No. 20 Arizona Baseball travels to Salt Lake for Pac-12 showdown

Fresh off a mid-week tilt victory over New Mexico, No. 20 Arizona Baseball (23-10, 10-5) returns to action to take on Utah (18-13-1, 5-7) for a three-game series. 

No. 20 Arizona Baseball lost two of three last weekend to Washington State, and luckily Arizona used some late-game heroics against New Mexico State to come away with the 4-2 win to get back into the win column.

Coming into this weekend’s action, the Wildcats will look to right the ship in Pac-12 play as they take on a formidable opponent in Utah for a three-game series. Utah is a team that has been a thorn in Arizona’s side the past few years.

To make things more challenging, the Wildcats will have to battle a few obstacles as the team jumps a timezone, and combats early pitch times, all while dealing with cold and inclement weather, as well as higher elevation.

Beyond that, the Wildcats will have to get over their recent struggles particularly at the plate and on the mound.

Despite losing three of their last five games, Arizona is still one of the better offensive teams in the country, hitting a respectable .292 from the dish collectively while belting 34 home runs, 214 RBIs, 64 doubles, and 19 triples.

However, where the Wildcats will need to be ready this weekend is on the mound and defense!

As a group, Arizona has combined for a 3.99 ERA with 274 strikeouts to just 127 base on balls. The Wildcats’ pitchers are allowing opposing teams to hit .247 from the plate.

Coming in, Utah is a respectable offensive group as they average .286 from the plate with 29 home runs and 194 RBIs.

The Wildcats will need to be much better this weekend. Against Washington State last weekend, Arizona committed four errors and is now up to 43 errors through 33 games.

Here’s a preview of the Wildcats’ weekend series.

Getting to Know the details of Arizona Baseball’s opponent, the Utah Utes.

Team: Utah Utes

Head Coach: Gary Henderson enters his 1st season as head coach of the Utes after replacing Bill Kinneberg who stepped down after last season. Gary has spent several making stops as an assistant, and was even head coach at Chapman College in 1993, and was head coach at Kentucky from 2009-16, and again with Mississippi State in 2018. Gary is 337–270–1 overall as a head coach.

2021-22 Record: The Utes are currently 18–13–1 (5–7) on the year and are coming off a series loss in which they lost two of three games to No. 15 UCLA. And despite avoiding their series sweep to UCLA, Utah has lost four of their last five games. Interestingly enough, Coach Henderson will not be coaching as he serves a two-week suspension for a personal matter.

Head-to-head Series: Arizona leads the overall series against Utah, holding a 62-18 advantage all time. However, the Utes have been a major thorn in Arizona’s side the past few years.

Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met was late last season when the Wildcats came away with the dominant, three-game sweep. Arizona swept Utah in Tucson winning 11-1, 4-3, and 15-3.

Game information and details for Arizona Baseball:

Date(s): Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, April 14-16, 2022

Times: 

• Game 1 – 10:00 A.M. Arizona Time
• Game 2 – 10:00 A.M. Arizona Time
• Game 3 – 10:00 A.M. Arizona Time

Location: Smith’s Ballpark, Salt Lake City, Utah (14,511)

Television:

• Game 1 – Pac-12 Insider
• Game 2 – Utah Live Stream
• Game 3 – Utah Live Stream

Spread: N/A (Also, don’t forget to use WynnBet to enhance your overall betting experience)

Pitching Matchups:

• Game 1: Arizona will turn to TJ Nichols (4-2, 3.57), while Utah will go with RHP Matt Sox (2-1, 5.13).
• Game 2: Arizona will turn to Garrett Irvin (3-1, 2.47), while Utah will go with RHP Jaden Harris (1-1, 5.59).
• Game 3: Arizona will turn to Chandler Murphy (1-0, 5.11), while Utah will go with RHP Cam Day (1-3, 7.05).