With postseason hopes on the line, the Arizona baseball team travels to the Bay Area to face 15th-ranked Stanford this weekend.

This is arguably a must-win series for Arizona, which has lost five of its last seven games and has fallen to last place in the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division.

Arizona (20-16 overall, 4-8 in the Pac-10) trails conference leader Southern Cal by five games.

"We need to get back in the fight," Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall said. "We're not very far out of the race. We need some victories to get back in, and if we can get those up in Stanford, then we'll be OK."

Tonight's game at 7 at Sunken Diamond could be considered a pitcher's duel. The Cardinal's Kyle Peterson (3-4, 5.07 ERA), who was last year's National Freshman Player of the Year, will be matched by Arizona's Tyler Haddix (4-2, 3.43 ERA), who after 13 games in relief will make his first start. While Peterson has not lived up to lofty expectations this year, Haddix, a junior college transfer, has been a pleasant surprise for the Wildcats.

"Haddix has one of the best arms on the staff, and perhaps the best stuff," Kindall said. "He has struggled at times with his control, but with a good arm and good stuff, we're going to give him a chance. He's a tiger."

The Cardinal (17-12, 5-7) has won three of their last four games, including two from rival California, but the Arizona players remain confident after a solid road series against Arizona State. Despite going 1-2 against the Sun Devils, UA got strong performances in the series from second baseman John Powers (three doubles in Sunday's win) and designated hitter Kenny Corley (two home runs in the series).

"We're an underdog because of our position," Kindall said. "There is urgency because we need to get these victories now in order to provide an opportunity for us to make a move into playoff contention."

Notes: Kindall has been nominated for the all-time College World Series coach award. Kindall's Arizona teams won the CWS in 1976, 1980 and 1986. He is also the only person to play for (Minnesota 1956) and coach a championship team.