With nearly a month left in both the softball and baseball seasons, the playoff runs for each Arizona squad start today.

The No. 2 Arizona softball team heads to the Northwest to play Pacific 10 Conference leader Oregon State for a pair of games this weekend.

If the Wildcats have any hope of winning the conference for an unprecedented third straight season, a sweep of the Beavers is a must.

Currently Arizona sits 2 1/2 games behind Oregon State, and with a pair of wins would be right on the Beavers' heels.

The Wildcats have lost more conference games this season (four) in just 11 contests than the team did all of last year (three). For a team that is used to being on top, winning the Pac-10 championship three of the last four years, they need to get back up there.

Charles Renning Sports Editor

It might be a little harsh to expect a conference title every year, but that's what this team has been doing the last 25 years.

The Wildcats have finished first or second in the Pac-10 in each of the last 13 seasons, and in that time have collected six national titles. Only in 1991 did the team finish out of the top two national spots and go on to win the crown. The five other national championships came in years Arizona finished either No. 1 or No. 2.

Many around the softball program will cite UCLA's ability to finish 12-8, fourth in the conference, and still win a national title last season.

The fact is, the Bruins were defending national champions and had a roster full of players who knew what it took to win come crunch time.

The Wildcats don't have that luxury, with only one player left over from the 2001 national title team - outfielder Candace Abrams, who caught Jennie Finch and co. as a bullpen catcher.

Arizona needs to do two things: establish that they can beat everyone in the conference, and convince themselves they are the team to beat.

'Must-win' gone, but urgency shouldn't be

The No. 6 Arizona baseball team made a name for itself down the stretch last season and could solidify its spot among the nation's elite with another late spring run.

It seemed every time the Wildcats were in a must-win situation last May, they did just that - win.

This year is a little different.

Arizona is no longer an unknown or an underdog. This team has the Pac-10 target square on its back and won't be able to sneak up on anyone, especially with how it is playing right now.

Though the Wildcats are off to their best Pac-10 start in school history (10-2), nine of those games came against the bottom three teams in the conference.

Series with Southern California, ASU, Stanford and California all loom on the horizon, a chance for Arizona to prove last year's run to the College World Series was no fluke.

This weekend's games with USC give a good time to start.

All three contests will be on national television and could be a statement series to the Pac-10 and the rest of the nation - the Wildcats are for real.

Arizona has not won the Pac-10 since 1991. If it can win two of three games in each of its last four conference series, they will be conference champs.

That's a feat easier said than done.

Everyone on the team will tell you it's not about winning conference titles, but instead about getting to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. Still, "Arizona: 2005 Pac-10 Champs" has a nice ring to it.

That title, along with a trip to Omaha, would not only be a great recruiting tool, but also will bode well come selection time and as the Wildcats are petitioning to host a Regional and Super Regional.

Being at home in the post-season is key.

Last year, of the eight teams to advance to Omaha, the Wildcats were the only team to win the Super Regional series on the road. It can be done, but it's not that easy.

Throughout the year, both the softball and baseball teams have stressed the idea that it is not how you start, but how you finish.

To that I say, today starts the finish.

Charles Renning is a secondary education and journalism senior. He can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.