Being crowned both the Pac-12 regular season and tournament champions in the final year of the conference, Arizona (36-21) made their case to host a regional --- which was recognized by the NCAA committee, who named the Wildcats hosts of the Tucson Regional this upcoming weekend.
UA's pool in the double elimination regional will include Dallas Baptist (44-13), West Virginia (33-22) and Grand Canyon (34-23).
The Wildcats will first take on the Antelopes Friday at 6 p.m. (MST) and Arizona head coach Chip Hale noted Thursday that the Wildcats' lineup from Friday-Sunday will be RHP Clark Candiotti, RHP Cam Walty and LHP Jackson Kent.
To get you ready for the NCAA Tournament at Hi Corbett Field, here is a preview of the Wildcats' pool in the Tucson Regional:
GCU (34-23)
Batting average: .311 (23rd)
On base percentage: .392 (107th)
Stolen bases per game: .47 (279th)
Fielding percentage: .975, (67th)
Scoring: 7.4 (85th)
Star: Ranking in the top 50 in batting average (.381), GCU's Tyler Wilson has been one of the most effective offensive players in the country and will pose a threat to the Wildcats' pitching staff.
Facing the Wildcats three times the season, Wilson struggled in the first contest, a Wildcats' victory, but was very consistent in the next two games going 5-for-8 with five hits and two RBIS, with the Antelopes taking those games.
Arizona pitcher Candiotti, who is slated to start against GCU, will face the Antelopes for the first time this season.
Candiotti, who holds a 3.11 ERA this season has played some of his best baseball as of late, winning three of his last four starts, which included a complete game shutout. Throughout this span, he averaged a 2.5 ERA in 28 innings pitched.
Should the 6-foot-4 ace continue his dominance on the bump, it will be interesting to see how effective the slugger Wilson will be at the plate.
Pitching staff: The Wildcats will face GCU's left-handed pitcher sophomore Grant Richardson on Friday. Richardson hasn't played against the UA this season but has pitched nine innings over three games against Pac-12 teams.
This included a start against ASU on April 9, where Richardson struggled, allowing five hits and two earned runs, which forced him to get the hook. Richardson, however, has established himself as a winning pitcher holding a 4-1 record, with the teams fourth-best ERA of 4.03.
Overall, GCU's pitching staff is one of the better ones in the country, ranking 27th in the nation in ERA (4.57) and 18th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.49).
What to know: Although Arizona is hosting and is favored to win its region, Grand Canyon won't be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination, taking down the Wildcats in two of their three meetings this season, the most recent meeting being a 24-8 drumming at Hi Corbett.
The Wildcats will need to come into the game locked and loaded against a hungry Antelopes team that is aiming to get back on track after getting swept in the WAC Tournament.
Hale noted Thursday that in order for his team to take down the Antelopes, they need to execute the routine plays.
West Virginia (33-22)
Batting average: .290 (190th)
On base percentage: .370 (201st)
Stolen bases per game: 1.49 (T-64th)
Fielding percentage: .975, (70thth)
Scoring: 6.8 (147th)
Star: Averaging a team-best .306 batting average, along with 60 hits this season, Ontario native sophomore Sam White has been arguably the Mountaineers' best offensive player and will be someone the Wildcats' pitchers should keep an eye on should they face WVU. It should be noted, however, that White has struggled as of late going 0-for-14 at the plate in his last five games.
Pitching staff:
Led by Derek Clark and Gavin Van Kampen, who have a combined 14 wins and three losses as starters this season, will likely be two members of the Mountaineers' weekend pitching rotation. Clark noted Thursday that his dominance at the bump comes from his preparation and his teammates pushing to be better every day.
What to know: Ranking 11th in the country in shutouts with five on the season, as well as 35th in hits allowed per nine innings, the Mountaineers have been effective with keeping offenses stranded for long periods of the games; teams will need to execute with running in scoring position in order to have success against them in the upcoming tournament.
Dallas Baptist (44-13)
Batting average: .302 (41st)
On base percentage: .390 (119th)
Stolen bases per game: 1.51 (60th)
Fielding percentage: .982, (2nd)
Scoring: 7.9 (55th)
Star: Junior infielder Chayton Krauss proved that he is capable to showing up in the brightest lights, going for 4-for-6 with five RBI's and a home run in the Conference USA championship game, beating Louisiana Tech 17-10 to clinch the automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. Krauss will enter the tournament with loads of momentum and will likely take on WVU's Clark on Friday which will be an interesting duel of the stars.
Pitching staff:
The DBU pitching staff is led by Ryan Johnson who holds an impressive 11-2 record with a 1.98 ERA. The Patriots ace, who is averaging nine strikeouts per his last six games, will be a threat to whichever team faces him this weekend.
What to know:
Dallas Baptist is coming into the Tucson Regional as second-best fielding team in the country with a .982 fielding percentage.
Despite DBU being a relatively small school, Wildcat fans should not overlook the Patriots, especially considering they took down the UA 4-3 earlier in the season in the Frisco Classic.
WVU head coach Randy Mazey calling DBU the "Grand Canyon of Texas."
(Courtesy Arizona Athletics)
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