WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman infielder Jason Donald tries to field an errant throw during the Wildcats' 8-5 exhibition loss last night to the Tucson Sidewinders at Tucson Electric Park.

UA hangs with Tucson Triple-A team in defeat

Tucson Sidewinders 8 ð Ua Baseball 5

It only took three pitches for the Arizona baseball team to take the lead against the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders.

Unfortunately, the lead didn't last more than a half inning.

The Wildcats dropped an exhibition game against the Sidewinders 8-5 last night at Tucson Electric Park.

"It was a great night for us," head coach Andy Lopez said. "I wanted these guys to come here, have a good time and enjoy what they were doing."

"We wanted to come in and play hard, but the Sidewinders were just trying to get their work in and prepare for the upcoming season," freshman infielder Jason Donald said.

Arizona outhit the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-10 and got two perfect innings of pitching from John Meloan.

The right-handed sophomore threw the sixth and seventh innings, striking out three and getting the other three Sidewinder hitters to fly out.

"I'm excited," Meloan said. "I had a few calls go my way and a couple hitters roll over and chase some pitches, and I got some outs. If you make good pitches, you are going to get outs."

Arizona has been looking for a No. 3 starter since the recent struggles of junior Luis Cortez. Lopez said Meloan worked himself into that spot with his outing last night.

"Meloan looked great," Lopez said. "He's starting Saturday (against UCLA). After that, I'll start him. He was very impressive."

Donald roped a double to short right center on the second pitch of the game and was singled home by freshman designated hitter Bill Rhinehart on the next pitch to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead.

That was the only lead Arizona would enjoy.

The Wildcats pulled within one run in the top of the fifth when sophomore outfielders Trevor Crowe and Brad Boyer hit back-to-back singles, and sophomore catcher Nick Hundley drove them in. Hundley hit a line drive up the middle that got by the Tucson centerfielder, and he was credited with a triple. However, he was thrown out at home for the first out of the inning.

Arizona would get two more hits in the inning but couldn't plate another run. The Wildcats trailed 4-3 after 4 1/2 innings.

The Sidewinders responded in the bottom half of the fifth with four runs, which included a two-run home run by outfielder Victor Hall, to push their lead to 8-3.

Arizona scored a run in the eighth inning when Rhinehart led off with a single and was driven in by junior outfielder Jeff Van Houten on a double over the centerfielder's head. The Wildcats concluded their scoring in the ninth on another Van Houten RBI.

The Sidewinders scored their first run in the bottom of the first when right fielder Julio Ramirez singled home centerfielder Luis Terrero.

Tucson scored two more runs in the third on three hits to take a 3-1 lead and added another run in the fourth.

Van Houten finished the game 2-for-5 with two RBIs, and Rhinehart continued his production at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Crowe also had two hits, going 2-for-2.

The Wildcats' offensive numbers seem more impressive considering the quality of Triple-A pitching and the disadvantage of using wooden bats rather than aluminum.

Donald said the team only had a few wooden bats, but the Sidewinder players were generous in offering the team bats when they needed them.

"The players on the Sidewinders were great guys," Donald said. "They were real easy to get along with. Anything we needed, they were there for us."

Arizona resumes Pacific 10 Conference play tomorrow when UCLA comes to Sancet Stadium.

With the Sidewinders leading 8-5 after the top of the ninth inning, both coaches decided to play the final unnecessary half inning · This was the first time Arizona has played a professional team since the Wildcats played the Rockies in 2002 and the first time the UA has played a Triple-A team since 1991, when it faced the Tucson Toros · Arizona alumnus and current Sidewinder Alan Zinter finished the game 0-for-2 with three walks · The Wildcats played 21 players in the exhibition.