SAUL LOEB/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona pitcher Sean Rierson plans to jump on board with a Major League team after this season. In two starts so far the junior has a 14.14 ERA with no decisions. Last season Rierson finished with a 7-5 record and 4.69 ERA in 17 starts as a sophomore for the Wildcats. Despite being drafted in the 26th round by the San Francisco Giants, Rierson chose to come back to UA to hone his skills.

He sets his glove down, grabs a cup of water and takes his usual seat on the bench at the end of the dugout.

In the middle of the third inning during his first start of the season, junior pitcher Sean Rierson has already been roughed up for nine runs by Brigham Young University.

He stares blankly at the field waiting for the top of the fourth.

Arizona came from behind to win the game and Rierson got a no decision.

After two opening starts the junior has 14.14 ERA with two no decisions, a drastic contrast to his last season's numbers.

"I have to put it behind me. I talked to (pitching coach Jeff Morris) and we agreed that my season starts this weekend and I need to forgot about those starts."

Rierson was selected in last year's Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft, but he returned for his junior season to finish off his rigorous daily workouts on his couch.

He readies himself for every start with the same dinner, all the while debating if this will be his last collegiate season.

The draft

Last season, Rierson finished his sophomore year at 7-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 17 starts. His 117 innings pitched were 20 more than anyone else on the pitching staff.

The San Francisco Giants selected him the 26th round on day two of the draft but never made an effort to sign him. The two sides traded phone calls over the next two months, but it wasn't until two weeks before Arizona classes started in mid-August that the Giants showed mild interest.

"I threw for the guy who was in charge of the whole minor league organization and all of the signings. He said the Giants would call me back," Rierson said.

But they didn't.

Tired of waiting for the Giants, Rierson returned to Tucson before the first day of school without a place to live or a single class scheduled.

"I wasn't worried about that though; I had already lived with (pitcher) Joe (Little), and he had an extra room," Rierson said. "The classes weren't a problem; they were pretty easy to get into."

The house

It's Thursday night in the off-season, and Sean is enjoying his last off night before he returns to a grueling 6 a.m. weightlifting session. He wants to improve on last season's numbers and get selected higher in next year's draft.

But tonight's an off-night, and he has to prove his Halo video game skills to roommates Pat Reilly and pitcher Joe Little on their X-Box.

"This is pretty much what we do a lot of nights," Rierson said. Reilly and Little silently nod in agreement, transfixed on the game.

A busty Heather Graham glares her blue eyes above Rierson on his wall. To her right, a shirtless black-and-white Edward Norton with a swastika tattoo on his chest smirks at the front door under an "American History X" slogan.

"We just like to see people's reactions on that one," Reilly said.

The family room's white carpet fades to a light gray, littered with small divots from the two green plastic patio chairs. Reilly and Little have the premier seats in front of the television while Rierson looks on.

Centerfielder Brian Anderson, the fourth roommate, periodically emerges from his room to pass along other video game invites from other teammates.

Rierson is on his couch, though and won't move until his nightly 9 p.m. phone call from his girlfriend at Southern California.

"It's free minutes after nine, so she always calls me then. The guys always make fun of me for it," Rierson said.

All four roommates have their own cell phone because "it's so 1990s to have a landline," Reilly said.

Routine

Baseball players' classes are sandwiched between the morning and afternoon classes, Rierson said. All four get finished around 7 p.m., finish their homework and play video games.

"It's nice to be able to sit down and hang out with my friends every night; we get along real well," Rierson said.

Thursday nights, the nights before each week's opening series, are ritual ones to the pitchers of the house. Little cooks the steak. Rierson makes the spaghetti. The two cook every week to prepare for Little's start on Friday and Rierson's start on Sunday.

"We like to discuss what's going on with our pitching. Sometimes, we'll trade ideas to see what works because we try to get better," Little said.

The future

Rierson will almost surely get drafted at the end of this season, but he doesn't know which round. The higher he is selected, the more money he will be offered, and the less likely chance he will return for his senior season.

"The process will start all over again and I want to get my career going, but I'm happy to be back here," Rierson said.