Arizona tries to shake bullpen blues against Pac-10 foe Washington State

What better way to get out of a funk than taking a vacation? Although a trip to Pullman, Wash., is not exactly a vacation for the Arizona baseball team, it's at least a change of scenery and a change to leave its problems behind.

Three days ago, the Wildcat bullpen blew a three-run lead in the top of the ninth as Sacramento State clipped UA 12-11 in a painful four-hour marathon.

Maybe Arizona didn't take the game seriously enough because it was a break from the conference schedule. Maybe the Wildcats were fatigued in playing their fourth game in as many days.

But whatever it was, the game wasn't pretty.

"That game was a tough loss," outfielder Brian Anderson said. "We're really looking forward to going to Pullman and trying to get a sweep out there because it'd probably put us in first or second place in the Pac."

Monday's poor performance didn't hurt UA in the conference standings though. Currently Arizona is tied for third with Southern California; however, the Wildcats beat the Trojans on March 22 and 23 in Tucson and own the tie breaker.

No. 24 Arizona (26-13, 5-4) also took two out of three from Washington last weekend and managed to win one game against UCLA during the horrific weekend in Westwood on March 28 ÷ 30.

Junior Richie Gardner said he hasn't been pleased with the team's consistency either.

What has remained consistent throughout the year has been right fielder Jeff Van Houten's offense. At the beginning of the year, the sophomore was squeezed out of the lineup with the additions of Terrence Taylor and Brad Boyer, but Anderson's off-season injury left an opening that Van Houten cemented himself into.

As of today Van Houten's .445 average is the 12th highest in the nation, 46 points behind Southern's Rickie Weeks, the country's leader.

Van Houten also leads the team with a .780 slugging percentage and has missed one game all season.

"You have to hit in order to play," Van Houten said. "I remind myself to keep my swing short, and I've felt comfortable at the plate all year."

The Cougars (11-24, 3-6) beat Oregon State twice last weekend for their first conference series win of the season. Outfielder Justin Hart batted .500 in the series that boosted his team leading average to .357.

Today Gardner (6-1, 2.88) will start on the mound agasint WSU senior Tony Banaszk (2-7, 4.14) at 3 p.m.

Tomorrow junior Sean Rierson (7-1, 4.78) will face sophomore Bruce Chamberlin (3-4, 7.21) at 3 p.m., and on Saturday WSU will throw junior Aaron MacKenzie (2-3, 4.94) at noon. The Wildcats have yet to name a starter.

The series ends on Saturday, one day earlier than usual, so both teams can enjoy the Easter holiday.

"We can't take anybody lightly so we need to make sure we go up there and play ball. If we play the game soundly, I think we should be OK," head coach Andy Lopez said.

All games are at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.