TUCSON, Ariz. — Friday marks the first of four regular season baseball games in the 2022-23 Territorial Cup Series as the Arizona Wildcats (13-6, 3-3) visit the Arizona State Sun Devils (13-8, 2-1). This weekend's three-game series will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM.

The Wildcats have been on both ends of sweeps in Pac-12 play this season, while the Sun Devils sit at 2-1 after one conference series.

Both programs sport high-powered offenses, with each side heading into the weekend ranked among the top five Pac-12 programs in both batting average and slugging percentage.

This season is the second go-around at the rivalry series for Arizona alumni head coach Chip Hale, who is 3-2 against the Sun Devils as the Wildcats skipper.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, March 24	Arizona State	7:00 PM	RHP TJ Nichols (3-1, 4.82)	LHP Ross Dunn (3-1, 2.66)
Saturday, March 25	Arizona State	6:00 PM	LHP Bradon Zastrow (2-1, 4.81)	RHP Khristian Curtis (2-2, 7.71)
Sunday, March 26	Arizona State	4:00 PM	RHP Aiden May (2-0, 5.79)	RHP Jonah Giblin (1-0, 2.59)

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils resume their rivalry this weekend with a three-game series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
• All three games this weekend will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Darron Sutton (play-by-play) and Ryan Spilborghs (analyst) on the call.
• The Wildcats and Sun Devils have played 484 times in program history, with Arizona leading the all-time series 259-224-1. 
• Arizona and Arizona State played five times in 2022, with the Wildcats winning the season series 3-2. Arizona State won the midweek on April 5, Arizona took 2-of-3 games in Tucson April 22–24 to even the season series, and the Wildcats took the decisive win in an elimination game at the Pac-12 Tournament on May 27.
• The Wildcats won the last series in Phoenix, taking 2-of-3 games during the 2021 campaign. Arizona took game one 10-5, game two 7-6, and fell in the finale 2-3.
• Right-handed pitcher Trevor Long recorded his fourth save of the season against California, giving him 11 career saves and moving him into sole possession of 10th place on the program's all-time leaderboard.
• Of the Wildcats 212 hits this season, 88 have gone for extra bases — 55 doubles, eight triples, and 25 home runs. Kiko Romero leads the team and the conference with 17 XBH this year.
• Arizona's .978 fielding percentage currently ranks second in the Pac-12 behind only Washington (.984). The Wildcats finished 2022 ninth in the conference in fielding percentage.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils resume their in-state rivalry this weekend with a three-game series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium...All three games this weekend will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks with Darron Sutton (play-by-play) and Ryan Spilborghs (analyst) on the call...This weekend also marks the beginning of radio coverage of Arizona Baseball on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM...Brian Jeffries will have the call on radio, which can also be accessed for free via The Varsity app... The Wildcats and Sun Devils have played 484 times in program history, with Arizona leading the all-time series 259-224-1...Arizona and Arizona State played five times in 2022, with the Wildcats winning the season series 3-2...Arizona State won the midweek on April 5, Arizona took 2-of-3 games in Tucson April 22–24 to even the season series, and the Wildcats took the decisive win in an elimination game at the Pac-12 Tournament on May 27...The Wildcats won the last series in Phoenix, taking 2-of-3 games during the 2021 campaign...Arizona took game one 10-5, game two 7-6, and fell in the finale 2-3...The Wildcats lead the series over the last five seasons, 9-8, and over the last 10 seasons, 22-20...Both programs are currently led by second-year alumni head coaches: Chip Hale (Arizona) and Willie Bloomquist (Arizona State)...Arizona enters the weekend unranked in the D1Baseball poll, but picked up a No. 26 ranking from Collegiate Baseball and is receiving votes in both the NCBWA poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Chase Davis sports the longest active hit streak on the team, having hit safely in 11 straight games dating back to March 3 against North Dakota State. Over that stretch, Davis has posted a .383 batting average (15-for-47) with 17 runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, a .453 on-base percentage, and a .745 slugging percentage. The 11-game streak is the longest of Davis' career, surpassing his previous best mark of eight games during the 2022 season. Is has also raised his batting average over 100 points, from .222 all the way to its current mark of .324. Freshman infielder Mason White (6 games) is the only other player with an active hit streak longer than five games. Davis (18 games) and fellow outfielder Mac Bingham (17 games) also sport the longest on-base streaks on the team. Dating back to the end of the 2022 campaign, Davis has reached base safely in 32 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led in the 2023 season by second-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired by Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke on July 5, 2021. Hale, the Wildcats all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases during his time in Tucson from 1984-87, brought nearly two decades of professional coaching experience to Arizona. During his collegiate career Hale helped steer the 1986 Arizona Wildcats to their third NCAA National Championship. His professional coaching career was highlighted by a stint as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-16) and a World Series championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Hale is once again assisted by associate head coach Dave Lawn, in his eighth season with the Wildcats, and second-year assistant coaches Trip Couch and Toby DeMello. Lawn has made four College World Series appearances with three different Pac-12 programs, sent 24 players to the Major Leagues, and won five conference championships. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joined the Wildcats in the same role after splitting the last 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 12 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 13 All-Americans, and directly coached 39 MLB Draft selections. DeMello, the Wildcats volunteer assistant, will continue to work with Arizona's hitters and catchers after serving in a similar role at Sacramento State, where he helped guide the Hornets to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2019. Arizona's staff is rounded out by director of baseball operations Will Gaines and director of player development Tyler Coolbaugh, both of whom are in their second seasons with the program.

WHAT A RELIEF: Wildcats reliever Trevor Long, a multi-year member of the NCBWA's Stopper of the Year Watch List, has logged 11 career saves. He currently ranks 10th on the Wildcats all-time saves leaderboard. Should he match last year's save total of seven and tally 14 career saves, he would move into a tie for fifth all time along with Bobby Dalbec (2014-16) and Ryan Moskau (1997-98). His seven saves last season were tied for 11th most in a single season in program history and ranked tied for fifth in the Pac-12. Dating back to last season, Long has held opponents without an earned run in 33-of-42 appearances.

NO FREE RIDES: The Arizona pitching staff has excelled at limiting walks this season, allowing an average of just 3.24 BB/9. Twice this year the Wildcats have issued just one walk — Feb. 17 on opening night vs. No. 2 Tennessee and Feb. 28 vs. California Baptist. Arizona's mark of 3.24 is the second-best mark in the Pac-12 — behind only UCLA (2.55) — and down significantly from their 2019 mark of 5.33 BB/9.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Arizona finished the 2022 season having turned an astounding 57 double plays, the best mark in the Pac-12 and the fourth best mark among all 293 Division I programs. The Wildcats returned both of their middle infielders from last season: shortstop Nik McClaughry and Garen Caulfield. McClaughry led the Pac-12 last season with 189 defensive assists and played a role in 40 of Arizona's 57 double plays; he is currently second in the conference with 62 defensive assists this year. Caulfield was close behind, having played a part in 39-of-57 twin killings in 2022. Currently, the Wildcats are third in the conference and tied for 35th nationally with 17 double plays turned in 19 games.

ALFA ROMERO: Junior Kiko Romero, a transfer from Central Arizona College, is expected to play a large role for the Wildcats in 2023 after three seasons with the Vaqueros. He returns to Tucson, where he played his high school ball, after leading Central Arizona to an NJCAA World Series Championship in 2022. As a sophomore last year he hit 366 with 95 runs scored, 22 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs, and 84 RBI. His six-home run performance, tied for a tournament record, at the NJCAA World Series earned him tournament MVP and Outstanding Hitter honors. Romero prepped at Canyon Del Oro HS in Tucson where he was a three-year letterwinner in baseball and a one-time letterwinner in golf.

STATE 48: The Wildcats 2023 roster features 10 players hailing from the state of Arizona. Other states represented on Arizona's roster include California (15), Illinois (5), New Mexico (2), Minnesota (2), Texas (1), Virginia (1), and Colorado (1). The Wildcats 10 Arizonans represent over 27% of the roster. Among the 10 Arizona natives on the roster, four current Wildcats also played their high school baseball in Tucson: George Arias Jr. (Tucson HS), Chris Barraza (Sahuarita HS), Mason White (Salpointe Catholic HS), and Kiko Romero (Canyon Del Oro HS).

FIRST ANNUAL PAC-12 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Arizona Baseball outfielder Chase Davis, infielder Nik McClaughry, and right-handed pitchers Trevor Long and TJ Nichols all earned spots on the first-ever Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team as announced by the league in early February. The Preseason All-Conference team, in its first year in existence, is voted on by the conference's head coaches. The Wildcats four players honored is tied for the third most in the conference — Stanford leads the way with seven players on the team, followed by UCLA with six, while Arizona and Oregon are next with four each. The Pac-12 also released their annual Preseason Coaches Poll with the Wildcats selected to finish fourth in the conference standings. The top five ranked teams in the 2023 poll all competed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament — the complete 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page three.

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER: The Wildcats bullpen has served as a strength for the team this season, posting a 3.56 ERA across nearly 80 innings of work. Among the many standouts in the Cats bullpen are the oft-used group of LHP Eric Orloff, RHP Dawson Netz, and RHP Chris Barraza. Across 27 appearances the trio has combined to post a 1.54 ERA (6ERx35.0IP), a 10.8 K/9 rate, and only four extra-base hits. Netz has been used frequently as the Wildcats escape artist, frequently inheriting baserunners (15) and stranding them (10).

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Through 15 games, the Arizona offense has combined to swat 74 extra-base hits, the best mark in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are currently averaging 4.9 extra-base hits per game. Arizona has taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move off campus the Wildcats hold the Pac-12 lead with 1,957 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 1,850). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles six times and triples six times.