DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat San Diego Padres star closer Trevor Hoffman fields questions from reporters yesterday before the Jim Click All-Star Alumni Game at Sancet Field. Hoffman and a team of other UA baseball alumni defeated the current team, 1-0.

The significance of the Jim Click All-Pro Alumni game at Sancet Field yesterday wasn't about the game itself.

Instead, it's a deep tradition that allows the baseball fraternity to come together with former UA baseball players like San Diego Padres' Trevor Hoffman, Baltimore Orioles' Scott Erickson and San Francisco Giants' J.T. Snow.

It's a time for them to enjoy a game at their old field and see old teammates.

"It's kind of nice to come back, feel your roots again and rekindle some memories that you had when you played here," Hoffman said.

Hoffman played for Arizona in 1988 and '89 as an infielder and hit .321 with 83 RBIs in his career. A dominating closer with 314 career saves in his nine-year major league career, he said coming home to Arizona allows him to escape the big leagues.

"I don't have the opportunity to play in stadiums that are as fan-friendly like Sancet. You play in these cathedrals like Jack Murphy Stadium and Bank One Ballpark that are monstrosities of baseball fields, " he said.

But the event is also a way for the alumni to meet the current baseball team and learn about them.

Saturday night, a group of alumni took several of the current players out to dinner as a way to meet each other off of the baseball field.

"It's a baseball way and a tradition. The older guys take care of the younger guys to lead them in the right path," Erickson said.

UA senior pitcher Brian Pemble said he knows and understands the importance.

"The night before is almost a tradition," he said. "It's just different from the baseball field to meet these guys and learn from their experience."

Erickson pitched one year for UA in 1989 and went 18-3 with a 3.49 ERA. He has pitched 12 seasons in the majors with both the Minnesota Twins and Orioles with a career record of 135-116 with 1,152 strikeouts.

The Arizona baseball family exists on both the major and minor league levels. It doesn't matter if a player just graduated and started at the bottom of the minor league system - it's just another Wildcat.

"I've seen guys in spring training who are called up from the minor leagues and I know they're from Arizona," Snow said. "You go out of your way and give them some extra batting gloves or a couple bats to take care of them because that's the way guys are."

Snow graduated in 1989 after hitting .333 with 139 RBIs in three years. He has won six Gold Gloves at first base and played four seasons with the Anaheim Angles.

Recent Wildcat graduates Keoni DeRenne and Ernie Durazo also made an appearance at the game.

Another former alumnus that attended was Ben Diggins, who left UA early forgoing his senior year and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 17th overall pick. In his first year of professional baseball, he had a 3.58 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 21 starts with the Wilmington Waves.

The right-hander remembered his days at Arizona and was glad to be a part of the weekend.

"Two years ago, I played here and they were awesome. I made a lot of friends and it's been fun to come back here and watch these guys," he said.

Former Wildcat and Tucson native Shelly Duncan always admired the alumni game and would attend the game when he was growing up. Duncan, who left UA last season after his junior year, is the all-time-UA-career-home-run-leader with 55 and holds the single-season (24) and single-game (3) marks.

Duncan was drafted by the New York Yankees and hit .240 with eight homers and 39 RBIs for Staten Island last year, although the former right fielder admits he misses not having a senior year.

"There's a big part of me inside that wishes I could be here with these guys," he said. "I miss stuff like hanging out with your friends, because it's the whole college experience that's a one-time thing."

In the end, it was the former Wildcats that showed the current squad a thing or two.

The alumni won the seven-inning scrimmage 1-0 behind a two-out double by Troy Gingrich in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Before the game, the alumni out-slugged the Wildcats 14-7 in the home run derby. Snow and Brian Becker each hit six for the alumni while senior catcher Chris Cunningham hit four.