The Arizona baseball team will get a sneak preview tonight into what many players hope will be an everyday occurrence in the future.
The Wildcats (15-11-1, 4-2 Pacific 10 Conference) will play the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders tonight at 6:30 in an exhibition game at Tucson Electric Park.
It will be a chance for the team to face professional talent and get a taste of what playing professional baseball is all about.
"It's going to be a blast," said junior catcher Richard Mercado. "We get to play guys who are playing at the Triple-A level."
Mercado added that it will be a good opportunity to see how the team stacks up against guys who have been successful in professional baseball.
Beyond being at a disadvantage against a team of pros, the Wildcats will also have to adjust to using wooden bats instead of aluminum.
However, it won't be entirely new for most of the Wildcats, because many play in summer leagues with wooden bats.
"It's going to be a challenge," Mercado said. "The quality of pitching will probably be better, but pitching is pitching."
The game will also be a reunion of sorts for the Arizona baseball program and Sidewinders' field manager Chip Hale.
Hale played at Arizona from 1984-1987 and is one of only four players to have his jersey number retired on the wall of Sancet Stadium.
Hale is still well represented in Wildcat record books. He holds the record for most games played (255), all of which were starts.
He's also the career leader in at-bats, hits, walks, sacrifice flies and total bases.
Hale went on to play five years of major league baseball and was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
This will be the first time in 13 years that the Wildcats have played Tucson's minor league team. Arizona lost to the Tucson Toros 18-7 at Hi-Corbett Field in 1994.
This will be the first game of the year for the Sidewinders, who will begin regular season play Thursday against the Tacoma Rainers at TEP.
This exhibition is the fourth of 13 games in 17 days for the Wildcats, their busiest stretch of the season. Arizona is coming off a 2-1 series win over Oregon State last weekend.
"It's going to be hard, and I'm sure it will take its toll," Mercado said. "I look forward to (every day) as a player."
Arizona's next game is Thursday, when UCLA comes to Tucson for a three-game Pac-10 series.