Fresno State (7-4) is heading to Tucson for a three-game weekend set with Arizona. The previously ranked Wildcats opened the 2026 season with a 10-7 loss to Stanford back on February 13th.
Arizona has had one of the tougher schedules in the country over the first few weeks of the year, including matchups against Oregon, Oregon State and Michigan. After beginning the season at 1-8, the Wildcats put together back-to-back impressive wins over Vanderbilt and UC Irvine over the weekend before falling 7-5 at home to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night.
Despite their rough start, Fresno State Head Coach Ryan Overland knows Arizona is not a team to overlook.
“Going to a big 12 team on the road that had guys that were a game away from Omaha last year, and they understand how to win and how to win at a high level,” Overland said. “And I promise you, whatever their record is today, their talent level is, they’re going to be the best, most talented team in the country at that level, I’m sure of that.”
Projected starters
- Friday, March 6th at 5:05 p.m. — RHP Drew Townson (13 IP, 4 ER, 8 K) vs RHP Owen Kramkowski (11.2 IP, 11 ER, 12 K).
- Saturday, March 7th at 5:05 p.m. — RHP Tyler Patrick (15.1 IP, 10 ER, 10 K) vs RHP Smith Bailey (17 IP, 5 ER, 16 K).
- Sunday, March 8th at 11:05 a.m. — RHP Victor Arreola (11.1 IP, 9 ER, 11 K) vs LHP Luc Fladda (14 IP, 2 ER, 14 K).
Kramkowski opens for Arizona as its Friday night senior. The junior righty made 18 starts for the Wildcats in 2025, going 9-6 with a 5.48 ERA while striking out 90 over 92 IP.
He will be followed by 2025 freshman All-American Smith Bailey who’s picked up right where he left off after pitching to the tune of a 3.94 ERA in 18 starts a year ago. Bailey is coming off back-to-back wins, including a one-run, three-hit performance over six innings against a vaunted Vanderbilt lineup.
The biggest strength of this Wildcats team may just be the starting pitching. Fladda is a big reason why. The Tulane/Johnson County CC transfer is expected to make another Sunday start after twirling seven shutout frames in a win over UC Irvine (9 strikeouts).
The Bulldogs are expected to run out the same rotation as it has the first three weekends of the season, beginning with Townson on Friday night.
Nose to the grind
Owen Faust didn’t have the prettiest beginning to the season in the field. The day before their season opener against Utah last month, Faust took a “Pete Beiden hop” to the face, injuring his nose. The sophomore was required to wear a mask on defense to help ease the pain, something he won’t miss.
“It wasn’t anything terrible, but the mask was definitely really annoying,” Faust said.
Despite the injury, Faust hasn’t skipped a beat in the batters box, with not many players in the country hotter than him at the plate right now. Faust has already crossed home plate 16 times in 9 games thanks to a .489 on-base percentage.
“I’m just seeing the ball really well, trying to get my best swing off and if it’s not there, it’s not there. But yeah, I’m just trying to do my job, get on base for those more powerful guys to drive me in,” Faust said. “Get them on, get them over, get them in.”
Overland has been in the fortunate position of having so many young infielders find success this season, like Mikey Boyd, Mikey Pickett and Brady Hewitt. Finding playing time for all of them has been tricky and forced him to get creative, including putting Faust in right field on Tuesday. The typical infielder is embracing the utility role. He said Wednesday that he’s ready for any opportunity that comes his way.
Ready for the call
Parker Heintz was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week after hurling a pair of scoreless outings, with three frames coming last Tuesday against Pepperdine and another four hitless innings to get the save against Stanford on Saturday.
“He’s done a really good job at his first two outings,” Overland said. “If you can locate a fastball and throw an off speed for a strike, you’re going to be in a pretty good position.”
Overland added that fellow freshmen Brandon Thomas (7 IP, 3 ER, 8 K), Weston Thornbury (4.2 IP, 1 ER) and Jordan Haver (3.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 K) have also impressed and could continue to pitch important innings for the Bulldogs this season.
The Bulldog pitching staff has a 4.01 ERA as a team through 11 games, best in the conference.
Wildcats to watch
Freshman second baseman Nate Novitske has been on a tear to begin the year, hitting .417 with a team-leading .947 OPS. He also has driven multiple runs in three straight games. Fellow freshman first baseman Tony Lira is hitting .320 with a home run and five runs driven in.
Arizona’s offense has definitely fallen below expectations this season, hitting just .232 as a team and getting outscored by opponents 65-45.
Injury report
3B/LF Cam Schneider – out for 1-2 more weeks
RHP Jake Riding (arm) – no timetable
1B Cayden Munster (hand) – no timetable
SS Lee Trevino (ACL) – out for season
How to watch
All three games will be available to watch on ESPN+. Fans can also listen online.
What’s next
Following the Wildcats series, Fresno State will play a mid-week game at Cal Poly on Tuesday, March 10th at 5:05 p.m.
Fresno State will begin its quest of a Mountain West three-peat in its final season in the conference at home vs Nevada (3/13-15).
The Wolf Pack returns seven starters including 2025 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Sean Yamaguchi and fellow 2025 All-Mountain West selections junior pitcher Alessandro Castro, senior infielder Jayce Dobie, senior catcher Jake Harvey and senior designated hitter Billy Ham from a squad that won the MW regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the MW championship before falling in the conference tournament.
The Wolfpack were picked first in the Mountain West preseason polls, just ahead of the Bulldogs who were picked second.
Story written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Ryan Sepulveda.