Jerry Stitt, a UA assistant coach for 18 years, was introduced last week as the new head coach of the Wildcat baseball program.

"I'm very excited and humbled," Stitt said. "I counted every hour. I think we were a couple hours short of 41-and-a-half days."

Stitt succeeds the retired Jerry Kindall, who stepped down May 20 after coaching the Wildcats for 24 years.

The search had narrowed down to Stitt and University of New Mexico Coach Rich Alday. Both were interviewed in Tucson last week.

"Jerry Stitt is without question the right person at the right time, for the University of Arizona and Wildcat baseball, to lead us into our next era," Livengood said. "He succeeds a gentleman of the game and keeps that quality in Arizona baseball for years to come."

After an All-America career at Arizona in the mid-60s, Stitt played in the Cleveland Indians organization before beginning his coaching career with the UA freshman team in 1970. After stints as a coach and a teacher at Tucson's Salpointe Catholic High School, and as athletic director at Grand Canyon High School, Stitt joined Kindall's staff as a hitting instructor in 1978. The next year, Arizona won a national championship.

"Stitt's qualifications are impeccable with regard to having had experience in all areas at all levels," Livengood said. "We're not giving him this job - he earned it."

"I'm really pleased (with the decision)," Kindall said. "All the success I share equally with him and everybody."

In fact Kindall was Stitt's strongest supporter and even went to the four-person search committee to tell them his feelings.

As a show of respect to Kindall and pitching coach Jim Wing, who retired along with Kindall, Stitt, choking back tears, said that his first order of business was that as long as he was head coach, nobody will wear Kindall's No. 9 or Wing's No. 8. University policy prohibits the numbers from being officially retired, but they will not be issued.

"I don't pretend that I could ever stand next to Frank Sancet (Wing's coach at Arizona) and Jerry Kindall," Stitt said. "I'm going to have to stand on Coach Kindall's shoulders."