First Place Wildcats Host Second Place Beavers with Conference Title on the Line

TUCSON, Ariz. — Hi Corbett Field plays host to the series that will decide the Pac-12 regular season championship this week, a three-game set between the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats (32-18, 19-8) and the No. 6 Oregon State Beavers (39-12, 17-9).

Arizona's magic number clinch the conference title is one; a single victory by the Wildcats would secure their sixth and final Pac-12 crown. Tickets for all three games are available for purchase and can be secured here.

Fans can also pick up one of two ticket specials for the series: Two tickets for any of this week's three games can be secured for just $12, or a full-series three-game pack can be purchased for just $24 per person. Both deals are available here.

Gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch each day and fans are encouraged to show up early to secure parking spots and support the Wildcats.

All three games this week will also be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast list on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM.

Saturday's series finale will also serve as the program's annual Senior Night celebration. Arrive early and be in your seats to honor our decidated group of senior student-athletes.

For more, a complete series preview is below.
 

Leading Off...

• The No. 14 Arizona Wildcats and No. 6 Oregon State Beavers square off in a ranked matchup to decide the Pac-12 regular season championship this week at Hi Corbett Field.
• The entire series will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Daron Sutton (PxP) and Wes Clements (Analyst) on the call as well as broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• Arizona and Oregon State have squared off 87 times previously, with games dating back to 1963 and the Beavers holding a narrow 44-43 edge in the all-time series.
• The Wildcats won the most recent matchup, 13-12, in pool play at the 2023 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale. The Beavers swept the 2023 regular season series in Corvallis on final scores of 2-1, 10-4, and 11-10. Oregon State last won a series in Tucson in 2014 (2-1).
• Arizona enters the weekend with a magic number of one, needing just one victory over Oregon State to clinch the Pac-12 regular season title and the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament.
• Shortstop Mason White currently leads the Wildcats and ranks tied for second in the Pac-12 in both home runs (17) and RBI (60).
• The Arizona pitching staff has posted a team ERA of 4.14, the 11th best mark among all 295 Division I baseball programs. The Wildcats enter the weekend leading the nation in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (2.41) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.69).

SOME SERIES THEMES: The No. 14 Arizona Wildcats and No. 6 Oregon State Beavers square off in a ranked matchup to decide the Pac-12 regular season championship this week at Hi Corbett Field...The first place Wildcats and second place Beavers are separated by 1.5 games in the Pac-12 Conference standings...Arizona enters the weekend with a magic number of one, needing just one victory over Oregon State to clinch the Pac-12 regular season title and the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament...The Wildcats have earned 10 conference championships, five of which have been Pac-10/12 titles...This weekend's series will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Daron Sutton (PxP) and Wes Clements (Analyst) on the call as well as broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries...Arizona and Oregon State have squared off 87 times previously, with games dating back to 1963 and the Beavers holding a narrow 44-43 edge in the all-time series...The Wildcats won the most recent matchup, 13-12, in pool play at the 2023 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale...The Beavers swept the 2023 regular season series in Corvallis on final scores of 2-1, 10-4, and 11-10. Oregon State last won a series in Tucson in 2014 (2-1)...Shortstop Mason White currently leads the Wildcats and ranks tied for second in the Pac-12 in both home runs (17) and RBI (60)...Arizona's three weekend starting pitchers Cam Walty (3rd, 2.83), Clark Candiotti (4th, 3.01), and Jackson Kent (5th, 3.12) all boast top five ERAs in the Pac-12 among qualified pitchers...The Arizona pitching staff has posted a team ERA of 4.14, the 11th best mark among all 295 Division I baseball programs...The Wildcats enter the weekend leading the nation in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (2.41) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.69)...Following a 3-1 week against all Pac-12 competition last week, the Wildcats moved up in the national polls; they enter the final weekend of the regular season ranked No. 14 by D1Baseball, No. 16 by the NCBWA, No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 21 at Baseball America...Oregon State is led by fifth-year head coach Mitch Canham, who has steered the Beavers to a 170-83 record and three NCAA Tournament Appearances during his tenure in Corvallis.

MAKE IT ROTATE: The Wildcats 2024 weekend rotation, consisting primarily of left-hander Jackson Kent along with right-handers Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty, has posted a 3.31 ERA this season, the seventh best mark in the nation and the second best among Power Five programs according to data from FridayStarters.com. That number improves when only looking at Pac-12 Conference games, where the Arizona big three have posted a remarkable 3.04 ERA.

STREAKONOMICS: No Arizona players currently sport extended hit streaks of five games or longer; the longest active hit streak belongs to freshman infielder Andrew Cain (4 games). 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 this year, a 33-game streak that ended last weekend at Washington. Over that 33-game stretch, Summerhill posted a .428 on-base percentage; he drew 20 walks and collected 47 hits during the streak. Infielder Garen Caulfield's currently active 25-game on-base streak is the second longest on the team this year; over the course of the streak he has posted a .360 on-base percentage with 29 hits and 13 walks drawn. Catcher Blake McDonald (12 games) and infielder Richie Morales (11 games) also carry active extended on-base streaks into this weekend's action. As a team, dating back to the March 17 series finale against Arizona State, the Wildcats have won 10 consecutive Pac-12 home games.

PITCH PERFECT: Arizona's pitching staff has excelled this season under first-year pitching coach Kevin Vance. Under Vance's leadership the Wildcats have posted the 11th best ERA in the nation, a 4.14 mark that also leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth among Power Five programs. Arizona's pitching staff has limited walks to the tune of just 119 free passes, the fewest in the nation and 22 fewer than second-place UT Arlington (141). The Wildcats enter the weekend as the best staff in the nation in fewest walks per nine innings (2.41) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.69). Arizona also ranks 24th in the nation with a 1.36 WHIP.

DIRTY THIRTY: The Wildcats recorded their 30th win of the season last week at Arizona State, giving them 30+ wins in all three seasons under the leadership of head coach Chip Hale. The Wildcats have now posted nine consecutive full seasons with at least 30 wins, dating back to 2015 and not counting the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign. Since joining the Pac-10 for the 1979 baseball season, Arizona has played 45 seasons and collected 30+ wins in 35 of them.

SHORTSTOP SLUGGERS: Sophomore infielder Mason White, the Wildcats everyday shortstop this season, currently leads the team and ranks tied for second in the Pac-12 with 17 home runs. Dating back through the 1998 season (StatCrew era), no Arizona shortstop has hit more home runs in a single season. He is just one home run shy of breaking into the Wildcats all-time single-season leaderboard. Of White's 17 home runs, nine have been hit against Pac-12 competition (including three hit in two midweek non-conference games against Stanford and Arizona State), while eight were swatted against non-conference opponents.

START US UP: Arizona's weekend starting rotation of Jackson Kent, Clark Candiotti, and Cam Walty has been arguably the strongest in the Pac-12 Conference this season. The trio has combined to make 37 starts this season, 18 of which have registered as quality starts (6.0+ IP, three or fewer ER allowed) and 33 of which have lasted five or more innings. Between them they have posted a 3.03 ERA (73ERx217.0IP) in their 37 starts; the number remains impressive with a 3.04 ERA (54ERx160.0IP) across their 27 Pac-12 starts.

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 92 appearances in his collegiate career — 14 starts and 78 relief — the third most games pitched in Wildcat history. His 92 pitching appearances are tied for the 12th 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 93 career pitching appearances in an Arizona uniform, which would rank third all-time.

GRAND THEFT BASEBALL: The Wildcats have combined to steal 45 bases in 50 games this season, their most since the 2017 team swiped 49 bags across 59 games. Outfielder Emilio Corona leads the team with 14 stolen bases, a mark that ranks tied for fourth in the Pac-12. Corona's 14 steals are the most in a single-season by a Wildcat since Kevin Newman posted 22 steals in 2015; he is also the first Wildcat with 10+ steals in a season since Jared Oliva in 2017. In total, nine different Wildcats have logged stolen bases this season, with Corona (14), Easton Breyfogle (7), Brendan Summerhill (7), and Mason White (5) all having stolen five or more.

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.

TRIPLES ARE BEST, TRIPLES ARE SAFE: Arizona currently leads the Pac-12 and ranks tied for third nationally with 24 triples; the Wildcats average of 0.48 triples per game is also the fourth best mark among all Division I programs. Outfielder Emilio Corona leads the team and the Pac-12 with seven triples, while fellow outfielder Brendan Summerhill is not far behind with six three-baggers. Since Arizona moved to Hi Corbett Field in 2012 they have led the Pac-12 in triples seven times.