The losing streak continues for the UA baseball team.

Arizona (20-20 overall, 4-12 in the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division) lost 6-2 to No. 5 Southern Cal (24-8, 11-5) last night at Sancet Field. The game was the first of a three-game series between Six-Pac leader USC and last-place Arizona.

The situation before the game was simple. The Wildcats, losers of four straight, were in need of wins and they had to beat the best team in the conference to get them.

"We need victories," Arizona head coach Jerry Kindall said. "We need victories badly. We need to win in order to stay in the playoff race."

The game was a pitchers' dual between Trojan ace left-hander Randy Flores (4-0, 3.75 ERA), and Wildcat left-hander Tyler Haddix (4-4, 4.43 ERA). Flores, a 1996 All-American candidate, got the best of the Wildcat hitters. He pitched nine innings and allowed only seven hits and two runs, with five strikeouts and two walks. Haddix didn't fare as well. He lasted seven innings and allowed eight hits and six runs with two walks and one strikeout. Haddix was relieved in the eighth inning by James Johnson, who allowed one hit with one strikeout.

"I thought Tyler was around the plate much better than he has been. He didn't hurt himself with wildness the way he has the last several times," Kindall said. "His breaking ball wasn't at its best. When it is down low, you'll see those guys swing at balls in the dirt."

The Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning aided by a fielding error by shortstop Jake Thrower. After getting another run in the fourth, USC broke the game open in the fifth inning with first baseman Greg Walbridge's two-run home run that gave the Trojans a 5-0 lead.

UA got on the board in the fifth when Jason Hendricks drove home Brian Becker on a groundout. Becker opened the inning with a triple. The Wildcats got their second run in the eighth inning when Diego Rico grounded out with the bases loaded, scoring Omar Moraga.

Second baseman John Powers' hitting streak has reached fifteen games.

"The bottom line is consistency," John Powers said, whose hitting streak reached 15 games with two singles. "Tonight we played solid baseball, we just didn't hit. Every pitch, we need to do the right thing."

The Wildcat defense continues to be suspect. Arizona had three errors while the Trojans committed none. It has been six games since UA had an error-free game.

"We should be averaging zero, one maybe two errors a game," Powers said. "You have to maximize your chances of winning a baseball game by playing good baseball."

The series continues tonight at 7 and tomorrow at 1 pm at Sancet Field. The starting pitchers for tonight will be Shawn Barrington (1-4, 5.98 ERA) for the Wildcats and Seth Etherton (7-1, 3.57 ERA) for USC. The starters for Saturday's game will be Darrell Hussman (2-1, 6.21 ERA) for Arizona and Scott Henderson (1-0, 2.79 ERA) for USC.