TUCSON, Ariz. – The seventh-ranked Arizona Wildcats continue their seven-game homestand this weekend when they host Utah for a three-game set.
After drawing 5,208 fans last Friday for the middle game of the Oregon series, large crowds are again expected this weekend. As such, a shuttle service will be provided for fans to Friday and Saturday night's games. The shuttle will pick up at El Con Mall and run to Hi Corbett, beginning one hour before the scheduled start times. The shuttles will run for six hours during each game.
Parking will be provided in the Northeastern most lot of the shopping center accessible from 5
th Street to the North or Broadway from the South. There, fans can climb aboard a shuttle bus that will be making regular runs to the ballpark.
Below is a preview of the series:
Date Time (MST) Location (Ballpark) Starters/Result
Thu., April 20 6 p.m. Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Utah 12, Arizona 5
Fri., April 21 7 p.m. Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Utah 7, Arizona 3
Sat., April 22 6 p.m. Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field) LHP Josh Lapiana vs. TBA
TV: Broadcasts for all 3 games will be available on Pac-12 Arizona and Mountain; Thursday and Friday's games will be on Pac-12 Network. Daron Sutton (PBP) and JT Snow (Analyst) will be in the booth.
Radio: The broadcast will be available on 1290-AM KCUB and through the TuneIn app.
Live Stats: Live stats will be available through ArizonaWildcats.com.
All-time series: Arizona leads 56-12
First meeting: The two teams met for the first time in 1952;
Last meeting: Utah swept Arizona last season in Salt Lake City
Leading Off...
• Arizona, ranked in the top seven in all six major polls, will host Utah for a three-game series.
• With 315 runs, Arizona has put up its most runs through 25 games since plating 337 in 2003.
• Since being swept at Oregon State in March, Arizona has won 10 of 12 games, and has not lost a series, sweeping USC and taking two of three from Washington State and Oregon.
• Junior first baseman
JJ Matijevic and junior outfielder
Jared Oliva enter this weekend as the only set of teammates in the country who each have 40 or more runs scored and 40 or more RBI. Only 12 players total in the country have reached that mark.
•
Jay Johnson is 42-8 in his first 50 home games. He went 23-7 last year and is 19-1 so far this year.
• Matijevic leads the nation in doubles with 21 and is seventh in the country in batting average at .418; Alfonso Rivas is ninth in the country in average at .415, and second in on base percentage at .539.
• Arizona leads the Pac-12 in attendance.
Some Series Themes: The Arizona Wildcats, 19-1 at Hi Corbett Field this season, host Utah in the middle of a seven-game homestand, which concludes next week with a midweek bout with New Mexico State…Arizona enters the critical series with the Utes tied for second place with UCLA with a 9-6 conference mark…Utah is 5-10 in league and 14-17 overall…The Utes are coming off a home series win over Cal, but had its midweek game Tuesday against BYU rained out…The Utes have a potent offense, led by Dallas Carroll, who is batting .389 on the season with 13 doubles, four home runs and 30 RBI…DaShawn Keirsey Jr., is also having a standout year, batting .336 with six doubles, four triples and 21 RBI to go with a team-best 28 runs scored…As a team, Utah is batting .286., which is third in the league…Of course, Arizona is the class of the league when it comes to offense and leads the league with a .332 batting average; the only team above .300 in the league…Arizona also has six players who have scored more than 30 runs; Utah's top runs scored leader is Keirsey at 28…Utah swept Arizona in Salt Lake City last year, using three late-inning rallies to top the Wildcats…The Utes also won their last series in Tucson, taking two of three from the Wildcats in 2015…Arizona swept Utah at home in 2013; the last time the Cats swept the Utes…Jayson Rose will start for Utah on Thursday; Riley Ottesen will follow on Friday and Josh Lapiana will get the ball Saturday…Utah enters the weekend with a 3.95 ERA.
All the runs: Arizona enters its weekend series with Utah second in the nation in scoring (9.0 runs per game) and seventh in runs scored (315). Through 35 games, Arizona has put up more runs scored than any season since 2003, long before the introduction of BBCOR bats to college baseball. In 2003, Arizona got off to a 24-11 start and scored 337 runs through 35 games. Not since then, has Arizona put up as many runs in its first 35. The closest the Cats got was in 2005 when they scored 313. Only one other time in that span, 2010, did the Cats even reach the 300-run mark. Arizona has already scored more than 100 runs more than its 2014 35-game total of 207. Not only does Arizona leads the conference in runs with its 315, no other Pac-12 team has scored more than 200 runs this season. Utah is second in the league with 189 runs.
Most runs by an Arizona team through 35 games since 2003:
Year Runs Record
2003 337 24-11
2017 315 26-9
2005 313 25-10
2010 300 26-9
2009 274 16-19
Home at Hi Corbett: Arizona, 19-1, at home this season, has thrived playing at Hi Corbett Field this season, thanks in large part to the fan support from the Arizona faithful. Over the last seven home games, three against USC, one against Arizona State and three against Oregon, Arizona has drawn a total of 28,322 fans for a seven-game average of 4,046. Arizona drew 5,208 fans to its Friday night affair with Oregon last week, marking the largest non-ASU crowd since the Wildcats moved to Hi Corbett prior to the 2012 season. Only one other time has Arizona drawn more than 5,000 fans for a non-Arizona State game. That came in 2013 when the defending national champion Wildcats opened their season against Coppin State and drew 5,145 fans. Three of Arizona's top six attendance figures at Hi Corbett have come with
Jay Johnson as the head coach.
Largest Crowds at Hi Corbett since 2012:
Attendance Opponent Date
8,067 ASU 5/14/16
6,324 ASU 5/13/16
5,677 ASU 5/26/12
5,451 ASU 5/25/12
5,396 ASU 4/16/13
5,208 Oregon 4/14/17
More on the crowds: Arizona leads all Pac-12 and West Coast schools with an average attendance of 3,095. Overall, Arizona is 17
th in the country in average attendance. The next closest Pac-12 team is Oregon State at 2,627. Last season, Arizona led all West Coast schools and Pac-12 teams with an average attendance of 3,043.
Attendance Leaders in the Pac-12:
1. Arizona: 3,095
2. Oregon State: 2,627
3. Arizona State: 2,553
4. Utah: 1,910
5. Stanford: 1,323
Smile for the Camera: After each win, Coach
Jay Johnson takes his team to the outfield for a postgame meeting and a team picture. The reasoning for the picture is simple: Winning in college baseball is hard, and Johnson wants his squad to appreciate it. Well, in Johnson's first 50 home games, his team has taken 42 pictures in the right field grass. Johnson's 42-8 start at home is the second-best mark by an Arizona coach through 50 home games. Johnson is second to just Frank Sancet, who went 43-6-1 from 1950-1952, nothing wins over such programs as Camp Pendelton, San Diego Marines, National University of Mexico and Casa Grande Apcos.
Best 50-game home starts for Arizona coaches:
1. Frank Sancet: 43-6-1
2.
Jay Johnson: 42-8
3. Jerry Kindall: 40-10
4. Jerry Stitt: 36-14
5. Andy Lopez: 34-16
Pac-12's Best: Arizona enters the series versus Oregon leading the conference in every major offensive category, minus home runs. The Cats lead the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, triples, total bases and walks. The Cats are the only team in the league with a batting average better than .300 at .332. The next closest team is Oregon State at .294. The Cats are also the only team in the league with an on-base percentage better than .400 at .426. The next closest is Oregon at .373. Arizona has scored 315 runs through 35 games, which is 126 more runs than the next closest. Perhaps even more impressive, the Cats have done all their offensive damage while striking out the second fewest times in the league at 195. Arizona also possesses the individual leader in batting average (
JJ Matijevic, .418), slugging percentage (
JJ Matijevic, .685), on-base percentage (Alfonso Rivas, .539), runs (
Jared Oliva, 41), hits (Matijevic, 61), RBI (Matijevic and Oliva, 42), doubles (Matijevic, 21) and total bases (Matijevic, 100).
Pac-12 leaders in Batting Average:
1. Arizona .332
2. Oregon State .294
3. Utah .286
Pac-12 leaders in Slugging Percentage:
1. Arizona .483
2. California .411
3. Oregon State .404
Pac-12 leaders in On-Base Percentage:
1. Arizona .426
2. Oregon .373
2. Washington State .372
Pac-12 leaders in runs scored
1. Arizona 315
2. Utah 189
3. Washington State 181
Pac-12 leaders in RBI
1. Arizona 274
2. Utah 170
3. UCLA 165
Pac-12 leaders in doubles
1. Arizona 90
2. Washington State 70
3. Stanford 63
3. Cal 63
Pac-12 leaders in walks:
1. Arizona 172
2. Washington State 152
3. Oregon 149
What about nationally?: At 9.0 runs per game, Arizona is second in the nation in scoring. Morehead State overook Arizona over the weekend to lead the country. At 315 runs, Arizona is seventh in the country and second among Power 5 Conference schools. The Wildcats are fourth in the country in on-base percentage at .426, which is the highest mark among Power Five teams. Arizona also is second in doubles per game at 2.57.
Matijevic the Masher: Thirty-five games into his junior campaign,
JJ Matijevic has blossomed into one of the top hitters in the country. Matijevic enters the Utah series with a .418 batting average, a .685 slugging percentage and is getting on base 46 percent of the time. The junior from North Huntingdon, Pa., is leading the nation in doubles with 21 and is seventh in the nation in batting average. Midway through the conference season, Matijevic is giving the Triple Crown a run in the Pac-12. He currently leads the league in average, is tied for the RBI lead with teammate
Jared Oliva and is second in home runs by two. Matijevic was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 10 after a remarkable four-game performance against Arizona State and Washington State that featured three home runs and four doubles for the week. He then went 10-for-17 last week, but was passed over for Player of the Week.
National Leaders in Doubles:
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 21
2. Brent Rooker, Mississippi State, 19
2. Ryan Flick, Tennessee Tech, 19
Pac-12 Leaders in Hits:
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 61
2. Nick Madrigal, Oregon State, 51
3. Andrew Vaughn, California, 50
3.
Jared Oliva, Arizona, 50
Pac-12 Leaders in Total Bases
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 100
2. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 82
2. Andrew Vaughn, Cal, 80
Pac-12 Leaders in Slugging Percentage:
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, .685
2. Dallas Carroll, Utah, .619
3. Sean Bouchard, UCLA, .597
Pac-12 Leaders in RBI:
1. JJ Matijevic, Arizona, 42
1. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 42
3. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona, 38
He Went to Jared: Now a junior,
Jared Oliva has wasted no time taking center stage for the Wildcats as an upperclassman. Oliva, who was named to Perfect Game's Midseason First-Team All-American squad earlier this season, is hitting .357 on the season with 22 extra-base hits. He has 16 doubles on the year after having just four all of last year. The junior from Saugus, California also has four home runs and is tied for the RBI lead with
JJ Matijevic with 42. He's slugging .576 and is getting on base at a .425 clip. He's also been successful in seven of eight stolen base attempts. In the series finale against McNeese State, Oliva went 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run and tied his career high with five RBI. His home run was a three-run shot and his two doubles both came in the seventh inning, allowing Arizona to pull away and earn the sweep. His best game in the Frisco Classic came in the middle game against Oklahoma State. Oliva was 2 for 5 with a pair of runs scored. He was 1 for 3 with an RBI double in the tournament opener against Arkansas. Against Hartford, Oliva had 11 RBI in the series and a career-high six RBI in the series finale. Oliva hit his first career grand slam in the 17-13 win over the Hawks and also had a two-run single. Oliva went 4 for 12 with five runs scored and six RBI in his first conference series of the season at UCLA. In his second conference series of the season, Oliva homered against Oregon State in the series opener. Through 35 games, Oliva has already surpassed or tied career highs in runs, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks.
Pac-12 Leaders in Runs Scored:
1. Jared Oliva, Arizona, 41
2. JJ Matijevic, Arizona 40
3. Cal Stevenson, Arizona, 39
4. Mitchell Morimoto, Arizona, 38
5. Alfonso Rivas, Arizona, 37