WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA first baseman Pat Reilly lays down a bunt against Washington last weekend. Reilly and the Wildcats will face cold rainy conditions this weekend at Wazzu.

Winter weather awaits 'Cats

When the Arizona baseball team gets off its plane tomorrow evening in Pullman, Wash., it might want to get right back on and come home.

While sunny skies and a predicted daytime high of 76 degrees are expected in Tucson during UA's series opener against Washington State tomorrow afternoon, the Wildcats and Cougars may have to lace on their snowshoes, not their cleats.

Weather.com predicts a high of 50 degrees for the 3 p.m. tilt with the Cougars, with a 50 percent chance of precipitation öö which could come either in the form of snow or freezing rain.

Some of the longer-tenured Wildcats öö such as junior outfielder Brian Anderson öö said they know what to expect.

"The weather (in Pullman) was brutal my freshman year," Anderson said. "But the way I look at it is that it can't get any worse than it was (then), so as long as it's the same or better, I'll be OK."

For others, spring in rural Washington will offer an entirely new, and possibly unpleasant, experience.

"I've never been to Pullman," freshman Brad Boyer, a California native, said. "I've never been to Washington. All I heard from the weather report is that there's a chance of snow on Thursday. It'll be a new experience for me, but I really don't like playing in cold weather."

Friday and Saturday's games should offer some respite for the visitors from Tucson, with expected highs of 58 and 57 degrees, respectively, and a 10-20 percent chance of precipitation.

Lopez gets chance to see another side of Washington State

For some of his players, Pullman will offer a new experience. But for Andy Lopez, Washington State's home city might remind him of what might have been.

Lopez was offered the head coaching job at WSU before eventually committing to Florida in 1995.

Arizona's second-year head coach said he last visited Pullman during a friendlier time of year.

"My wife and I spent three days in Pullman, and it was beautiful," he said. "But it wasn't in the cold time of the season öö it was June."

And were it not for some friendly advice from a local, Lopez might be wearing crimson these days.

"My wife, she loved it: she said, ÎOh, this would be great,'" Lopez recalled. "Then we talked to somebody, and they said ÎYou should see it in the fall, and you should see it around February.' And then I went, ÎOh.' So I took the Florida job."

Van Houten pacing the Pac at the plate with .440 average

Despite a 1-for-4 performance in Monday's loss to Sacramento State, Jeff Van Houten continues to lead the Pacific-10 Conference in hitting by almost 20 points.

The Paradise Valley native saw his batting average drop from .445 to .440 after Monday's game, but he's still well ahead of his nearest competition: Stanford junior Carlos Quentin, at .421.

But Van Houten's high average is just one aspect of what has been a breakout season for the outfielder. He also leads the Pac-10 in slugging percentage (.796), is tied for first with teammates Boyer and Anderson with seven triples and is second in hits (61) and RBIs (53). Van Houten appears in the conference's top 10 in on-base percentage (6th, .494), runs scored (t-7th, 40), home runs (t-5th, 9) and total bases (3rd, 109).

With 17 games remaining on the schedule, the sophomore has already eclipsed his offensive output from last year in many categories.

In 2002, he batted .295 with three triples, seven homers, 34 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .544.

To top it off, Van Houten is one of seven Pac-10 players with a fielding percentage of 1.000, meaning he has not committed an error all season.

Players to spend Easter in the air on plane flight home

While many of their fellow students celebrate this weekend's Easter holiday with dinner among family or friends, the Wildcats will be on a plane back from Pullman. The team flight is not expected to arrive until the early afternoon on Easter Sunday.

Though some players said it's just one of the sacrifices they make to play college baseball, others said the holiday weekend would be on their minds.

"Easter is a real important day," Boyer said. "I'm happy that I'm playing baseball, but it's important to think about and reflect on what it really is."

Lopez, a family man who will see his 21st Easter as a college head coach, said he appreciated the Pac-10's policy of not playing games on Easter, which allows him to travel back in time to spend part of the day in Tucson.

"In the Southeastern Conference (while head coach at Florida), we played on Easter, so I enjoy what the Pac-10 does with not playing on Easter," Lopez said. "I enjoy that at least I can get home for a little bit of Easter Sunday with my wife and kids. That's kind of neat."