For the first time since 1986, Arizona baseball will play a three-game series against Seton Hall this weekend at Hi Corbett Field.
First pitch Friday will be at 6 p.m. Saturday’s game was moved to 2 p.m. from 6 p.m. due to weather concerns. Sunday’s matinee will begin at noon.
The Wildcats (6-2) are currently ranked No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball. However, they are unranked in the NCBWA, Baseball America and USA Today Coaches polls.
Following a trio of wins where they outscored Alcorn State 37-2, the Wildcats will face a Pirates (4-2) squad that has been off of the diamond since Sunday as well. Weather issues forced Seton Hall to cancel its Wednesday home opener against Lehigh in South Orange, N.J.
In the 2011 NCAA College Station Regional, the UA knocked SHU out of the tournament with a 6-0 win.
Hailing from the Big East Conference, the Pirates have won at least 34 games over the past three seasons. Seton Hall boasts seven-time MLB All-Star Craig Biggio and 1995 American League MVP Mo Vaughn as alumni.
Wildcats senior right-handed pitcher James Farris (2-0) will get the start tonight after tossing a five-hit, 10-strikeout shutout gem against Alcorn State. He will be followed by fellow righty sophomore Cody Hamlin (2-0), who went all nine innings as well but allowed one run to cross last Saturday against the Braves.
Sunday, UA head coach Andy Lopez will likely send out junior southpaw Tyler Crawford (1-1), hoping to get a performance similar to his 6.1 innings, one-run outing versus Alcorn State.
The Pirates pitching staff will have their hands full all weekend as Arizona comes into tonight’s game with a .359 team batting average.
Catcher Jordan Berger, third baseman Cody Ramer and outfielders Zach Gibbons and Scott Kingery are each hitting over .450 through. Ramer has started all eight games in 2014 and also leads the Wildcats with a .553 on base percentage.
Senior right-hander Josh Prevost (2-0) is scheduled to start Friday for the Pirates, and junior southpaw Anthony Elia (1-1) is scheduled to start Saturday. Prevost and Elia have ERAs of 1.80 and 2.25, respectively.
—Follow Joey Putrelo @JoeyPutrelo
