After an emotional walk-off victory over rival ASU Tuesday, the No. 10 Arizona baseball team hits the road for the first time this season for a three-game series against Texas Pan-American this weekend.
The Wildcats play Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m and Sunday at 1 p.m in Edinburg, Texas.
Arizona (7-0) enters having dominated weaker opposition all season before pulling off a thrilling, 7-6 win in 14 innings against No. 11 ASU.
The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 84-20 in seven home games thus far.
"We're going to UT Pan-Am, who isn't Arizona State, but they are another good team that we have to play on the road, and it's a good way to go on the road," said junior first baseman Jordan Brown, who hit the game-winning home run against the Devils.
"I definitely am looking forward to it," he said. "All these young guys need that (road test). It's going to be a good team to play."
Arizona must deal with a possible letdown in the series, sandwiched between an emotional game against ASU and another game with the Sun Devils scheduled for Wednesday.
The Wildcats also enter the series with a taxed bullpen, which threw 10.1 innings Tuesday.
The Wildcats will start the same rotation that has pitched in the season's first two series.
Junior ace John Meloan (2-0, 0.00 ERA) starts Friday, junior Kevin Guyette (1-0, 5.06) starts Saturday and freshman David Coulon (1-0, 2.00) finishes the series on Sunday.
UT-PA (2-7) has struggled out of the gates, entering on a six-game losing streak, after finishing last season with a 22-31 record.
After sweeping a three-game series last year with the Broncos in the first part of a home-and-home series, Arizona leads the all-time series 4-0.
So far this season, Jacob Jones (.393, six RBIs) and Aaron Flowers (.371, seven RBIs) have led the Broncos' attack.
The Wildcats should continue their torrid hitting against a pitching staff that holds a 6.15 ERA and allows opponents to hit .288 against them.
After averaging 12.8 runs while feasting against the mediocre pitching staffs of New Mexico and Northern Colorado, Arizona's potent offense should put up another strong showing.
Arizona head coach Andy Lopez said he looks forward to taking his team on the road for the first time. This is the only series the Wildcats play away from Sancet Stadium in their first 22 games.
"We need to get on the road and see how we handle the road situation, the adversity of it. I think they'll do a good job on the road," Lopez said.
The trip should help prepare the Wildcats for tougher road opponents later on in the season. Road trips to No. 3 Cal State-Fullerton, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 ASU and No. 19 UC-Irvine loom later in the season.
"I'm always excited about road trips simply from the standpoint that we have kind of a male-bonding thing," Lopez said. "We get together, we're on our own, we're in an adverse situation, and then we have a couple down the road that are going to be meaningful at Fullerton and in conference play."
While the statistics say the Wildcats should have an easy time with the Broncos, that is, how it's said, why they play the games.
"All I know is whenever there's a team in that (other) dugout, if we don't bring our 'A' game, it doesn't matter who we play, we can get beat," Brown said. "I expect a sweep every time I go out."