UA, Stanford engage in dramatic series

Brian D. Rothschild Arizona Daily Wildcat UA outfielder Diego Rico slides into home during the Wildcats' series against Southern Cal earlier in the season. Arizona will face the Stanford Cardinalthis weekend with each teams playoff hopes on the line.

The Wildcats, led by first year head coach Jerry Stitt, have turned around their losing ways, clinching their first winning record since 1993 and are only two victories away from possibly making a regional playoff.

The Cardinal, ranked third in the country, are sitting on top of the Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division, two games ahead of UCLA. The Bruins will likely sweep their weekend opponent, the lowly California Golden Bears. Thus, a slip by Stanford and the conference title is in jeopardy.

The cameras start rolling tonight at 7 ar Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif.

Stanford head coach Mark Marquess said that he feels with everything on the line, this will be a great three-game set.

"It heightens the anticipation of the games," Marquess said. "Each game is important and every team will give it their all, which will make for some exciting games. For the coaches, this is nerve-wracking."

With the pressure to perform well, one would expect a quiet locker room filled with serious expressions and players giving a little more in practice than usual.

But not Arizona.

"We are having fun," junior first baseman Kenny Corley said after a team scrimmage. "We are relaxed, but very focused on the weekend."

Coming off a weekend series against rival Arizona State in Tempe, a series where Arizona lost the first game and rallied in the eighth inning to win the second before taking the third, the Wildcats have picked up some momentum of late.

"Our backs were against the wall (against ASU)," Corley said. "That really drove us. We knew that we had to win or the season would be over. We hope to continue that drive."

"Any time you win on the road it helps mentally," Stitt said. "We realized this weekend the importance of playing hard every day."

Adding to the suspense is the fact the Wildcats (32-23, 13-14 in the Six-Pac) have struggled in the first game of their conference series all season, dropping six of nine series openers.

"The times we have played well the first game and lost, it's been ok because we knew that we played well and that carries over," Stitt said. "When we play bad in the first game, that can hurt us for the rest of the series."

Playing the leading role for Stanford (34-13, 17-7 in the Six-Pac) will be junior Kyle Peterson, the ace of their staff and the likely starter for tonight's contest. The right-hander is 8-2 with a 3.64 ERA. Peterson leads the conference in strikeouts and is a future first-round draft choice. He defeated the Wildcats in their first meeting of the season, collecting eight strikeouts in seven innings of work in the 10-3 Cardinal win.

"Peterson is one of the best pitchers in the country," Stitt said.

Arizona, however, doesn't find this horror-flick-resembling rotation all that scary.

"Most of our guys have faced their staff," Corley said. "I think that we are well prepared. We can't focus on beating a team or a player. We need to focus on playing good baseball, because that wins games."

Marquess said he felt that hitting will be the kicker as the series unfolds.

"The team that comes out on top will be the team that swings the bat well," Marquess said. "We have to try to contain them."

This could mean trouble for the Wildcats. While they have had big bats all year, led by Corley's team-high 11 home runs and 54 RBI and junior center fielder Diego Rico's .389 batting average, the Cardinal lead the conference in batting with a .342 team average.

Arizona will send its trio of sophomore starters to the mound with right-hander Darrell Hussman (4-7) starting tonight. Left-handers James Johnson and Rob Shabansky follow Saturday and Sunday, respectively.