Tucson Regional: Arizona Baseball Hosts GCU In NCAA Opener

TUCSON, AZ — The Arizona Wildcats' quest for the program's first national title in nine years kicks off in Tucson Friday night.

The Wildcats, who earned the fifth seed in the 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament, host in-state opponent, Grand Canyon University, at Hi Corbett in the team's tournament opener.

The winner of Friday's opener will face the winner of the matinee matchup between Oklahoma State and the University of California-Santa Barbara.

The loser of Friday's opener will square off against the team that loses that contest.

Here's what you need to know ahead of Friday's opening day of the NCAA Baseball Tournament:

How to Watch: The fifth-seeded Wildcats and Antelopes face off at 7 p.m. local time, with ESPN3 carrying the contest. Tickets for the contest can be purchased on the University of Arizona's athletics website.

Who to Watch: For the Wildcats, keep an eye on freshman third baseman, Jacob Berry and catcher Daniel Susac. The pair of first-year players hit .371 and .344, respectively, bashing 27 home runs between them. Susac was named the Pac-12 Conference's Freshman of the Year for 2021.

For the 'Lopes, keep an eye on C.J. Schauwecker and Dustin Crenshaw, who each hit .375 during the regular season, in addition to Channy Ortiz, who based a team-high eight home runs during the season.

What to Watch: Grand Canyon is making the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, after going 39-19-1 and winning the Western Athletic Conference's regular season and conference titles. The two teams split their regular season series, with each side winning a game.