KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA third baseman Moises Duran jumps for a line drive during practice last week. Duran leads the No. 13 Wildcats into action at home this week against UC Irvine for a three-game set.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, senior Moises Duran steps to the plate.

The Wildcat baseball team is tied 5-5 with UC Riverside in the season opener. Two outs, bases empty. It looks like the game's about to head into its third extra inning.

Then Duran drives an outside pitch deep to right center. The right fielder gives chase all the way to the warning track, but has to pull up as the ball carries over Sancet Stadium's brand-new blue wall for a game-winning home run. Duran calmly rounds the bases and joins in a brief celebration with his teammates.

After the game, Duran barely smirks. Such feats are expected from a team leader.

"He's a good, silent leader by his actions," head coach Andy Lopez said. "He gets big home runs, make big plays, he steals a big base. He's an outstanding player for us and he sets the tempo."

Duran, one of five seniors on the 2004 Wildcat baseball squad, is not the most vocal guy on the field. He prefers to let his actions do the speaking.

"I don't put any pressure on myself to lead," he said. "I think it comes naturally."

As one of the staples of the UA program the last four years, Duran has been a constant in the field and at the plate ever since starting 19 games in his first year out of Tucson's Sunnyside High. Last year, he led the Wildcats with 15 home runs and 41 walks, while finishing second on the team in RBIs (63) and fifth in the Pacific 10 Conference in steals (16).

Despite being asked to move from second base to the hot corner this season, Duran has picked up where he left off last year. In six games at the third base position, he is hitting .333 with two homers, five RBIs and three steals.

"He can play short, he can play third, he can play second and he's very, very adequate at those spots," Lopez said. "He's very versatile."

That versatility has come in handy for Duran this season, as he has had to adjust to being one of the team's old men. This year's team boasts 21 underclassmen, including 10 freshmen.

"He's been around the college game and he's helped me out a lot," freshman Jason Donald said. "He knows some things about college baseball that I didn't know coming in, and he's taught me a lot."

Among other things, Duran has helped teach a young Wildcat team how to win. After taking a weekend series from Cal State Fullerton, Arizona sits at 5-1 entering a weekend home set against UC Irvine.

"He's a great team player," Lopez said. "He'll do anything for the good of the program and the good of the team."