In a game reminiscent of last year's troubles on the field - poor defense and ineffective pitching - the No. 22 Wildcats came out to Sancet Field yesterday and lost 12-9 to unranked Wyoming.

For the Wildcats, the loss was their fourth in a row and dropped the team to 11-6 overall. Wyoming climbs to 3-0.

"We've played well all through the season so far, but today we played poorly. Our errors hurt us and we simply just gave up too many hits and runs," head coach Jerry Kindall said of yesterday's game. "We didn't play well enough to win and we don't deserve to win."

The game's one bright spot was the explosive bat of first baseman Jeff Gjerde. Coming off a strong series against Cal State-Fullerton, Gjerde hit 4-5 with five RBI. Gjerde's four hits included a double in the seventh-inning and a 400-foot home run in the ninth to bring Arizona within three. But they would come no closer.

"I feel real confident now at the plate," Gjerde said. "I feel like if I swing the bat well, it catches on with everybody."

The sixth inning was the key for Wyoming. The game was tied when the Wildcats allowed the Cowboys to score four runs on two errors. This type of error-filled play had seemingly been eliminated this year.

"We didn't play very well today defensively. I don't know what it was, we just came out and didn't make the plays that we needed to," Gjerde said. "We were ready to play today, just a couple things went wrong and they were let back in the game and we couldn't keep up with them."

After losing all three games to Fullerton, the Wildcats looked as though they might be a little tired, but Kindall felt that wasn't the case.

"The guys were really eager to get out here on the field today because we played well in Fullerton," Kindall said. "I don't want them to lose themselves in the doldrums now because of this game. We have to acknowledge that we have to play well to win."

Starting pitcher Clay Crossan held the Cowboys to four runs on six hits before he was relieved in the sixth-inning. Crossan was relieved by a core of pitchers including Jason Hendricks, James Johnson and Chet Henderson.

"We're going through a lot of pitchers, but there is no reason they should be tired, they are certainly not overworked," Kindall said.

Freshman Rob Sha-bansky will make the start for the Wildcats today. Shabansky has an 8.65 ERA in 5.2 innings of work. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.