For the first time this season, the Arizona Wildcats will gear up for conference plays against rival Arizona State (19-19, 8-7 Pac-12) with a three-game series at Hi-Corbett field in Tucson.

The Wildcats (26-12, 11-7 Pac-12) fell out of the top 25 poll after losing their series against Utah last weekend. Arizona has not won a series since their sweep against Washington at the start of April.

After winning two straight games against Creighton in Omaha, Neb., Arizona returns to Tucson to face an ASU team that has been hot as of late winning its last five games.

Pitching has been a problem for UA, having given up 26 runs in the 3-game series against the Utes. Arizona hopes that the pitching performances at Creighton can carry over with the pitchers combining for 10 strikeouts in Tuesday’s win and giving up one run in the two-game roadtrip.

In the last rivalry meeting in early April, the Wildcats were bested by the unranked Sun Devils, falling 10-6 in a non-conference matchup. In that game, a four-run fifth inning and a two-run sixth inning caused the Wildcats to blow their lead and lose the game.

All-time against ASU, Arizona leads the series 256-223-1, but as of late, the Wildcats have lost six out of the last nine games versus the Sun Devils.

Arizona will have to pitch carefully to the ASU bats of Conor Davis, Sean McLain and Joe Lampe, who are the Sun Devils' top-three hitters in batting average. Lampe also hits for power, having hit nine home runs this season. As a team, the Sun Devils have a batting average of .292, which is best for fourth in the Pac-12 and 55th in the nation.

The starting pitcher for the series is going to be TJ Nichols, who hold an ERA of 4.18 and in his last outing gave up 6 runs on 12 hits through 6 1/3 innings of work against Utah.

This year's territorial cup also features a former big-league manager and a former player with Willie Bloomquist in his first season as ASU’s skipper and former MLB manager and Wildcat alum Chip Hale in his first season with the Arizona. Both are looking to get the programs back in the national spotlight.

The first of the three games will take place on Friday at 6 p.m. with game two taking place on Saturday at 5 p.m. and the third game taking place on Sunday at noon. All games in the series will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and are available for streaming.

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