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Scouts check out UA baseball team, eyes focused on Diggins

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore pitcher Ben Diggins winds up for the pitch in the Red/Blue Wildcat scrimmage Sunday. About 20 scouts gathered to watch Diggins and teammates begin fall practice.

The UA baseball team and coaches weren't the only ones interested in how the Wildcats will measure up for the 2000 season. About 20 scouts and 100 fans gathered at Frank Sancet Field to catch the first pitch of UA baseball as the team opened its fall practice Sunday in an intrasquad scrimmage.

"It's just one of the things," UA head coach Jerry Stitt said about the gathering of the scouts. "There are going to be a lot of scouts here because of Ben (Diggins). Every time he pitches this year there are going to be a whole lot of guys here. It's one of those things; they have to just center down and focus on what they have to do."

Sunday's game was the first test for the players under the scouts' scrutiny and it didn't seem to hinder their performances.

"I don't know, you just can't think about the scouts," said sophomore pitcher Diggins. "As a team, it's really good for us though. I am sure we impressed a few people out there.

"Fundamentally, we were really good out there. I'm sure scouts noticed some good people."

The Wildcats were split into two teams, each evenly balanced with starters and power hitters. Senior Mike Meyer homered, while junior shortstop Keoni DeRenne scored two runs and freshman catcher Kenny Riley also added a run for the red squad. Junior third baseman Erik Torres added two runs off doubles for the blue team.

"All these guys here are interested in Ben Diggins, I think everybody knows that," said Marv Thompson of the Major League Scouting Bureau. "There are other guys that are terrific players, but they're too young for the draft this year.

"Everybody knows who Riley is, he was drafted out of high school. (Kenny) Huff was drafted out of high school and Keoni DeRenne is draft eligible. There's an interest in Keoni."

Stitt agreed with Thompson's report.

"We got pretty good pitching," he said. "I like what I saw out of Tony Milo, Ben Diggins and (Brian) Pemble.

"A couple guys swung the bat all right. Keoni did well; Meyer hit a bomb. And I liked Riley behind the plate."

Riley, who comes to Tucson from Sparks, Nev., was pleased with his first experience in the Wildcat uniform.

"It felt good getting back on the field and playing with guys this good," he said. "It's tough to make the adjustment (from high school to college), but it's a lot of fun."

Fall practice will continue for three weeks, with a scrimmage this Saturday morning before the UA football game at 12:30 p.m.