917…The Wildcats hold a 63-9 advantage in the series…Arizona is coming off a week in which they went 1-3, with a win over #25 Arizona State, but two losses to the Sun Devils and a loss to #13 West Virginia last Tuesday…After hitting an offensive slump, Arizona's bats came alive over the weekend, as they collected 30 total hits, 12 walks, and 17 runs across the three-game series against ASU…Beau Sylvester led the way for the Wildcats, putting together arguably the best series of his career, as he went a combined 7-11 at the plate with a walk and hit by pitch to reach base nine times throughout the three games…In the first contest of the series, Sylvester had the first four-hit game of his career, going 4-4 while being hit by a pitch to reach base all five times that he stepped up to the plate…Sylvester is now batting .313 this season and has an on-base percentage of .382…Tony Lira and Nate Novitske continue to set the pace offensively for Arizona, just as they have done all season…Lira started off the weekend series in impressive fashion, going 3-5 with a double, before going 1-9 over the remaining two games of the series…Lira continues to lead the team in a multitude of statistical categories, including batting average (.349), runs (22), doubles (8), extra-base hits (13), slugging percentage (.527), and he ranks second in on-base percentage (.432), and home runs…Lira has collected a hit in 23 of 31 games this year, including 17 of the past 20 games, and he has recorded 17 multi-hit performances this season…Novitske has been in a bit of a slump lately, but he collected four hits over the series against ASU and is hitting .328 this season, good for second best on the team…Maddox Mihalakis and Andrew Cain both had a strong weekend series after going through a recent slump…Mihalakis went 4-12 with three RBI, three runs, and his first home run of the season against ASU, including going 2-4 in each of the final two games of the series…Cain also batted .333 after going 4-12, and he had five RBI, three runs scored, and two home runs…He closed out the series with the first multi-home run game of his career…Arizona received numerous strong performances from its bullpen throughout the weekend series against ASU…Collin McKinney had potentially his best outing of the season, as he earned his first win of the year after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Smith Bailey, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three…McKinney is expected to start on the mound on Wednesday and will aim to build upon his performance…Garrett Hicks collected his third save of the season on Friday after pitching the final inning and retiring the side…Corey Kling and Benton Hickman also had impressive performances, with Kling throwing 2.2 scoreless innings on Thursday while allowing just one hit, and Hickman tossed 2.0 scoreless innings on Saturday where he allowed just one hit…Arizona will face a high-powered offensive team in New Mexico State on Wednesday before hitting the road to take on TCU this weekend…The Aggies are led by third-year head coach Jake Angier who owns a record of 62-78 at the helm of the program, including a mark of 14-16 this season…New Mexico ranks second in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in batting average this season (.306), and the Aggies are averaging 10.1 hits and 8.5 runs per game…NMSU enters Wednesday's contest coming off a three-game sweep of Delaware over the weekend.

BULLPEN HOLDING IT DOWN: Arizona's bullpen had a great showing throughout the series against ASU, 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. 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. 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. 

MIHALAKIS AND CAIN COME THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Veterans Maddox Mihalakis and Andrew Cain had strong weekends for the Wildcats, 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. 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. Cain went 3-7 over the final two games of the series, with three two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored. In the second game, Cain delivered a clutch two-RBI single to tie the game at four runs apiece right before Mihalakis put Arizona ahead for good.