Wildcats, Cougars Play Three this Weekend at Hi Corbett

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (21-14, 10-5) return home for a conference series against the Washington State Cougars (18-17, 7-11) this weekend at Hi Corbett Field.

All three games this weekend will be available to watch via free live stream here, as well as live broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app. Both options will feature play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.

The Wildcats, who just saw their 11-game win streak snapped on Tuesday, still sport a seven-game Pac-12 Conference win streak that dates back to March 24 at Oregon. Arizona enters the second half of the Pac-12 season tied for second place in the conference standings.

This weekend will feature the program's annual Little League Weekend festivities, a Friday cooling towel giveaway for the first 500 fans, and more. For a complete rundown of promotions, visit out promo page here.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats return from their bye week to host the Washington State Cougars for a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field this weekend.
• All three games will be available to view via free live stream and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app. Both options will feature play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and Washington State have met 80 times previously, with games dating back to 1975 and the Wildcats holding a 50-30 (.625) edge in the all-time series.
• The Cougars won the most recent series, two games to one, played between the two schools in Pullman during the 2023 season. WSU has won each of the last two series against Arizona, with the Wildcats last series win coming in 2021 (2-1).
• The Wildcats are ranked for the first time since week eight of the 2022 season. Arizona checks in at No. 21 in the D1Baseball Top 25.
• Arizona has won seven consecutive Pac-12 Conference games, their longest streak since the 2021 team rattled off eight straight conference wins April 17–May 2.
• Shortstop Mason White currently ranks second in the Pac-12 with 46 RBI while his 13 home runs are third most in the conference.
• Arizona's team ERA of 3.72 is currently the ninth best mark among all Division I programs. The Wildcats pitching staff also lead the nation with a 2.50 BB/9 rate and rank third nationally with a 3.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats return from their bye week to host the Washington State Cougars for a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field this weekend...All three games will be available to view via free live stream and broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM and The Varsity app...Both options will feature play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Arizona and Washington State have met 80 times previously, with games dating back to 1975 and the Wildcats holding a 50-30 (.625) edge in the all-time series...The Cougars won the most recent series, two games to one, played between the two schools in Pullman during the 2023 season...WSU has won each of the last two series against Arizona, with the Wildcats last series win coming in 2021 (2-1)...Arizona's last home series win over Washington State was in 2018 (2-1)...Arizona has won seven consecutive Pac-12 Conference games, their longest streak since the 2021 team rattled off eight straight conference wins April 17–May 2...The Wildcats recently saw their 11-game win streak snapped; at the time it was the longest active win streak in the nation, and tied as the 26th longest win streak in program history...Arizona's win streak helped vault them into the upper echelon of the Pac-12 standings and, for the first time this season, the national polls...The Wildcats enter the weekend ranked No. 21 by D1Baseball, No. 19 by Perfect Game, and No. 25 by the NCBWA...Shortstop Mason White currently ranks second in the Pac-12 with 46 RBI while his 13 home runs are third most in the conference...White's 13 home runs are the most by an Arizona shortstop since at least 1998...Arizona's team ERA of 3.72 is currently the ninth best mark among all Division I programs. The Wildcats pitching staff also lead the nation with a 2.50 BB/9 rate and rank third nationally with a 3.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio...Washington State is led by first-year head coach Nathan Choate, who has steered the Cougars to a record of 17-17 (.500) in his first season on the Palouse.

PAC-7: The Wildcats come into the weekend having won seven straight Pac-12 Conference games, tied for the program's second-longest single-season conference win streak since joining the Pac-10 for the 1979 baseball season. Across those 45-plus seasons in the Pac-10/12, Arizona's longest single-season conference game win streak has been eight games, accomplished five times, most recently during the 2021 season in which Arizona advanced to the College World Series.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Emilio Corona is heating up, entering this weekend with the longest active hit streak on the team at seven games. Over the course of his seven-game hit streak, Corona has posted a .444 (12x27) batting average and a .531 on-base percentage. His streak has raised his season batting average from .210 to its current mark of .253. No other Wildcat currently holds a hit streak of five games or longer. Outfielder Brendan Summerhill has posted the longest hit streak of the season thus far, a 12-game streak that was snapped on April 7 at California. Summerhill also holds the longest on-base streak on the team, an active streak that is now at 29 consecutive games. Over that 29-game stretch, Summerhill has posted a .413 on-base percentage; he has drawn 19 walks and collected 38 hits during the streak. Garen Caulfield (10 games), Richie Morales (8 games), Corona (7 games), and Mason White (6 games) all sport extended on-base streaks of their own entering this weekend's series.

PITCH PERFECT: Arizona's pitching staff has excelled this season at limiting walks and striking opponents out. The Wildcats have issued the fewest walks (86) in the Pac-12 this season and are the only team with under 100 walks issued, while their 323 strikeouts and 9.40 K/9 rank fourth and third on the circuit, respectively. On a national stage, Arizona's impressive 2.50 BB/9 rate is the best in Division I, while their 3.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks third.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Arizona Baseball moved to Hi Corbett Field for the 2012 season, the Wildcats have enjoyed a tremendous home field advantage. Over those 12+ seasons, Arizona has posted a home record of 281-118, winning games at a .704 clip. Their home winning percentage over that stretch is the second best mark in the conference, while their 275 home victories are tops in the conference.

SHORTSTOP SLUGGERS: Sophomore infielder Mason White, the Wildcats everyday shortstop this season, currently leads the team and ranks third in the Pac-12 with 13 home runs through the first 35 games of the season. Dating back through the 1998 season (StatCrew era), no Arizona shortstop has hit more home runs in a single season. He is just five home runs shy of breaking into the Wildcats all-time single-season leaderboard. If the season ended today, his 10.77 HR/AB ratio would be the fourth-best mark in program history.

DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT: The Wildcats pitching staff, under the direction of first-year pitching coach Kevin Vance and director of player development John DeRouin, have dropped their team ERA more than two full runs from their 2023 performance. Arizona's 2.25 drop in team ERA from 2023 to 2024 is the eighth best improvement across all Division I programs, and the fifth best improvement among Power Five programs.

MILESTONE MEN: With a win over UCLA on March 29, Arizona Baseball picked up the 3,000th victory in program history. The Wildcats joined the ranks of just nine other programs that boast 3,000 program wins. As it currently stands, Arizona is the 10th all-time winningest program in the history of college baseball. Four of the winningest programs in college baseball history are current members of the Pac-12 Conference.

NOTHING BUT NETZ: Fifth-year senior Dawson Netz has established himself as one of the most experienced pitchers in Arizona Baseball history. Going into this weekend, Netz has logged 85 appearances in his collegiate career — 14 starts and 71 relief — the fifth most games pitched in Wildcat history. His 85 pitching appearances are tied for the 16th most among all active Division I pitchers. Netz recently moved past Ben White (1993-96) on the all-time leaderboard, the father of Dawson's current teammate, Mason White. He is currently on pace to finish the regular season with 91 career pitching appearances in an Arizona uniform, which would rank third all-time. Netz needs just three more appearances to break into the top three.