MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona freshman Jeff Van Houten throws to the cutoff man earlier this season against Arizona State at Sancet Field. Van Houten is scheduled to return from injury in this weekend's series at Southern California, which begins today.

The UA baseball team will see the return of two things this weekend ÷ its right fielder and Pacific 10 Conference play.

Wildcat freshman Jeff Van Houten will return to the lineup today against No. 23 Southern California after nursing a wrist injury for a month.

The Paradise Valley native injured his wrist on a swing during a game against Arizona State March 22 and has played sporadically during the last four weeks, but should get the start tonight.

ćIt feels good. Iāve been off and on for a couple of series, but Iāve iced and rehabbed the wrist,ä he said.

UA (27-16 overall, 5-7 Pac-10) faces the Trojans after winning three of its last four games. The Wildcats beat Grand Canyon on April 16 and won two of three against California Riverside last weekend to close out their non-conference schedule.

ćItās nice to finish out that schedule because Pac-10 games are very enjoyable,ä Van Houten said. ćThe games are more intense, and it means a lot more to compete against (Pac-10 opponents).ä

USC (24-16, 9-3) finished its pre-conference play with a 12-10 record but has rebounded to claim first place in the Pac-10, leading ASU by 1 1/2 games.

Trojan catcher Alberto Concepcion, who is batting .399, leads a group of eight USC players hitting over .300. Pitcher Brett Bannister, a buddy of Van Houtenās, has started six games for Southern California and holds the lowest staff ERA of 3.33 in 48 2/3 innings.

ćWe went to high school together and he throws somewhere around 91-92 miles per hour,ä Van Houten said.

Wildcat relief pitcher Wes Zlotoff has become UAās premier setup man. He usually comes into games in the seventh or eighth inning to get the ball to closer Brian Anderson.

Zlotoff has made 15 appearances and has a 2.01 in 22 1/3 innings pitched. Last year, he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right arm and was converted to pitch in short stints rather than be a starter.

ćI look forward to the latter part of the game because thatās my time to face opponentsā hitters,ä Zlotoff said.

The Wildcats hit the road with a 4-9 record away from the friendly confines of Sancet Field, but won their first multiple-game series against California on April 12-14. Zlotoff attributed the early road struggles to inexperience.

ćEarlier in the year, we had to play with large crowds on the road like Texas A&M. When you donāt have a lot of experience, itās easy to get overwhelmed, but when you play more, itās a factor,ä Zlotoff said.

Third baseman John Hardy and designated hitter Rick Mercado, both hitting over .300, have shed their inexperience by being regulars in the lineup, Zlotoff said.

Arizona will start sophomore Sean Rierson tonight and sophomores Marc Kaiser and Joe Little tomorrow and Sunday respectively. The weekend games begin at 1 p.m.

All games are at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.